Three Approaches To Securing Your Church

• Firearm or weapon-related incidents are a potential risk but not the most common. You must be prepared for the absolute worst because they can happen at any time, but these are not everyday occurrences for most churches at this point.
• Most church security-related incidents involve disruptions to the service, domestic disputes, disgruntled church members, demonic influence, and medical emergencies. To effectively de-escalate, observe and identify potential threats before they become threats, interview persons of interest to determine if they are a potential threat, and identify people in medical distress and care for them while waiting for paramedics to arrive require specific skill sets. You may encounter someone influenced demonically so having a security person who is a mature Christian and equipped to deal with these issues is a tremendous benefit. These skill sets must be learned and then trained on a frequent basis to maintain proficiency. You must first know your needs, and potential needs, before you choose a solution to meet those needs.
• A good security solution protects the church’s interests as well as the people and property. They should tour the site and building, looking for hazards, abandoned packages or bags, broken glass, and broken doors that should lock but don’t. They should monitor social media to identify anyone making disparaging remarks or posting threats or other content that is concerning. The pastoral leadership should be provided some level of protection, physically but also in prayer, by the person anointed and given the authority to protect the church and pastor. A good security solution gets ahead of problems, anticipates issues like dissent, gossip, strained relationships in the church, and the sharing of sensitive information.
• Liability is always an issue in America, and oddly, it’s an issue that tends to get the least amount of attention when it comes to a security solution. Your security solution is acting on your behalf, so liability is shared, and the character and background of a security solution is vital. Insurance, and not just general and professional liability, but specific coverage for the level of security solution you have on site. Armed security, Law Enforcement, or volunteer safety most likely all require some level of specific liability insurance so the church is covered in any sort of event.

Three Security Options: Pros and Cons

• Easy and simple. An officer shows up when you need them and goes home when their contracted time frame has lapsed.
• They park their marked law enforcement vehicle out front, which is a tremendous deterrent, and you have a professional and community-trusted protector on site in full uniform.
• If there are problems, they can call for backup, and if they feel the need, they can have other units patrol the area if they see something suspicious.
• You have the peace of mind that a trained professional is dealing with any issues, and once the officer is involved in an incident, the liability for the officer’s actions shifts to the law enforcement agency.
• If you have a smaller church, this is probably your best option. You must consider the cost of insurance if you choose an armed volunteer safety team or contracted armed security.
•  Con:

• This is usually the most expensive solution.
• On occasion, we have experienced officers who are not attentive, stand around talking, or are on their phones, as some of them view the extra duty as nothing more than spare income and assume it will be a low-key assigment. Many churches don’t care and are just happy to have an officer present in case of problems. But if you expect someone to proactively protect your church, it can be hit or miss contracting off-duty law enforcement.
• We have experienced times when a contracted deputy was called away by the agency dispatcher to assist on an emergency call, leaving us with no coverage and vulnerable. They are law enforcement officers serving the community first, contracted security second.
• You also may get an officer who does not share your faith and is insensitive to customs and behaviors that may offend.
• As a house of God, we welcome the broken, the struggling, the lost, and oftentimes these are the folks that find themselves in conflict with law enforcement. We want them to be in church to have an encounter with the Lord where a law enforcement officer sees a person that is potentially an unwanted guest.
• If you prefer to contract law enforcement, I suggest you have volunteer ushers or safety team members who are the first contact for any issues and utilize the contracted law enforcement officer as support when needed. This minimizes the last two sensitive issues listed above.

• There are security agencies that specialize in providing armed and unarmed security for houses of worship that are specifically trained to function effectively in that environment, aware of sensitivities, friendly and approachable, helpful, and highly professional
• Some Private Security Specialists hold their officers to a higher standard than state law requires for licensing. Some agency owners and security operators train far more frequently than your average law enforcement officer and train on advanced tactics more frequently, such as active shooter response. Most specialists are ex-law enforcement or ex-military and are highly experienced security operators.
• If you can secure a company that employs specialists, they tend to be extra-vigilant, proactive, and more flexible with their time on site. This kind of work is their bread and butter, so they tend to be more committed to pleasing the client.
• The billing rate is typically less per hour than contracting off-duty law enforcement officers.
• Typically, the operators with the skills and training you want will be the ones assigned to your site. They come to know your congregation and more easily identify anomalies in behavior. They also learn your site intimately so they can train on the range and on tactics specific to your site, giving them the home field advantage in an attack.
• If you have access to a security agency that provides highly trained specialists, then this is a very good option. You get an in-house security team without the need to recruit, train, outfit, and manage the team.

• If you do not have access to highly trained security specialists, you may find it challenging to find the level of protection you need. Many agencies are generalists who don’t pay their officers very well, or treat them well, so their attrition rate is very high. We call them “warm body” agencies because the criteria for getting hired is minimal. That can mean poor service, incidents being improperly dealt with, and, therefore, create more problems than if they weren’t there. I would suggest interviewing the security officers that will be working at your site before agreeing to a contract.
• The church will need specialized insurance with coverage beyond general and professional liability, including coverage for things like battery, false arrest, etc.. Consult your insurance carrier before you contract any security services. You will need to determine if you are able to secure the right insurance and, if so, what it will cost.

• A volunteer safety team that is called by God to serve in this capacity is the most highly motivated of the three options. This is their church, their family, their friends, their pastors, and their house. Everyone selected to serve knows each other, and so the team comes together and works like a unit very quickly.
• Team members socialize, help each other in times of need, their wives are friends, and their kids play together. This becomes a ministry of men who challenge each other to move in excellence, who support each other, and build each other up so they can all be at their very best and work in a spirit of excellence.
• The site is home base for them, so they know every inch, every room, every lock, and every hallway. They know if the doors swing inward or outward, and which walls and structures provide cover in the event of a gunfight. They also know everyone in the church, so new faces or anomalies are spotted immediately and monitored. They can approach a stranger to welcome them and, through conversation, gain a sense of anything that should concern us from a security perspective. The motivation to protect never weakens, and the church members feel very comfortable being protected by their own congregation members.
• Team members socialize with others in the church through small groups, events, and activities in the church, so changing perspectives from resisting security measures to being grateful for them comes far easier.
• Con:
  

• Insurance costs for an armed safety team can be expensive, but it is well worth the investment. You need specific insurance beyond general and professional liablity to cover an armed safety team.
• You should assign a team leader or director of security to administer scheduling, training, maintaining any certifications, and liaising with Pastoral leadership. This position can easily consume 10-20 hours per week and sometimes more. Consider paying a security director a part-time salary so they can justify the time investment required to maintain sufficient records, investigations, and reports, develop policies, provide in-house training, briefings, and updates, and minister to team members when needed.
• Training is a must, as is a minimum annual firearm qualification for all armed team members. Training and personnel records must be kept on file for every team member in the event of a civil or criminal action involving a team member or members.  These services can be contracted, or if you have someone on the team with the appropriate instructor certifications, their services can be contracted or volunteered.
• The safety team leader and the senior pastor may have vicarious liability (they are held as responsible as the team member) if they knowingly assign a team member to a role on the team and they are involved in an incident where they act or fail to act and civil or criminal charges are brought against the team member. Appropriate training and record-keeping are vital to prove that the church took every step possible to ensure the volunteer was properly trained and qualified to perform their duties. This involves work and responsibility, but this approach provides you with the best option for protection in the long run.In Summary:
  Protecting your church is a significant responsibility, and it can feel intimidating when you are not well-versed in security. If I can help, please reach me by email at Tgoodlad@protectraining.net and will do my best to work through the options and arrive at your best approach.

  The best preparations are usually in the wake of a tragedy. Doing something is better than doing nothing.