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.
Place staff members, volunteers and congregants on your security team.
Identify potential crisis events.
Establish a written security and violent response plan for your organization.
Train greeters and ushers, who are your first line of defense to detect potential threats involving suspicious people, packages and vehicles.
Establish procedures for patrolling exterior and interior areas before, during and after services, as well as during regular business hours.
Conduct a security sweep of the entire building before locking all doors and windows for the day.
Ask members to help keep an eye on the property during off hours and report unusual activities to law enforcement.
Conduct periodic safety surveys of all buildings and grounds.
Keep written records of conditions and corrective actions noted during periodic safety surveys of all buildings and grounds.
Call police if a suspicious person is on your property and let the police investigate the situation.
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.