Shelton, Conn., July 2, 2007. Committed to recognizing outstanding women in investigations, SSC, Inc. (SSC), the leader in security in the tri-state region, today announced a promotion and award for two female employees.
Jennifer Cludinski, who began her career at SSC, Inc. in 1996 as a uniformed guard, was promoted to Senior Investigator, effective immediately. Cludinski will oversee SSC's pre-employment screening programs. SSC Chief Investigator Bonnie Tuskowski was awarded the Outstanding Investigator Award for her high-level of achievement in corporate due diligence investigations. Tuskowski is a member of SSC's investigative services unit.
"SSC is privileged to have two extraordinary women investigators," said David A. Linsky, SSC Chief Executive Officer. "Both Jennifer and Bonnie are tremendously talented and dedicated and have solved some especially challenging cases."
"We are also delighted to be part of a trend of an increase in women investigators," said Linsky. "Women often have an edge over men in undercover operations since they are rarely suspected to be investigators."
"In a decade, our graduate level investigative programs have gone from mostly male to 95 percent female," said Dr. Al Harper, Director of the Dr.Henry Lee Institute of Forensic Science at the University of New Haven. "This demographic shift is having a major impact on the investigations field No longer are our graduates going into the police force, but these highly trained women are bringing their unique mix of scientific and intuitive skills into investigative work with private industry."
The number of female private investigators is on a continuing rise, representing an estimated 15% of the approximate 60,000 private investigators in the United States, according to Private Investigator magazine.
"Jennifer's exceptional work with SSC was one of the main reasons we felt confident she would be the best fit for this position," said Michael G. Burbage, CPP, SSC President. "Seeing an employee work their way up the ladder, as Jennifer has, is extremely inspiring."
"Since 9/11, the Investigations Department has seen a real surge in companies doing background checks," said Cludinski. "I'd say our workload has doubled, so it's an exciting time to be in the field."
Cludinski, 30, of Hartford County, previously worked in retail loss prevention as an undercover operative for retailers, including Ames, Bradlees and Stop and Shop. During a subsequent stint in SSC's HR department, she assisted with background checks, piquing her interest in investigations. Cludinski has a paralegal degree from Branford Hall Career Institute, Southington, Conn.
"Jennifer's unique background makes her ideal for the Senior Investigator position," explained John Fretts, Director of Investigations. "Not only must a Senior Investigator screen potential employees for consumers, but also must act as an advisor to human resource departments on related issues, including legal issues."
Tuskowski, 45, of Fairfield County, conducts high-level due diligence, intellectual property and asset-based investigations, as well as providing litigation support, as a Chief Investigator for SSC.
"Bonnie won't rest until the job is done," said Paul Krupinski, Manager of SSC's Investigation Division. "We felt this award was a wonderful way of showing Bonnie our appreciation of her hard work at SSC."
Tuskowski, a former Connecticut State Trooper, entered the Connecticut State Police Academy as one of only 10 females, among 120 recruits in 1983. Upon graduation in May of 1983, she became one of 20 uniformed female Troopers among the Department's 1,000 Troopers in the state.
"During my 20 years of experience, I saw more and more females start entering security-related careers that were stereotypically male," said Tuskowski. "Knowing that the amount of women in both the state police and in private security companies, like SSC, has almost quadrupled since I started makes me incredibly proud."
At the state police, Tuskowski, worked as a Community Resource Officer, and worked in the Special Licensing and Firearms Unit. She has been employed at SSC since 2003.
SSC, a leader in security in the tri-state area, provides a full range of security solutions using a unique multi-disciplinary approach. It prides itself on providing "international experience at the local level." SSC's services include uniformed security, computer forensics, security consulting/vulnerability assessment, security systems integration, professional investigations, security training, computer and network security and risk consulting. Found in 1975 as Security Services of Connecticut, Inc., the company is privately-owned. More information can be found at www.sscinvestigations.com.
