Overhauled – 2/1/12. Look for the resource of your interest in red letters.
Most recent additions still in highlight for easy locating
Disclaimer Notice on tips & resources: Two of the best contacts for a church security / safety planner are an attorney and an insurance agent. All suggestions on this site are at risk of being legal in one jurisdiction but not another, acceptable by one insurance underwriter and not another. Always be certain to confirm regional legality and insurance coverage compliance before implementing any practice.
I am so grateful for those of you who have freely shared what you do in a way that others can learn from. Keep those comments coming! cdchinn@msn.com.
Conferences Coming Soon
A church security conference is a great way to see the larger picture of what others have done, get to know like-minded professionals, and learn ways to make your program more effective. Following are conferences, events or classes coming up. Ones in which I will be speaking are numbered.
June 21st, 2012 – San Diego, CA
San Diego second annual National Church Security Event
June 22nd and / or 23rd
– Katy, TX -- St. Peter's United Methodist
Church
1. May 11th and 12th
2012 – Carrolton, TX –NOCSSM -- Called 2 Duty
2.
May 23rd, 2012 – Colorado Springs, CO – NORAD /
US NORTHCOM RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS CONFERENCE
3.
June 9th, 2012 – Colorado Springs,
CO – Calvary Worship Center (closed meeting)
4.
January 28, 2013 – Topeka, KS – KS
Sheriff’s Association
If you would like for me to come speak at an event in your city, please contact me directly at cdchinn@msn.com.
Organizations, Associations and Speakers
I am glad to recommend the following;
National Organization of Church Security & Safety Management: NATIONAL Chuck Chadwick is devoted 100% to U.S. based church security and safety, operating in that specific realm longer than any organization I know of. Get plugged into this association soon.
Crisis Consulting International; INTERNATIONAL This group led by Bob Creson and Bob Klamser has been in the business of protecting Christians for over 25 years. Their focus is a little different than NOCSSM -- they are the premier alliance for international outreach efforts.
Tina Lewis Rowe: DENVER AREA Tina is a former US Marshall and her insight in security is right on. She will send you the document “Security Concerns for Churches – the Role of Ushers and Greeters” for free, but you have to ask her for it through her website.
Guardian Angel -- Church Security Training: PACIFIC NORTHWEST A great resource in the northwest U.S. region (Spokane area). Kevin Bennett is a law enforcement professional who has developed his passion for making churches safer. Visit his site today and get connected.
www.securityatchurch.com: CAPITAL BELTWAY Brian Gallagher’s continuing experience as a federal agent contributes very well to the professionalism he offers to those who may be trying to develop and / or enhance their church security plan.
www.copandcross.org: SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S. Texas police officer Jimmy Meeks has unique dual careers of ministry and law enforcement. He delivers an impassioned, Christ centered, ordained message on why security is appropriate in a church environment.
Christian Organization Protection Network: GREAT LAKES REGION COPN is a networking coalition of area faith-based security operators. It is an organized member driven association to help Christian organizations improve safety and security.
Tips
Current concerns and assignments should be discussed in a security team meeting before events begin. If a specific threat or concern is known, share information on such with the group
Many larger law enforcement agencies do not allow officers to serve as security volunteers when they are off-duty. However, extra-duty agreements are often an option with those agencies. There are often officers willing to serve from smaller jurisdictions in the region that do not have no-voluntary-service employment clauses.
Try to organize volunteers into two teams – odd & even – each of which serves only on the Sundays with odd or even dates. This way you don’t burn out volunteers, and they are able to attend service with their family every other Sunday. A few times a year (on months with 5 Sundays) they need to work two weekends in a row
CCTV (surveillance) systems not only deter crime and capture incidents, but verify what didn’t happen as well as (critical in false accusation cases).
Intrusion detection systems can be integrated with automated lighting controls. For example -- when a door is forced, window broken or motion sensors are activated at night, all exterior building lights and the parking lot lights can come on. Lights always on can be almost as vulnerable as lights never on. But lights that come on due to some action catch the attention of both perps and night-time patrolling officers.
Pre-alarm covers on pull stations prevent most nuisance fire alarms. In addition, you may check with your fire alarm system provider regarding PAS (Positive Alarm Sequence) programming. This allows operations staff 180 seconds to investigate any alarm before the horns go off. The fire department will require evidence of effective staff training on fire alarms, which is a mandated benefit.
If you knew or should have known that a person had the potential and / or history of harming children, you may be liable. Beyond that man-made legal mandate is the far more important God-given order to look after those little ones with sincerity. When it comes to sexual predators -- you won’t recognize them when you see them. Develop recurring background investigations for all volunteers and all staff regardless of whether their position is related to children, youth or vulnerable adults because all staff and volunteers will be around them in some way at some time.
A car broken into in a church parking lot is a serious issue. Police should always be notified instantly, as these thieves often take information from the vehicle registration to determine the home of the owner – drawing a conclusion that the home will be unguarded then, or at the same time in future weeks. In some cases, they take the garage door opener and before the investigation is over at the parking lot, they are already in the home. As a precaution, vehicle registration and other owner address information should be kept in a secure place in the vehicle.
Don’t re-invent the entire wheel when developing a security program. Local ordinances often require Shelter in Place, Emergency Action or Security Plans for schools. Police school resource officers will often share relative school district programs when asked.
Keep an incident log of medical emergencies, and quickly pass on the names of any persons treated for medical issues to pastoral staff for prompt personal follow-up ministry.
Build procedures manuals as you go. As an incident occurs, respond based on the needs of that incident. After an event, decide what lessons learned from that event that should be documented in a way to add or revise a procedure. Keep the document small and simple – no more than one page for every category.
The best eyes on the audience are those of the announcer, Senior Pastor or Song Leader (depending on the time of service). When and of these folks see something that may need the attention of security, they can point with a unique gesture (not a normal gesture for them). To anyone in the audience, it simply looks like a normal speaking hand gesture. To those in security, you will know where to focus attention.
You can train receptionists to make an announcement to equally trained staff responders over the intercom system of “Tom Smith, you have a call on line 1” any time a situation is making her uncomfortable at the front lobby. Choose any name that is not someone working for you – it is an announcement requesting assistance.
Risk & Vulnerability Assessments are critical as a first step in developing any security program. Law enforcement and insurance agencies both perform them without charge. It is good to modify one (after the first one done by others) to repeat annually to record progress and make certain nothing has slipped.
Event agitators are often either fishing for infractions, or getting media attention with a church as a background. Be intentional and educated in readiness for such actions. For a guide on readiness, write me and request the Best Practice for Agitators, disturbances and protests.
Resources
Jim McGuffey's Church Security Tips : Blog / tips / articles. Jim’s website as a great resource. His understanding of church administration is remarkable, and his insights on how security dovetails into a good church plan are very good.
Inner Voice Solutions Comprehensive Security Plan model, on-site training. Todd Evans is a close friend, dedicated to law enforcement and security in church and school settings. Check out his story and great solutions for developing a plan on his website.
www.sentryoneconsulting.com Church Security plan starter kit, on-site training. These folks also have a strong law-enforcement background. I have read through their starter-kit, and feel it is a very good “bang for the buck”.
Gone in a Heartbeat, (book): In spite of our best security efforts, bad things can still happen. After starting our security team in 2005, my home church suffered three progressively worse incidents in less than a 2 year period - each so significant it made the previous one pale in comparison. On March 13th, 2006 we discovered our Church had been broken into and the Sunday offering stolen. Then on November 2nd, 2006 the news broke that our senior pastor (Ted Haggard) was involved with methamphetamines and a male prostitute. The worst occurred just a little over a year later when a gunman came on December 9th, 2007. While it is true that our security stopped that attack very quickly, he had already taken the lives of two innocent girls and wounded two others in our parking lot. One of the healthiest perspectives I have ever read concerning how we deal with tragedy came from the father and mother of those girls (David and Marie Works). To keep the perspective of what is really important regarding those we protect I recommend their book, "Gone in a Heartbeat". I was particularly moved by the reference to Proverbs 16:9, "...man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps". A similar CD available by request from Focus on the Family, entitled "Two Families United in Tragedy I-II" is the incredible interview between the parents of the killer and the parents of the victims available at Focus on the Family -- Murray and Works family interviews
Active Shooter Defense Tactics: endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security.
Appropriate & Effective Security Technologies -- Guide for Schools and Law Enforcement by the National Institute of Justice.
BENEVOLENCE PROGRAMS A great website for ideas on setting up or restructuring benevolence procedures can be found on Larry Burkett’s website at http://www.crown.org/pamphlets/pdfs/Benevolence.pdf
C. E. R. T. (Community Emergency Response Teams) is a 2-day training program designed for civilian readiness. Local CERT trainers will often organize a class made up of just interested church congregants in your area.
IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association). Great competitive shooting and training resource to consider as continuing nature training.
Krav Maga is an Israeli based defensive tactic program.
Consider the services of Secure Search for background investigations.
Develop, maintain and enforce strict codes of conduct designed around keeping children safe. Become familiar with both the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People as well as the Boy Scouts of America, Codes of Conduct. Each of these provide excellent insight into the prevention of child abuse by persons in a position of trust, and the Catholic charter document provides lessons learned regarding how to handle it when a case is discovered.
www.missingkids.com; Great model for missing / lost Children. Order the free Code Adam procedures from this National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) website and modify it to fit your environment.
There are two primary ways of security personnel identification – uniformed, or non-uniformed. Non-uniformed is preferred in almost all ministry environments. Should a significant incident develop, there will be a need for identification as first responders arrive – they must be able to distinguish between the good and bad human elements on scene. Badges are good, but in a high-adrenalin incident they won’t be seen. Following are some options;
www.cppssite.com Their DVD entitled, “Shots Fired -- Surviving An Active Shooter in the Work Place” is the best work I have ever seen on the subject. They address both active shooter scenarios as well as hostage incidents. I have experienced both, and their training is right on.
Active Shooter -- How to Respond is a “flip book” of information regarding concepts from early recognition / intervention up to conducting after action reviews (AAR’s) for lessons learned. I also have a one page summary poster of this that I will be glad to e-mail you for free if you write and request it.
ESI (Executive Security International): ESI has been training private security concepts longer than anyone else I am aware of (since 1980). I personally know church and other security experts who were trained by these seasoned professionals, and recommend them with no fear.
SALTO. IP based, wire-free keyless lock system. Very economical access control. Their electronic option for lock replacements with no wiring is outstanding.
Automated Alarm Notifications: Instant notification of alarms is critical in all environments. Duress buttons (panic alarms) can instantly alert in-house support and / or notify law enforcement. There are multiple ways of accomplishing this.