the CSS
CSS Synagogue
Community Security Service believes that security should never force our communities behind closed doors. Instead, security serves as an enabler of Jewish life, giving congregations the confidence to gather, pray and celebrate openly and proudly.
CSS Synagogue is our flagship program. We provide a tiered, comprehensive and ongoing security framework tailored for entire congregations across all denominations and demographics. The program combines professional-grade tactics with deep community familiarity to transform passive institutions into resilient, active communities.
Our CSS Synagogue Program trains qualified members of your congregation to form professional-grade volunteer security teams. Because these teams are congregants, they leverage an intimate knowledge of your community to identify suspicious behaviors that outsiders miss.
Train
Receive ongoing, tiered training covering advanced access control, emergency response protocols and threat detection.
Connect
Connect with neighboring regional networks for shared intelligence, local operational support and specialized guidance.
Coordinate
Operate in seamless coordination with existing paid security guards and local law enforcement.
In The News
Washington DC arrest? Campus
The Washington Post “Volunteers ‘don’t want to take any chances,’ said Richard Priem, CEO of Community Security Service, a nonprofit that has trained thousands of volunteers…”
Register your Synagogue
For Synagogue Leaders
Why partner with CSS?
CSS is the gold-standard Jewish volunteer security organization. Our professional staff works directly with congregations to train and deploy volunteer security teams. By building an internal safety infrastructure, you ensure your community remains resilient, open and vibrant.
How do we get started?
Register your synagogue and your CSS Regional Director will be in touch with you. CSS professional staff guides your synagogue’s volunteers through the entire process, from initial member recruitment to final team onboarding and deployment.
What does it cost?
CSS Synagogue is free. This includes a minimum of 8 hours instruction for your team, ongoing support, a weekly intelligence brief, access to the CSS information sharing network and more.
For Congregants
What does training involve?
Once your synagogue leadership signs up, individual congregants complete a hybrid training program. This includes a 4-hour, self-paced online course on security fundamentals, followed by a 3-hour, in-person practical certification session. After your team is active, local trainers and CSS leadership provide ongoing advanced training, resources and operational support.
Why should I volunteer?
No one is more invested in your congregation’s safety than you. You know your community’s faces, routines and spaces best, making you the most qualified person to spot when something is out of place. Volunteering with CSS is a meaningful way to turn your natural awareness into an active defense for the people you love.
How do I sign up?
Join your synagogue team to sign up.
Institutional partnership is a prerequisite for individual involvement. A synagogue or organization must formally partner with CSS and launch a program before individual congregants can participate on a synagogue security team.
Words of Support
What Our Community Says
As I think back to some of the greatest success stories of our community, perhaps the highest, most vital, achievement on that list is the establishment of our CSS volunteer team. CSS has quite literally changed the landscape of our community and how we view security and public safety. They are “hands down” the most respected group of people in our shul of 400+ families. This is because of their seriousness, professionalism, self-sacrifice and living embodiment of “Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh Ba’Zeh”. I am appreciate to have the CSS team protecting us, always.
Rabbi of an Orthodox Synagogue
Westchester
I never imagined I could contribute to enhancing the security of our temple. My regular job has no connection to security at all. However, the growing incidents of antisemitism deeply worried me about our community’s safety. Fortunately, the training I received from CSS equipped me with the skills to mobilize a group of dedicated community members. Together, we’ve managed to bolster our security during weekly services. This experience has been profoundly empowering, and it’s heartening to see how our presence brings comfort and reassurance to other community members.
A CSS-trained volunteer at a Reform Temple
Florida
At our congregation, we are thrilled and proud to have our CSS team help provide the initial level of security for our community. To know that we have members of our own community, who have taken the time and made the effort to learn how to best protect our membership is a point of pride for our entire synagogue. With caring, sensitivity and dedication, our CSS members stand up for us at our most vulnerable points and illustrate for all of us that strength and compassion can absolutely work together in one organization. Thank you to our CSS team!
Rabbi of a Conservative Synagogue in New Jersey