Preparedness key to security at places of worship, expert tells Austintown church

By linda linonis | linonis@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Barry Young asked those attending a workshop on church security planning and intruder awareness to “have a servant’s heart and warrior’s mindset.”

Young, lead instructor with Strategos International, which specializes in intruder-response preparedness solutions, spoke to 32 participants Friday at Four Mile Run Christian Church, 701 N. Four Mile Run Road. The workshop continued today.

“Preparedness is everyone’s responsibility,” Young said. He has experience as a police chaplain and is involved in security at his church. He continued that no house of worship should assume “it can’t happen here.” Young pointed out the message in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” He noted the Bible contains various passages that convey the idea of protecting the house of God and those within.

Young charged church leadership to be proactive to detect, deter and defuse an act of violence. This is accomplished through planning and three most-important factors – “training, training, training.” Though no one wants to think that violence may occur at a church, synagogue or mosque, such incidents have increased.

He said the first shooting at a church was June 22, 1980, at First Baptist Church in Daingerfield, Texas. Alvin Lee King III, a former high-school teacher, killed five people and wounded 10 others.

The workshop booklet offered some statistics on violence, noting that 1,198 deadly force incidents have occurred since 1999 with 623 deaths among 1,300 victims.

Violent incidents include homicide, attempted homicide, suicide, arson with people in the building, kidnapping and attempted abductions and robberies. “Over half of incidents have happened where there the population is less than 10,000,” he said. “Most people assume they are safe in church.”

Young suggested the church-security ministry have two components – safety and medical personnel. Medical would deal with those injured in a violent incident or cardiac or other health emergencies that might occur.

A written plan, Young said, outlines the duties, responsibilities and scope of the safety team. Training, actually practicing what to do in an emergency scenario, is a must, he said.

Young added that though formation of a security ministry is not a “secret,” it should not be announced or have a sign-up sheet. If the security will be volunteers among church members, he noted church leadership will have an idea of whom to ask on the basis of their backgrounds and demeanors.

Church-security ministry involves many decisions. Young said law-enforcement professionals who attend the church should be sought out and asked if they are willing to serve. Other avenues are contracting a security company that uses uniformed or nonuniformed personnel, or using volunteers.

Another serious decision is whether church security will be armed or unarmed or a mix of both and involves a myriad issues including insurance. “A combination of armed and unarmed on the safety ministry is based on training,” Young said.

Young cautioned that armed safety-ministry members must have more than concealed-carry weapon certification. If they are not law-enforcement personnel, who have training in their jobs, training is key. “People want to make a difference,” he said.

The safety ministry, Young said, also will include ushers, greeters, parking personnel and nursery and Sunday school staff and be a mix of men and women. They all, to varying degrees and training, are involved in the safety ministry. “Anyone on the safety ministry might identify someone as ‘JDLR’ – just don’t look right,” Young said.

Young encouraged church-safety ministries to have local law enforcement and fire departments perform site assessments on the property.