Jersey Shore Security Company Aims To Provide Peace Of Mind

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Seemingly every week there is a report of a shooting somewhere in the United States. At a school. At a church. At a store.

"People are afraid to go to the mall, to go to school and teach," said Kelly Conklin, owner of Superior Protection Professionals, a firm that provides private security protection for a variety of situations.

"Letting them have a clear mind and a sense of safety while they're studying, working or praying is important," he said. "We can provide safety and protection to locations to give people that sense of safety back."

Conklin, a retired Toms River police officer, started the security company because he wanted to do something that would have a positive, meaningful impact on people's lives. It was something he had been thinking about for some time, but the ongoing issues with shootings all over the country pushed him to act.

"People are in church praying," he said, referring to the recent shooting at a church in Texas where two people were killed just before New Year's. "That’s supposed to be the most peaceful time of the day. And now someone is shooting them."

The shooter in the Texas church was killed by church security. He had been to the church multiple times asking for cash and grew angry when they wouldn't give him any, according to a Fox report.

It was having the church security that prevented it from being a larger tragedy, Conklin said, noting the security guard was a retired FBI agent.

Anger is a common factor in shootings, especially workplace shootings, Conklin noted. One of the services Superior Protection Professionals provides is security during high-risk terminations, which is when a company fires someone and believes they could retaliate.

"People don't realize you can hire security in those (short-term) situations," he said. Instead, employers will often just deal with fear of what could possibly happen.

An NBC report on mass killings in the United States in 2019 noted that most of those killings involved people who knew each other, including people angry with co-workers. While they are still relatively rare events, they can and do happen everywhere, Conklin noted.

"It's easy to think it will happen to the other guy, but the other guy is thinking the same thing about you," he said.

The Superior Protection Professionals staff is retired law enforcement officers, Conklin said, and they uphold the standards they had as active law enforcement.

"We're all about professionalism," he said. "There's a price and integrity in what we do."

In addition to providing security for companies in a high-risk termination situation, Conklin said they provide armed security for offices, retail businesses, places of worship and schools. They also offer private investigation services. The company is licensed through the New Jersey State Police, and fully insured and bonded.

"The likelihood of something happening is low, but you want people to feel safe so they can go about their business," Conklin said. "It's protection for people who need it and allows them to have peace of mind while we’re there."

Conklin can be reached by email at kpconklin209@gmail.com or by phone at 908-783-1939.