Worship Security Teams Are Vitally Important
Every year or so, we are reading about deadly confrontations happening at Houses of Worship throughout the United States. We've seen people of the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Faith attacked while in the act of worship. Each of these incidents are tragic, unfortunate, and most likely unavoidable as Bad People do Bad things. You can however mitigate the damage and save lives in the process by adding Security at your Services.
Security Teams don't need to be paid Professionals, though we do encourage you to hire an Off Duty Law Enforcement Officer. Law Enforcement Officers are capable professionals who provide invaluable experience should a situation arise. Additionally, Law Enforcement can quickly get additional assistance on-site and will be invaluable in helping you coordinate your immediate response. Your Security Team should also include at least two people working the parking lot and two people per building in use. There are a number of great resources available on how to train your Security Team including Lion Heart International Services Group. The number one priority for your Security Team is group communication.
Why Group Communication?
Your Security Team has a 50% chance of keeping a Lunatic off Campus. Once on campus, the effectiveness of your response minimizes and ultimately eliminates the Threat. Cellular phones don't work fast enough and alarms create panic. Two Way Radios are critical to getting information to key people so your Emergency Plan can be put into place. Using two way radios, your entire Security Team can be instantly notified of the situation and can immediately take action to protect those in their area by locking doors, starting evacuations, and notifying Law Enforcement. Cellular phones are limited because you can only call one person at a time and they've got to answer. 15 seconds is a long time when an incident is underway. Air Horns and other Alarms create panic and do not communicate what needs to happen. Your response to a Child Custody Situation doesn't require the same response as an active shooter.
5 Simple Things To Do Today to Protect your Campus
1. Start a Worship Security Team
2. Create Scenarios and Responses to the most likely security threats you might face. I suggest: Active Shooter, Child Custody, and Domestic Violence as three key threats.
3. Post Law Enforcement Contact Numbers in key locations around Campus.
4. Identify Law Enforcement Members who are currently attending and get them involved in your Security Planning.
5. Purchase Two Way Radios for your Campus.
Motorola and Kenwood Two Way Radios are very popular two way radios being used in Churches around the United States for their Security Teams to communicate. Should you need some additional ideals on how to integrate walkie talkies into your Security Team, reach out to me. I am happy to share ideas and best practices on how two way radios can work to keep your congregation safer while also serving as a tool to make your ministry more effective. A typical budget for purchasing two way radios is about $1,000. The Motorola CLS1410 is a great starting point for most.
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