Community security is one of our Federation’s strategic priorities. It is an area in which we have long taken a proactive approach and in which we have invested significantly over many years.
Community Security Advisory Committee
In 2015 we established our Committee Security Advisory Committee, chaired by Bernard Pinksy. Their work is focused on assessing the risks facing community institutions, and proposing strategies for a comprehensive approach to security and safety that will serve our community for the long term, including:
Director of Security
In 2017, we welcomed our Director of Security for our community, Daniel Heydenrych-Davis, whose role is to work with local Jewish organizations, law enforcement agencies, and other strategic partners to focus on three key priority areas:
Daniel’s role is to support the Jewish community as a whole. Daniel is happy to work with any organization interested in training, audits, or in need of security advice or assistance. In an emergency situation, community agencies should first call 911 and then reach out to Daniel so that he can liaise with local law enforcement and provide guidance to the organization’s security leaders.
Please reach out to Daniel for training opportunities or any non-emergent security needs:
Email: Daniel Heydenrych-Davis
Call or Text: 604-362-5706
Cybersecurity and Information Protection Subcommittee
In 2020, with many organization transitioning to remote or hybrid operations, we formed our Cybersecurity and Information Protection Subcommittee. The mandate of the Cybersecurity and Information Protection Subcommittee is to:
Federation Annual Campaign
Enhanced security measures require funding. When a community organization or event has security needs, they usually rely on Jewish Federation to provide at least some of the funding, if not all of it. This is in addition to the funds we generate to support needs like social services, Jewish education, seniors’ programs, and more. We identified community security as a key area of work in our 2020 Strategic Priorities and made it a focus of the 2016 Federation Annual Campaign. It is through the campaign that we generate the funds needed to support community security initiatives.
Federal Government Security Infrastructure Program
The federal government also provides funding to private, not-for-profit organizations that are at risk of being victimized by hate- motivated crime, helping with the cost of security infrastructure improvements. With Daniel’s support, many of our community organizations have been successful in their applications for funding. We continue to encourage organizations to apply for SIP funds to enable them to maximize their security upgrades.
With antisemitism on the rise, each one of us has a role to play in keeping our community safe. If you see something suspicious or that is hateful to our community, tell someone. First, call police. Second, report the incident our director of security, Daniel Heydenrch-Davis.