Businesses and
Private Organizations
Threat Suppression is recognized as an international leader in workplace safety and security consulting. Threat Suppression staff have provided safety and security consulting for Fortune 500 companies, major universities, large hospital systems, mega-churches, international airports, and many more. The Department of Homeland Security has utilized our services to help train the critical infrastructure industry.
We have conducted numerous safety and security analyses for organizations; often finding critical, life-safety hazards previously not identified. We have also created multiple safety and security policies, procedures, and training for clients. Numerous large insurance companies have utilized our services, recognizing that we can significantly reduce risk liability for their clients. Some of our clients include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, South Carolina Board of School Insurance Trust, South Carolina Municipal Board of Government Officials, Willis Pooling Insurance, the Iowa Association of Insurance Underwriters, the International Association of Workplace Professionals, Dominion Energy, American Gas Association, the Veteran’s Administration, Atrium Healthcare, multiple city governments, and many more.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) significantly increased the number of workplace audits; reviewing safety and security training, policies, and procedures. Approximately 10% of businesses each year will have some type of OSHA safety audit. In the last decade, OSHA dramatically increased the number of employer citations for “failure to train employees.” OSHA reviews workplace safety training to determine if the training is “feasible, useful, and understood by the employees.”
"Many supervisors do not realize that when they fail to train employees, they not only create corporate liability, but also create personal liability, and in some cases, criminal liability against the supervisors."
-Seyfarth and Shaw Law Firm
Our most frequently requested services for businesses are listed below:
Creation and/or Review of Safety and Security Plans, Policies, and Procedures
Threat Suppression has assisted numerous clients with modifying and creating security protocol and procedures. We often find that many corporate security protocols are written with good intentions, but limited knowledge of the hazard. We have conducted numerous reviews of corporate safety and security plans, and typically find that half of the plans actually increase the threat of loss of life and/or property. Our personnel focus on three fundamentals when preparing these documents. First, we know that some of these events are critically life-threatening and that the policies must provide information that is simple to understand and easy to implement during events of extreme duress. Second, we know that cookie-cutter policies for these events are simple, but useless during an emergency. We create policies that account for the uniqueness of the client and the personnel that will use the policies. Last, with our extensive real-world experience in public safety, we create plans and procedures that complement the public safety response.
Physical Security Assessment
Threat Suppression staff have performed numerous safety and security assessments for a variety of institutions, including hospitals, universities, government buildings, and critical infrastructure facilities. Our detailed physical security assessments provide a comprehensive examination across the safety and security spectrum. Our staff are certified Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) advanced practitioners and instructors. CPTED is the nationally recognized standard for building design and review to ensure maximum utilization of building and grounds to minimize criminal activity.
More than half of all states in the United States require a CPTED practitioner to be involved in the design, renovation, or security analysis of government-owned buildings. The federal government requires a CPTED practitioner to be involved in the design, renovation, or security analysis of all federally owned, leased, or managed buildings. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security's Interagency Security Committee required CPTED training for all security consultants providing recommendations for federal government buildings. You can read the DHS report here. A site security assessment utilizing CPTED personnel ensures the following:
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Research-based process to conduct a security assessment utilizing a national standard
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Research-based justification for recommendations
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Utilization of a proven method to provide security recommendations
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Utilization of a proven method to provide long-term cost savings
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Utilization of a proven method to reduce liability
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Demonstration of due diligence by the property owner to ensure that security assessment personnel are qualified to conduct the assessment
Examples of items that Threat Suppression staff examine include the following:
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Area crime statistics
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Area sex offender registry
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Natural surveillance (exterior and interior)
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Natural access control
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Territorial reinforcement
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Barriers (real and symbolic)
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Natural landscaping and hostile vegetation
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Fire prevention
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Emergency medical equipment
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Traffic calming
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Security cameras
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Lighting for safety
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Key access control
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Mass notification systems
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Hazardous material storage and Community Right to Know compliance
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Employee and contractor identification
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Employee background checks
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Information technology security
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Critical utility system protection
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Electronic security systems
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Clery Compliance (institutions of higher education)
In addition to holding CPTED certifications, several of our staff are board certified in the following; Certified Human Resource Manager (SHRM-CP), Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Certified Threat Manager (CTM), Certified Criminal Profiler (CCP), and certified Clery Compliance Officer (CCO). These board certifications are considered the gold standard in security assessment. There are very few companies with employees that possess these board certifications. These certifications both ensure that the assessor is qualified, and that the assessor is following industry standards guidelines for assessment.
Following completion of each facility assessment, Threat Suppression staff will provide a detailed, written assessment of each facility. This assessment is divided into two sections, (1) observations, and (2) actions to consider (recommendations). The recommendation section is further divided into three sections, (1) no-cost/low cost recommendations under $1,000.00, (2) recommendations $1,000.00-$10,000.00, and (3), recommendations more than $10,000.00. Our staff focuses on making the majority of recommendations in the no-cost/low-cost section.
Conducting safety and security assessments is a well-recognized high liability event. Our standard price for safety and security assessments is $0.35 to $1.25 per square foot depending on the facility usage. This price is very competitive with firms of similar expertise and experience. Our typical safety and security assessment ranges from $30,000 to more than $100,000. Our standard physical security assessment document ranges from 125-300+ pages and includes hundreds of photographs. Bulk discounts may apply with multiple locations.
To read more important information about our physical security assessments, please click here.
Development of Safety and Security Training Sessions
Threat Suppression staff are experts in the following: (1) mass employee training, (2) tabletop discussion, (3) walk-through simulations, and (4) full-scale exercises. Our scholastic, research approach to solving complex problems has garnered the attention of numerous federal agencies and multiple local/state agencies. We have assisted numerous businesses with the creation of written security plans. Failure to have written security plans in place results in massive liabilities for businesses. In addition, federal law requires that employers take measures to abate known hazards in the workplace. Below are some of our most requested policies for businesses:
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Security communications policy and/or procedures
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Information protection/operational security
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Personnel security
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Suspicious or criminal activities
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Hostage situations
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Suspicious packages/bomb threat/explosives
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Mass evacuation and reunification
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Lost child or vulnerable adult
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Shelter-in-place
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Lockdown
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Civil unrest
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Terrorist incidents
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Active shooter/active assailant
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Arrest or criminal indictment of employee/volunteer
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Report of sexual misconduct by employee/volunteer/visitor
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Reporting of child or elder abuse or neglect
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Death on company property
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Transportation accidents involving company vehicles
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Nuclear emergencies and evacuation procedures
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Suspected biological incident
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Food/beverage contamination incident
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Chemical/hazardous material release
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Inclement weather (tornado, thunderstorm, snow/ice, wind)
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Earthquake
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Fire
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Utility failure
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Psychological crisis
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Attempted suicide/suicide threat
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Mass emergency notification to employees and visitors
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Bloodborne pathogens
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Security guard use-of-force policies
Tabletop Exercises
Threat Suppression is a recognized leader in creating unique tabletop exercises that test client’s emergency response procedures. Our exercises provide a very unique approach to problem-solving. Our staff typically performs a site visit taking pictures of the tabletop exercise location. During the exercise, participants see those pictures again, often with Photoshop™ added problems. Participants of Threat Suppression’s tabletop exercises have called these “The most realistic emergency scenario we ever faced; we were definitely in problem-solving mode.”
"Our business has 28 different locations, thousands of employees, and tens of thousands of visitors. We were initially skeptical about the need for some of the safety policies that Threat Suppression made for us. However, within 10 days of rolling out the policies and training our managers, our city had its first full-scale riot that last six days. The civil unrest policy was invaluable helping us keep our employees and visitors safe. Three months later, we had the first death of an employee at work. Again, the policies helped us when we needed them the most. Before these events, we had never considered needing such policies."
Consulting for Individual Threats
At Threat Suppression, our staff have provided “just in time” consulting for businesses with a variety of security problems. We have assisted numerous companies with review of potential hostile employees, including several terminated employees who threatened violence against their former employer. We have also provided consulting for businesses with little notice/no-notice of dignitary’s visits or visits with high-ranking political officials. We have also worked with several businesses to provide security consulting when the business has hosted controversial lectures or meetings.
If you would like additional information on any of these services, please email info@ThreatSuppression.com
or call 1-800-231-9106.