06/21/2021
Federation Security Provider Offers Safety Recommendations
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McKENNA CORSON | STAFF REPORTER
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
In the midst of rising antisemitism trends across the United States, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s security provider, JFC Security, LLC, compiled a list of safety recommendations for the Jewish community to follow, where individuals can also protect the entire community.
Oren Baratz, senior vice president of external affairs at the Federation, said that the idea to release the guidelines came about in a debriefing following the June 4 incident where a group of Fuchs Mizrachi School students were shot with paintballs by a passing car. Two of the students were hit as they walked on South Green Road in Beachwood for Shabbat celebrations, as previously reported by the Cleveland Jewish News.
Baratz
“We cannot emphasize enough and urge the community that the first action that should be taken when something like this has happened is to call 911,” Baratz told the Cleveland Jewish News. “We feel that part of our role as the community’s security provider is to constantly educate the community.”
The recommendations were written using “tried and true security protocols,” said Jim Hartnett, director of community-wide security at the Federation.
“These are basic principles; we have to remind people, and, obviously, put them in a written form,” Hartnett told the CJN. “These are just principles that everybody in the community should understand and be able to keep in their back pocket to help in knowing what to do.”
Baratz broke down the nine guidelines into two different categories: the first being behaviors that can help prevent harmful activities in the community, and the second being how to behave after harmful activity has happened, in order to help law enforcement investigate the event and prevent it from happening again.
Of the protocols, Hartnett said while each are important, he stressed that people should remember to report any information regarding an incident of antisemitism to law enforcement as soon as possible. Hartnett encouraged people to trust their instincts, not to sit on information and urge children to also alert an adult of antisemitic situations – “Doing so, you might not only be helping to protect yourself, but helping to protect the community at large,” Hartnett said.
Hartnett
“The longer information goes unreported, the less chance we’ll have from stopping this from happening again,” Hartnett said. “These haters are in power, because nobody’s shining a light on them and bringing them into the judicial system to be held accountable once they have committed a crime of antisemitism against one of our community members.”
By residents acting as the community’s eyes and ears, JFC Security and law enforcement are able to discover antisemitism and fight it head on, Hartnett said.
“This notion that law enforcement can be present all the time in all places is not realistic,” Baratz said. “The community and individuals as a whole should support law enforcement and community security in providing heightened awareness. It’s a sad reality, but that’s the way the world is today.”
While JFC Security pushes the community to increase its attention to possible hazardous situations, they continue to provide high-level security while also ensuring Jewish life remains open and vibrant in Cleveland.
“We are striving to find the balance between security and safety, and having a full, productive community life,” Baratz said.
One way JFC Security is working to improve security is through the creation of a network of cameras around Jewish institutions, and in Jewish neighborhoods and streets. Hundreds of cameras will be monitored by JFC Security, LLC staff, Hartnett said.
Additionally, JFC Security is working closely with the partnership on enhanced communications using radios that are connected to the police. License plate reader technology and scanners are also being used along with the cameras, which would scan license plates and notify partners if a registered vehicle of concern is in the area.
“This is probably cutting edge right now in Jewish communities in the United States,” Hartnett said. “I don’t know of any other community doing it to the level we’re doing it here in Cleveland.”
JFC Security, LLC’s safety recommendations
- For all emergencies, call 911 immediately. Do not hesitate or delay. Emphasize the severity of the problem and be sure to report if it is happening near a Jewish facility.
- Remain on the telephone and report as many details as possible to the dispatcher. Tell the call taker what happened and the exact location, time, vehicle license, description of individual(s) etc. of where it occurred. If you can do so safely, take a photograph and/or record the incident and provide to law enforcement upon arrival.
- If you see a JFC Security officer in the area do not hesitate to approach or flag down and report suspicious or threatening activity to them immediately. The JFC Security officer will relay your information to police upon notification.
- If you see something or someone that is of concern, ensure you act as quickly as possible. In doing so, your quick action may help in keeping potential problems away from the community.
- Always be on heightened alert and maintain situational awareness to identify potential danger.
- If possible, always walk in pairs, especially after dark.
- Know how you should react to problems and emergencies.
- Be alert to unknown individuals acting outside the norm and vehicles that seem out of place driving or parking near Jewish facilities.
- Talk to your children and teens about safety. It is important to encourage children and teens to trust their own instincts. Teach them that if someone or something makes them feel uncomfortable or if they feel like something is just not right – even if they cannot explain why – they need to walk away immediately and alert an adult.
Source: Jewish Federation of Cleveland
