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The Critical Difference™
The Critical Difference
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 over 26 years.
Setting New Standards for Performance
Following are some of the many innovations and quality controls employed by CIS to earn its legendary reputation for quality of service.
The Most Stringent Candidate Selection and Training Process in the Private Security Industry
CIS requires all employment candidates to complete an intensive, two-phased screening and training process. During Phase One, candidates are first screened to ensure they meet our basic eligibility criteria of honorable military or law enforcement experience, law enforcement certification, or two years or more of security experience. Once they are pre-qualified, officer candidates are subjected to a rigorous background investigation and battery of tests including:
- Psychological Examination
- Personality Screening
- Personal Virtues Testing
- IQ Test
- Drug Urinalysis Test
Phase One screening is conducted internally and preliminary to all other pre-employment activities including application for security clearance if required as a term of the contract.
During Phase Two, all officer candidates are required to complete mandatory basic security officer training (40-hours in the State of Florida), firearms training (24-hours), 13-hour CIS Candidate Training Program, and 24-hours of practical instruction under the supervision of an experienced Field Training Officer (FTO).
In addition to standard CIS officer training, all officers earmarked for special divisions (e.g., School Protection Officers, Anti-Terrorism Officers, etc.) are required to complete additional training courses as required for their specialized assignment.
Superior Leadership and Operational Direction
The CIS Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual establishes procedural and policy direction governing all aspects of CIS operations. At over 300 pages in length, the scope and depth of the CIS SOP exceeds the written operations manuals of every security agency in the United States and rivals the SOP of most law enforcement agencies. As part of basic officer orientation, all CIS officers are required to study the SOP manual and complete an SOP written examination within 90 days of hire.
As a living document, the CIS SOP is in a continuous state of review and improvement by the SOP Working Group, a collaborative team composed of field commanders coordinated under the CIS Office of Professional Standards. All proposed policy and procedural improvements recommended by the SOP Working Group are submitted to the CEO for approval prior to implementation.
To ensure that violations of SOP are properly addressed, the CIS Office of Professional Standards also administers the CIS Internal Affairs Board (IAB). The IAB is responsible for investigating serious infractions of the CIS SOP and any incident where the alleged actions of an officer may have violated state or Federal statutes.
While the CIS SOP Manual codifies directives on operational matters, the CIS Doctrine Document outlays the ideology behind Critical Intervention Services and establishes a mindset for CIS officers and leadership. By contrast to typical “Mission Statement” documents written by most companies, the CIS Doctrine describes the philosophy underlying our approach to operations and places emphasis on concepts such as “effectiveness over efficiency”, innovation, and non-linear decision making as critical elements in creating new solutions to complex and difficult security problems.
Although effective policy and doctrine are essential to the success of our operations, both alone are meaningless without excellence in leadership. Over the past 26 years, CIS has developed a highly-refined system for identifying and developing junior personnel with leadership potential. As part of the CIS Leadership Development Program, all personnel within the rank structure are required to complete a series of mandatory leadership courses as a condition of eligibility for promotion. Once personnel are promoted to new rank and position, leadership training continues under the close mentorship of senior personnel.
Creative Solutions-Oriented Approach to Protective Strategy Design and Deployment
Critical Intervention Services has developed a worldwide reputation for succeeding in many difficult environments where the complexity of threat and social dynamics have exceeded the capabilities of traditional security services and even public law enforcement. In many of these circumstances, conventional approaches to security and law enforcement are only short-term solutions at best and fail to achieve any significant threat reduction or long-term results. Success in these environments often requires novel, “out-of-the-box” strategies and tactics.
One example of these solutions is the Community and Character Based Protection Initiative (CCBPI) strategy for reclaiming and rehabilitating high crime communities pioneered by CIS in the 1990’s. While conventional security and law enforcement approaches only address one aspect of the equation (“The Criminal”), the CIS CCBPI strategy is a comprehensive model that holistically addresses the complex web of social factors that contribute to the cycle of crime.
As new security strategies and tactics prove successful, these lessons learned are often adapted for universal implementation and integration into other aspects of our operations.
The success of CIS in developing and implementing special solutions to security problems has been documented in academic books and by research organizations such as the Independent Institute, The Foundation for Economic Education, and the US General Accounting Office.
Specialized Training and Support for Special Duty Assignments
In order to ensure the effective implementation of unique security strategies and ensure the highest level of performance in all aspects of our operations, CIS and our sister company, the S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute, develop and administer specialized training programs for CIS officers.
One example of these specialized training courses is the CIS Anti-Terrorism Officer program developed in 2003. The Anti-Terrorism Officer (ATO) program is designed to prepare select CIS Officers for deployment at critical infrastructure sites and other environments where terrorism is a critical threat concern. The program entails 32-hours of classroom training, 8-hours of independent study in force protection/anti-terrorism principles, and 40-hours of hands-on training in topics such as bomb search and vehicle inspection procedures, advanced firearms skills, and Quick Reaction Force (QRF) tactics.
Other examples of specialized programs include the 32-hour CIS School Protection Officer and 24-hour Public Safety Officer courses.
Expert Integration of Technology to Support Protective Operations
Most traditional security agencies view technology as an unnecessary expense…a burden to the bottom line. By contrast, Critical Intervention Services has been a pioneer in leveraging the capabilities of technology for maximizing operational performance. In many cases, effective integration of technology is an essential element for implementing the types of sophisticated and unique security solutions that have made CIS famous.
In 1998, CIS became the first private security agency in the United States to equip all patrol vehicles with GPS tracking for monitoring and dispatch control by our operations center. This simple improvement greatly increased our response times and provided auditing capability unavailable with conventional security patrol services.
To effectively support the needs of our field officers in the 1990’s, CIS created a special database called CIS Matrix to document dispatch activities, alerts, incidents, criminal intelligence, and even general interaction between officers and community residents. With a laptop computer mounted in each patrol vehicle, officers can directly access CIS Matrix in the field. Other examples of CIS technology innovations include the development of unique databases for special applications such as compliance-tracking (CTAP, 2007), emergency deployments (EDICTS, 2005), homeland security-related intelligence (SATAS, 2003), and emergency management and mass communications support (CICADa, 2013).
Testimonials
Anti-Terrorism
The training you are providing to the security personnel at Critical Intervention Services (CIS), military personnel and law enforcement professionals is unmatched by civilian readiness training for the war on terror.
– U.S. Special Operations Command
School Protection
...The quality of the SPOs' work in the Guardian Program at Shorecrest has made our school the envy of any administrator that has come to observe the program...I give my highest recommendation to the Guardian SafeSchool Program.
– Shorecrest Preparatory School
Community Solutions
CIS officers not only come in and assist us, but they're committed to the community. I never encounted that before.
– Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Toll-free: (800) 247-6055 | Tampa Bay Area: (727) 461-9417 | Hillsborough: (813) 910-4247 | Orlando: (407) 420-7945
Critical Intervention Services
The Critical Difference™
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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.
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