It’s hard to avoid reports of crime in the news these days. It seems no one is immune to violence, faith-based organizations included. Creating a security team at your place of worship, however, can go a long way toward ensuring the safety of your employees, members and guests.
Here are tips for creating your security team, putting a plan of action in place and setting standards for its operations.
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Place staff members, volunteers and congregants on your security team.
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Identify potential crisis events.
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Establish a written security and violent response plan for your organization.
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Train greeters and ushers, who are your first line of defense to detect potential threats involving suspicious people, packages and vehicles.
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Establish procedures for patrolling exterior and interior areas before, during and after services, as well as during regular business hours.
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Conduct a security sweep of the entire building before locking all doors and windows for the day.
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Ask members to help keep an eye on the property during off hours and report unusual activities to law enforcement.
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Conduct periodic safety surveys of all buildings and grounds.
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Keep written records of conditions and corrective actions noted during periodic safety surveys of all buildings and grounds.
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Call police if a suspicious person is on your property and let the police investigate the situation.
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Establish your organization’s position regarding on-site armed protection.
To access additional information, resources, tips and more for houses of worship, visit blog.churchmutual.com/religious.
