In April of 2018, KD National Force Security (KDNFS) was invited to provide testimony on issues related to school security before a joint committee meeting of the New Jersey Legislature organized in the weeks after the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. This testimony is as relevant today in the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, TX as it was four years ago.
Represented by CEO Kevin DiPatri, KDNFS was the only private security company to attend the Joint Committee Meeting of the New Jersey State Senate and State Assembly Education Committees in Trenton, NJ.
Committee Co-Chair Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt asked several of those invited to testify, “After Sandy Hook, after Columbine, after Parkland, what keeps you up at night?”
Mr. DiPatri responded. “What keeps me up at night is the fact that, still, in today’s time, all schools in New Jersey do not have on-site, trained, armed, first responders in place. Knowing that my children and everyone’s children are extremely vulnerable – at lunch, upon arrival, during dismissal, in transition, out on the playground, attending a Friday night football game – that’s what keeps me up at night.”
At the start of DiPatri’s testimony, he spoke about the importance of police response times. DiPatri defined a “critical gap” as the time it takes someone to be able to confront the threat in the event it does make entry into a school. “You drastically reduce that critical gap, or remove it, by having somebody in place who is highly trained [in our schools].”
DiPatri spoke from his experience as a retired NJ State Police Regional Commander who owns and operates a private school security firm. He made several recommendations to the joint committee and other invited guests, including Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D., who was Acting Commissioner of the Department of Education at the time.
DiPatri’s first suggestion was for trained security professionals to be placed in every school, whether they be sworn law enforcement, highly-trained private security, or Class III officers. “I would recommend that the Legislature and the members of this Committee strongly consider mandating that each school have trained professionals that can confront, and eliminate, or mitigate a threat.”
A second recommendation is a universal emergency response plan. “Every district has a different code, different requirements for their plan. Code Red should mean Code Red from Sussex County to Salem County – universally.”
DiPatri’s final recommendation concerned training. There has been improvement since this testimony in 2018, but too many districts think drills equate to proper training.
“There is no training. We speak to non-certificated staff, certificated staff, and administrators; there needs to be training for all these members of the school population on how to react during a crisis. I believe you can mandate training for all, [with] age-appropriate training for students. Training, as we know, in the world of education, you learn, you build confidence, and then you’re able to execute. That is nonexistent here in New Jersey, as far as training programs for preparation for emergency response.”
Years after this meeting, KDNFS is still committed to making schools safer with the KDNFS Standard. The KDNFS School Security System was specifically developed and custom-designed for Pre-K through 12th Grade educational environments. Decades of experience and strategic partnerships with experts in the education and security industries ensure all “critical gaps” have been identified to reduce risk, improve personal safety, and build confidence among all stakeholders. Currently, KDNFS provides services to dozens of schools in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties.
KDNFS is a privately owned, bonded, and fully insured company comprised of credentialed and experienced law-enforcement experts. The company sets the standard in school and workplace security and all of our professional Security Specialists have more than 20 years of experience. To learn more about how KDNFS can protect you from senseless violence, e-mail or call KDNFS at info@kdnfs.com or (609) 635-5037 today.
