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Command Consulting Group is assisting the Dallas County Community College District with Executive Search for a Commissioner of Public Safety. 

In connection with completing a comprehensive assessment of DCCCD’s approach to public safety in 2015, Command Consulting Group recommended the creation of a district level office for Public Safety and Security. As part of the assessment, Command reviewed plans, procedures, organizational structures, and staffing, and benchmarked these findings against education and security industry standards in order to provide findings, analyses, and prioritized recommendations.

Command is supporting the District in its search for a Commissioner of Public Safety and Security. Interested applicants can visit: https://dcccd.peopleadmin.com/postings/15621 to apply for this position.

About Dallas County Community College District
DCCCD is one of the largest community college systems in the United State’s. Since 1965, they have served more than 3 million people. The colleges of DCCCD equip students for successful living and responsible citizenship. In addition, they provide economic benefits to business, taxpayers and the community. The seven independently accredited colleges of Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) include Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland.

About Command Consulting Group
Command Consulting Group is an international security consulting firm with a robust background in providing campus safety solutions for some of the largest educational systems in world. These solutions help clients meet their unique security challenges and are based on experience garnered from years of service in leadership positions at the White House, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Intelligence Community, the military, and private industry.

 

Following this week’s devastating terror attacks against an airport and metro station in Belgium, the U.S. Embassy in Brussels issued a security message for U.S. citizens informing them of the terrorism activity and increased police presence. Their message was clear and concise. They urged citizens to be aware of local events, follow the instructions of local authorities, monitor local media developments, contact family and friends to update them on their safety, and, most importantly, take the appropriate steps to bolster personal security.

While this warning was specifically aimed at Americans in Belgium in the wake of these major attacks, its message has universal applicability. In today’s security environment, travelers must not only seek to maintain an appropriate level of security awareness but also proactively prepare to respond to potential incidents. These same principles of advance planning are used by the U.S. Secret Service and apply to both work related and personal travel. Additionally, preparedness should not be limited to terror attacks or other acts of targeted violence—such as the fatal stabbing of an American graduate student in Israel earlier this month— but also fire and medical emergencies, petty theft, and street crime.

 

To read the full article please go to: The Cipher Brief

Command Consulting Group announced today the expansion of its Security Advisory and Management Services team with the addition of Margaret H. Coggins, Ph.D.

Dr. Coggins joins Command as Senior Advisor following a distinguished 32-year career in Federal law enforcement where she served in senior executive positions for the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) and the United States Secret Service. Dr. Coggins will develop and lead Command’s practice related to the prevention of targeted violence in conjunction with the Firm’s well established threat assessment, protective intelligence, and behavioral analysis services. Her unique expertise and academic credentials provide an invaluable complement to Command’s security and protective operations portfolio.

“We are excited and honored to welcome Margaret Coggins into the Command family,” said Commissioner W. Ralph Basham, former Director of the U.S. Secret Service. “Her expertise in behavioral analysis will be a great addition to our current services and we look forward to launching our new practice.”

Dr. Coggins began her career in Federal law enforcement in 1984 as a psychologist and researcher for the United States Secret Service, where she served as the Chief of the Behavioral Research Program. She was later promoted to various senior management positions within the Office of Protective Research with overall responsibility for directing risk assessment research, providing consultation, and designing training in support of the Secret Service protective mission. Dr. Coggins’s research studying threatening and high-risk behaviors directed toward the President of the United States, other senior level protectees, and her related public policy work, have been published in scientific journals and presented in a variety of academic peer review forums.

Following her tenure with the Secret Service, Dr. Coggins served for 10 years as a Deputy Assistant Director with the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS). There, she managed and directed numerous programs and divisions, including workforce management, executive resources, occupational health, and quality of work life initiatives. Dr. Coggins also directed the Office of Workforce Programs, where she had responsibility for the Ombudsman and Diversity Programs and FAMS operational research initiatives.

Among her accomplishments, Dr. Coggins’s contributions to promoting diversity and inclusion in Federal law enforcement are notable. In 2010, Dr. Coggins was awarded the “Outstanding Advocate for Women in Federal Law Enforcement” award by the Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE) organization. In 2011, Dr. Coggins received the President’s Award for Leadership and Diversity Excellence, from the Arizona Chapter, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the President’s Commendation for Continued Support and Commitment to Diversity from the National Asian Peace Officers Association.

As a business entrepreneur, Dr. Coggins continues her commitment to principles of diversity and inclusion as fundamental to the mission of law enforcement, and to the success of business enterprise. She is a leader dedicated to mentoring young professionals, and she continues her advocacy as a Senior Advisor to the Women in Federal Law Enforcement Foundation. Dr. Coggins’s leadership in this area brings a new dimension to Command, providing a platform going forward to develop minority business enterprise capabilities.

Dr. Coggins earned Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts degrees in psychology from the Catholic University of America. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Dickinson College. She is a native of the Washington, D.C. area.

 

Command Senior Advisor, Mickey Nelson, takes "A Proactive Approach" to sports venue security in a newly published The Cipher Brief article:

Major public venues—from stadiums and arenas to concert halls and convention centers—serve as opportune targets for terrorists and other malevolent individuals seeking to carry out acts of violence against innocent civilians. Over the past decade, attacks against these “soft targets” have been especially common, as they pair high visibility with relatively low site security sophistication.

Most recently, during the November 2015 attacks in Paris, three terrorists clad in explosive vests attempted to attack, among other targets, the Stade de France, the country’s national sports stadium, during a soccer match between the French and German national teams attended by both the French President and the German Foreign Minister. While the attackers were ultimately prevented from entering the stadium—their explosive vests were detonated outside the gates killing themselves and one individual—their actions underscored the dangers that major public venues face and the necessity of implementing effective security measures. 

Given the proliferation of threats in today’s world, securing high profile venues and protecting attendees presents a complex, yet vital challenge. Today’s venue security requires proactive planning and tactics, multi-stakeholder coordination, robust training and exercises for safety and security personnel, and a constantly evolving mentality to counter new and future threats.

 

To read the full article please go to: The Cipher Brief