The first step to understanding what security needs need to be addressed is understanding the threats and vulnerabilities that your church or synagogue will be facing. This includes structural vulnerabilities, intelligence reports, and current political climate. As the world is changing and threats are being more advanced, the methods and implementation of church security measures also need advancing.
We must first understand how our church or synagogue is laid out and where all of our entrances and exits are. We also look at what spots could be choke points for entry/escape, which way do doors open and close and how durable they are, etc.
Secondly, church and synagogue leaders must speak to local, state, and federal law enforcement and understand what current threats they are monitoring. We have seen time and time again that law enforcement had previous intelligence on the attacker but never shared it with anyone (I.E. the Tree of Life Synagogue attack where the attacker posted on various social media that he was going to do it)
Thirdly, the current political climate or more specifically what the news media is reporting on could be a hint of what’s to come or inspire copy-cat attacks. To achieve an advanced level of church security, every base must be covered to ensure there is nothing being overlooked.
Security team members must be armed with the correct weapons and gear. Weaponry choices will vary depending on the size of the place of worship and the teams ability to carry and use them.
Most importantly, their level of training will vary and improving their knowledge on church security can be tailored and improved on existing knowledge.
Each team member must have proper gear for the job, including medical gear. This includes: holsters, medical gear, body armor, radios, etc. Holsters for uniformed security must have at the very least level II retention.
For plain clothed concealed kydex holsters must be utilized from an appendix or 3-4 o’clock position for easy and quick access from concealment.
First and foremost team members must learn to systematically identify potential threats. This includes profiling how a potential attacker would behave as well a key characteristics to look for. Without this, having the right gear is useless.
Undergoing firearms training is an absolute must and Church security and synagogue security team members must train to a high level of firearms handling proficiency.
For an in-depth guide in church security training specifically for places of worship, take a look at some of our guides. Read our blog to find out key areas of training, the right choices of gear and much more.
