The Critical Difference™

The Critical Difference™

About  Critical Intervention Services

Critical Intervention Services (CIS) is a Tampa-based expert services firm with  30-years of experience assisting organizations in managing complex risk situations. Our diverse clientele include corporations, international government organizations, property management groups, energy companies, schools, hospitals, hotel chains, financial institutions, community organizations, and more.

In addition to conventional aspects of our services as security consultants, CIS has earned unique recognition for achieving success in situations where traditional approaches to security and public safety have failed. When addressing complex and difficult security challenges, knowledge alone is often insufficient. Effective solutions often require an artful combination of expertise, holistic vision, and innovative mindset.

Over the years, CIS clients have provided us the opportunity to apply our talents to a diverse range of challenges—urban crime and social disorder, terrorism, school violence, and more. And we are honored that the unique risk management strategies produced from our experience have been endorsed as best practice standards by professional peers, news media, and academic researchers around the world.

Regardless of the complexity of the situation, effectiveness and excellence are the core principles founding our philosophy and approach to client needs. Although all consulting firms promise excellence, at Critical Intervention Services the pursuit of excellence isn’t just a pledge. It’s the lifeblood of our culture and the cornerstone of our success as proven for nearly thirty years.

Our Accomplishments

Following are some highlights of our accomplishments over the past three decades.

    • In the early 1990’s, we pioneered a unique methodology for protecting residential communities. The success of the program in reducing crime and increasing community quality of life has been extensively documented by police, news media, and academic institutions and is the central theme of two criminal justice textbooks.
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Since 1994, we have successfully utilized our community-based methodology in over 1,000 Florida communities representing all demographics. In 2014, we were awarded a contract by MetroWest in Orlando to create the first Private-Sector Led Public Safety Program in the United States based on the CIS model in a community of over 45,000 residents and businesses. Since its inception, the MetroWest program has earned national attention due to its documented success in reducing crime and improving community quality of life.

    • As experts in the field of managing security risk, CIS has provided a diverse range of consulting assistance to companies and government organizations for improving security and emergency readiness.
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As security consultants, we provide expert assistance in matters including the design and development of comprehensive risk management strategies, vulnerability and risk assessments for compliance with regulatory or industry requirements, physical protection system (PPS) analysis and design, crime prevention planning, behavioral threat assessment, and emergency response planning.

Our clients range from independent schools and corporations to energy companies and international government organizations.

    • In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, CIS created the Anti-Terrorism Officer (ATO) program for the specialized mission of protecting domestic critical infrastructure.
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For over a decade, CIS ATOs provided round-the-clock protection for critical Tampa-area power stations and control facilities. CIS Anti-Terrorism Officers were armed security personnel specially selected, trained, and supported by a special infrastructure designed to address the challenges of protecting facilities against terrorist attack. As testimony to the effectiveness of the program, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recognized the CIS ATO program in 2005 as “…a model for critical infrastructure protection.”

Through our sister company, the S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute, the CIS ATO training program evolved into a global standard. The program has been officially adopted by numerous government organizations worldwide and is the basis for the IACSP Certified Anti-Terrorism Officer (cATO®) certification body-of-knowledge. Currently, over 3,000 professionals worldwide have graduated the S2 Anti-Terrorism Officer program.

    • In response to the public need for an effective strategy for reducing the risk of school violence, Critical Intervention Services launched the Guardian SafeSchool Program® in 2013 as a comprehensive and effective security program model for protecting students against violence.
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The Guardian SafeSchool Program® was peer reviewed and endorsed by John Jay College of Criminal Justice as a model for national best practices in school security. The CIS Guardian SafeSchool Protection Officer training program was also adopted in 2014 as the standard training course for Newtown Public School District’s new armed security force in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.

Since its inception, dozens of American schools have adopted the CIS Guardian SafeSchool Program®.

    • CIS subject experts have provided training around the world on advanced security topics and matters related to managing risks of terrorism and targeted violence.
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Some examples of our training clients include the US Capitol Police, US Central Command, US Department of Justice, US Special Operations Command, Ministry of Interior of Iraq, European Commission (EU), European External Action Service (EU), Federal Bureau of Prisons, Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Affairs of the Netherlands, Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Saudi Arabian National Guard. Since 1998, over 12,000 security and public safety professionals have graduated courses presented by CIS subject matter experts.

    • For 28 years, CIS operated one of the most advanced uniformed protective services divisions in the history of private security.
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To ensure that officers possessed the level of skill and dedication necessary for implementing our protective strategies, CIS pioneered a number of quality control measures which remain unmatched in the security industry.

Some examples includes an intensive candidate screening process, over 100-hours of preparatory instruction prior to assignment, training for specialized deployments, a 300-page Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual, formal chain-of-command structure, internal affairs processes, and 24-hour live communications and technology support.

    • The success of our unique and innovative approaches to security problems have gained us worldwide recognition through news media outlets.
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The success of our work has been featured by The Wall Street Journal, ABC World News Tonight, BBC, CNN, Fox News Network, The Detroit News, Spiegel Television (Germany), Courrier International (France), and every news affiliate in the Tampa Bay area.

In addition to stories about  our accomplishments, CIS staff members frequently provide expert commentary for news media organizations (and expert witness testimony) on matters related to school security, urban crime, targeted violence, and terrorism.

    • Our unique methods and operational philosophy have been studied and endorsed by a number of criminal justice and government research institutes.
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The success of our strategies has been studied and documented by organizations including the Independent Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the US Government Accountability Office.

Multiple CIS staff members are also advisory board members and contributing instructors for multiple universities, regulatory advisory groups, and professional associations.

Specialized Solutions to Special Challenges

Over the past three decades, CIS has earned a global reputation for designing and implementing comprehensive and effective solutions to difficult security and public safety challenges. Following are some of the unique and innovative programs pioneered by our creative team of security program architects.

Our Services

  • Protective Services & Investigations
  • Special Security Deployments for Natural Disasters
  • Executive Protection
  • Protective Surveillance
  • Private Investigations
  • Technical Security Services
  • Security Consulting
  • School Security
  • Church & Houses of Worship Security
  • Healthcare Security
  • Crime Prevention for Multi-Family Housing
  • Corporate Security
  • Physical Security Assessment & Design
  • Workplace Violence Prevention
  • Active Shooter Risk Mitigation
  • Anti-Terrorism
  • Emergency Response Planning
  • Employee Training
  • Public Safety Consulting
  • Proactive Public Safety Strategy & Program Design
  • Community Policing Program Design
  • Rehabilitation of Damaged Community Relations
  • Community-Scale Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Assessment
  • Threat Assessment and Management
  • Workplace Violence Risk Assessment
  • Student Threat assessment
  • Stalking Risk Assessment
  • Expert Witness Testimony
  • Premises Liability & Security Negligence
  • School Security
  • Workplace Violence
  • Active Shooter Violence
  • Cannabis Security

The Words of Our Clients and Peers

Toll-free: (800) 247-6055 | Tampa Bay Area: (727) 461-9417 | Hillsborough: (813) 910-4247 | Orlando: (407) 420-7945

The staff of CIS is dedicated to providing each client with the finest quality of protective services available.

Our commitment and dedication to professional, ethical, and protocol conscious service is our trademark.

Preserving, projecting, and protecting our clients’ image and interests is our business.

Copyright © 2020 Critical Intervention Services, Inc. ® Florida “A” License: A9900261 • Florida “B” License: B9200107