Clarence M. Kelley & Associates

What Clarence M. Kelley & Associates does

Clarence M. Kelley & Associates (CMKA) is a privately held professional services firm founded in 1982 by Clarence M. Kelley, former Director of the FBI (1973-1978) and Kansas City Police Chief (1961-1973), and headquartered in Grandview, Missouri. The firm operates three integrated service lines: Investigations (insurance, legal, corporate/internal theft, and individual/contact tracing), Security (executive protection, workplace violence intervention, hostile employee termination support, TSCM bug sweeps, premium guard services, site security assessments, and event security management), and Training (active shooter intruder response, conflict management, train-the-trainer programs, plus sector-specific curricula for healthcare, school, and faith-based organizations). Delivery is staffed by former FBI agents, IRS agents, military investigators from the Air Force OSI, Army CID, Naval Investigative Service, and Defense Intelligence Agency, as well as former Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, and Highway Patrol officers.

The business model is professional services sold to enterprise and government clients on a project or retainer basis, with no public pricing. The go-to-market is direct B2B field sales targeting corporate, healthcare, educational, faith-based, and government/military buyers; the firm highlights Fortune 100 corporations, the U.S. Government, and the U.S. Military among named customer segments. There is no proprietary technology platform, software product, or app, and revenue is generated by billable investigator and trainer hours, training program fees, and security service engagements.

Since approximately 2019, CMKA has operated as a subsidiary of Strategos International, which was founded in 2002 and claims combined training of more than 250,000 people across 15 countries, including more than 30,000 educators in Active Shooter Intruder Response since 2002. Vaughn Baker serves as President of the combined entity, with Mark Warren as Executive Vice President and Barry Young as Vice President of Operations for Strategos International; former CEO Todd Dupriest retired at the time of the merger. The firm is privately held with no disclosed funding, investors, or revenue figures.

Name

Clarence M. Kelley & Associates

Legal name

Clarence M. Kelley & Associates

Website

https://cmka.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clarence M. Kelley & Associates is a Grandview, Missouri-based investigative, security consulting, and training firm serving corporations, healthcare, schools, faith-based organizations, and government clients, staffed by former FBI, IRS, and military investigators. It operates as a subsidiary of Strategos International.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investigative and Security Services

NAICS

Investigation, Guard, and Armored Car Services (56161), Security Guards and Patrol Services (561612), Investigation and Security Services (5616), Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAKAOAH

Security Risk Assessment, Auditing & Security Consulting Training

Business & Public Services/Security & Investigations Services/Training & Certification for Security Personnel

SECONDARYEDAOAMAG

Executive Protection & Close Protection Training

Education/Vocational, Technical & Trade Education/Protective Services & Public Safety Training

SECONDARYBPAKAOAI

Investigations, Interviewing & Surveillance Training

Business & Public Services/Security & Investigations Services/Training & Certification for Security Personnel

SECONDARYEDAOAMAF

Private Security, Guarding & Patrol Training

Education/Vocational, Technical & Trade Education/Protective Services & Public Safety Training

SECONDARYBPAKAOAC

Executive Protection (Close Protection) Training & Certification

Business & Public Services/Security & Investigations Services/Training & Certification for Security Personnel

Keywords

• Investigative services
• Security consulting
• Executive protection
• Active shooter training
• Workplace violence prevention

Headquarters

HQ city

Independence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Investigative Services: Professional investigative services including surveillance, insurance investigations (workers comp, fraud, fire origin and cause), legal investigations (computer forensics, financial crimes, litigation support), and corporate internal theft investigations. Primarily project-based or retainer arrangements for B2B clients.
2. Security Services: Security services including executive protection, site security assessments, event security management, workplace violence intervention, hostile employee termination support, bug sweeps TSCM, and premium guard services. Delivered by former law enforcement and military personnel.
3. Training Services: Training programs across corporate, healthcare, school, and faith-based sectors including active shooter response, workplace violence prevention, de-escalation, and security certification courses. Offered in various durations from 2-hour sessions to 5-day train-the-trainer courses.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Clarence M. Kelley & Associates provides investigative, security, and training services to enterprise clients. Investigations cover insurance fraud and surveillance, legal computer forensics and litigation support, corporate internal theft, and individual cases including contact tracing. Security services include executive protection, workplace violence intervention, hostile employee termination support, bug sweeps (TSCM), premium guard services, site security assessments, and event security management. Training programs include active shooter intruder response, de-escalation, train-the-trainer certification, and sector-specific curricula for corporate, healthcare, school, and faith-based organizations.

Product overview

Clarence M. Kelley & Associates is a professional investigative and security consulting firm offering an integrated platform of services. The company operates three core service lines: (1) Investigations Services covering insurance, legal, corporate, and individual investigations including contact tracing; (2) Security Services encompassing executive protection, workplace violence intervention, hostile employee termination support, bug sweeps/TSCM, premium guard services, site security assessments, and event security management; and (3) Training Services providing active shooter intruder response, conflict management (S.A.F.E. Approach), train-the-trainer programs, and specialized training for healthcare, school, and faith-based sectors. The company is a subsidiary of Strategos International, combining six decades of combined experience in security consulting, tactical training, surveillance, and executive protection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investigations Services Full range of investigative solutions including general surveillance, fire investigation, cyber forensics, and financial crimes investigation for enterprise, insurance, legal, and individual clients.
• Insurance Investigations Investigative services for the insurance sector including surveillance, workers comp claims investigation, fraud detection, and fire origin and cause determination.
• Legal Investigations Legal-sector investigations including computer forensics, financial crimes investigation, and litigation support services for law firms and corporate counsel.
• Corporate Investigations Internal theft investigation services for corporate clients to identify, document, and address employee fraud and asset loss.
• Contact Tracing Investigations

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9 out of 5.0 stars rating from a Division of Homeland Security for school training program - highest rating ever given to a school intruder response program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Strategos InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategos International merged with Clarence M. Kelley & Associates, combining six decades of experience. Strategos, founded in 2002, has provided security training to more than 250,000 people in 15 countries. The merger allows CMKA clients and Strategos clients to benefit from increased expertise and experience. Vaughn Baker serves as President of the combined entity, and Mark Warren as Executive Vice President. Barry Young is Vice President of Operations for Strategos International.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Allied Universal: Allied Universal is one of the largest security services companies in North America, providing uniformed guards, security consulting, and investigations. It competes with CMKA on premium guard services and event security at much greater scale.
• FTI Consulting: FTI Consulting is a global advisory firm with a significant investigations and forensic practice alongside restructuring and economic consulting. While much larger and broader than CMKA, its corporate investigations and litigation support offerings compete for the same enterprise client wallet.

Emerging players

• Navigate360: Navigate360 provides K-12 school safety software, training, and advisory services including active shooter preparedness and behavior threat assessment. It competes with CMKA's school safety vertical through a more software-enabled delivery model.
• ALERRT (Texas State University): ALERRT is the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training center at Texas State University, widely recognized as the leading civilian active-shooter response training program. It competes directly with CMKA's school, healthcare, and corporate ASIR training offerings.

Direct peers

• Kroll: Kroll is a global investigations, security consulting, and risk advisory firm offering fraud investigations, litigation support, executive protection, and security consulting to corporations, governments, and law firms. It is the most direct comparison to CMKA in the high-end investigations and security consulting market.
• Control Risks: Control Risks is a global security and intelligence consultancy providing security consulting, investigations, executive protection, and crisis response to enterprise clients. Its premium positioning and corporate client base align closely with CMKA's enterprise-focused service mix.
• Pinkerton: Pinkerton is a longstanding investigations and security services firm providing corporate investigations, surveillance, fraud detection, executive protection, and security consulting. Pinkerton's insurance investigations and corporate internal theft practices directly mirror CMKA's core offerings.
• Guidepost Solutions: Guidepost Solutions is a global investigations, security consulting, and monitoring firm with practices in fraud investigations, litigation support, and physical security consulting. Its mix of investigations, security consulting, and federal-law-enforcement talent mirrors CMKA's positioning.
• Hillard Heintze: Hillard Heintze is a security and investigations consultancy providing threat management, protective services, investigations, and security consulting to corporations, institutions, and government. Its mid-sized, talent-led model closely resembles CMKA's structure and customer mix.

Regional players

• Hilltop Securities / Total Protection Solutions (placeholder - using Threat Assessment & Safety Solutions as comparable niche peer): Threat Assessment & Safety Solutions is a smaller regional competitor focused on workplace violence prevention, behavioral threat assessment, and active shooter training for schools, healthcare, and corporate clients. It competes with CMKA in adjacent geographies on similar training content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clarence M. Kelley & Associates