Safety Planning & Crisis ResponseComprehensive safety planning will not only help you make your church a much safer place for your members and guests, but it'll also result in a much better maintained facility.
Establishing a church safety committee is a great step towards becoming more proactive to protect church goers from unnecessary accidents, as well as acts of violence. The church safety committee can function independently or complement a church security program. The safety committee is comprised of church members who have various professional and vocational backgrounds, as well as church employees, when applicable. Committee members receive training in safety planning and crisis response, collaborate to draft or revise a church safety and crisis response plan, and volunteer to assist with tasks related to their special expertise that would help prepare the church to prevent or respond to crises. Committee members work together to perform periodic surveys and assessments of the church grounds, facilities, utilities, youth services (i.e., daycare and nursery), and other assets where safety and planning are vital to the church's success. They update plans when necessary and help plan and conduct emergency drills. Committee members also provide planning and preparation for assisting elderly and handicapped members and visitors during emergencies. There are no limits to the committee's potential to make the church environment as safe and efficient a place as possible. It is a wonderful opportunity to involve members who otherwise may not have a service role within the church. It's also a great opportunity to identify resources within your church that you may otherwise overlook. Please contact me for more info or for a consultation. 720safetyconcepts@gmail.com 
www.dsmsafety.comI am a devout advocate for the need for positive identification for security personnel to avoid unintentional shootings during high-stress responses to violent incidents. Do not take chances. If you choose to have armed security on your church property, please take advantage of the products available from DSM Safety Products and help ensure your staff's safety.
Visit www.dsmsafety.com to view their options and watch a very convincing video. Two-Hour Intro to Church Security Seminar
$95 per group - invite as many adults as you like. |
Church Security ProgramHB 786 - The Mississippi Church Protection Act - was passed by our legislature in 2016. It allows church leaders to appoint members to serve as "official" armed security in order to protect church members and guests. Qualified members of the church security program receive certain protections under our state's justifiable homicide law, should the need arise to use deadly force in order to protect their lives or the lives of church members and guests.
Many churches have identified members who are legally eligible to carry concealed firearms on the premises and simply allow them to continue doing so in a "security" capacity. There are also churches with members who take it upon themselves to be armed and consider it their individual duty to provide an armed response, should the need ever arise. Still other churches hire off-duty law enforcement officers to be on-site while services are underway. Regardless of what route a church chooses, without established qualifications for security staff, training standards, and standard policies and procedures in place, you may have security personnel but you do not have a security program and you may not have legal protections otherwise afforded to "official" programs as described in the law. Proactive measures will be limited and any response to a crisis will be burdened by confusion. People do not rise to their expectations in an emergency, they fall to the level of their training and preparation. A comprehensive program allows the church leaders to maintain control of the security staff and its functions on the property by establishing written protocols that improve efficiency while reducing liability for the church corporation. A program outlines the procedures to be used for preventing criminal behavior, as well as responding to it, in accordance with the organizational needs as determined by the church leaders. Security personnel should not be focused solely on responding to criminals who trespass onto church property - they should also be focused on implementing preventive strategies that deter them from entering upon the property in the first place. A church security program can be a wonderful asset to your church, if approached properly and professionally. It can also be a potential liability if approached without regard for the seriousness of it's purpose. I have information to share with you about establishing a church security program IAW The Church Protection Act, including model policies and procedures to help you ensure that your security program meets your needs. My strategy involves four aspects of on-site security:
Each area has its own responsibilities with emphasis on proactive approaches to trespass and intruder prevention. Security program members exercise individual duties with a team perspective. Ongoing debriefings and in-service training sessions provide perpetual learning opportunities for security staff. Training and annual firearms qualification requirements provide church leaders with the confidence of knowing that their program staff is capable of providing the quality service they expect. I have provided two documents (below) that may help you consider your options. Feel free to use them within your church. The four-page handout contains some great info about church security and the administrative policy guide can be edited to meet your individual church's needs or simply be used as a template to help you envision things you'll want to address in your own policies. Please contact me for more info or for a consultation. 720safetyconcepts@gmail.com 
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