In 2019, JEWISHcolorado launched the Regional Safety & Security Initiative in partnership with the Secure Community Network (SCN), the Rose Community Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation.

Less than a year after the Tree of Life synagogue murders in Pittsburgh, the JEWISHcolorado Regional Safety & Security Initiative began leveraging the collective resources of our community to develop best practices for emergency communication, security awareness and training, and disaster response, with the goal of raising the baseline of safety and security throughout our community.

Led by Regional Security Advisor and former FBI agent Phil Niedringhaus, who works directly with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, the Initiative has trained 1,400 community members in situational awareness and other safety measures. It has provided such trainings and other services, including site assessments for 110 Jewish organizations and helped secure more than $1M in Homeland Security grants so that our community institutions can secure their premises for their visitors and their neighborhoods.

Last year, JEWISHcolorado was awarded the 2020 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award, presented on behalf of the director of the FBI to honor organizations for their efforts in combating crime, terrorism, and violence in America.

On Wednesday, February 2, in the wake of the hostage-taking in Colleyville, Texas, nearly 300 people participated in a situational awareness and active threat response workshop, streamed live from the Boulder JCC. Said one participant after the hour-long presentation, “I understand so much more vicerally now the importance of having a plan and being committed to act if the worst happens. I know that I feel safer attending events in Jewish—and really all—public spaces.”

For more information about the Regional Safety & Security Initiatve, please contact Regional Security Advisor Phil Niedringhaus at pniedringhaus@securecommunitynetwork.org, or O (303) 316-6448 | M (303) 941-5420.

To support the work of JEWISHcolorado’s Regional Safety & Security Initiative, click the button below and select “Regional Safety & Security” from the drop-down Designation menu.