FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)Jon Krieger is taking his law enforcement experience and using it to start his own business. Mr. Krieger and Scott Wendell have formed Defender One, a security company that specializes in providing security for synagogues and Jewish gatherings.
Mr. Krieger and Mr. Wendell launched Defender One last July after three months of preparation, which included obtaining the required licensing from the Maryland State Police and background checks for such a business.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 18 years,” said Mr. Krieger, 41, a supervisor with the Baltimore County Police Department. Married and a father, he lives in Reisterstown and belongs to Beth El Congregation.
“I had an idea for a security company, but I needed someone with a business background,” said Mr. Krieger, who plans to use active and retired law enforcement officers from area departments for the security details.
That’s where Mr. Wendell, 42, came in. Married and a father, he lives in Owings Mills and attends Beth Israel Congregation. He also is the chief operating officer of Resource Real Estate Services, a title insurance company.
The two are related by marriage. “We’re sort of second cousins by marriage,” said Mr. Krieger, whose wife, Jennifer, and Mr. Wendell’s wife, Michele, comprise the office staff, along with one salesman.
Marketing efforts for Defender One focus on special events, hotels and commercial sites such as apartment buildings.
“A lot of venues want security,” Mr. Krieger said. For events like banquets and conferences, he added, “some of the venues make it a requirement.”
Defender One also is looking for business among the congregations and for Jewish life cycle events such as b’nai mitzvah and weddings.
“We are competing with several companies, but we haven’t run into competition where we are going—to the shuls and the events that go on at the shuls,” Mr. Krieger said.
Gilbert Kleiner, executive director of Beth El, noted that the company has done some work for the synagogue and was “experienced with [congregational] situations. They have trained police officers. There was a comfort level [using the company].”
As Mr. Wendell added, the Jewish community is “where we feel we have a leg up. Because we are local and in the Jewish community ourselves, we understand the do’s and don’ts.”
Security has even become standard at life cycle events, partly to make sure that no unauthorized people enter, Mr. Krieger explained. It’s also a matter of oversight to make sure things don’t get out of hand with what can be 40 or 50 kids at the event, he added.
Mr. Krieger called Defender One a “service-based company.” Contracts depend on what a client wants. Fees are likely to be based on an hourly rate, with a minimum of four hours, and at a cost that is competitive, he added.
Mr. Krieger said he is talking to the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore about its security needs, as well as congregations and the businesses with which Mr. Wendell has a relationship.