We
were recently privileged to attend a church safety and security conference
sponsored by the Shelby County Sheriff's Department and Shelby County
Chaplin's Association, hosted by the First Baptist Church in Pelham, Alabama. The conference was well attended and covered
by the local news media. Guest speakers
were present who were experts in their respective fields, along with several
security equipment vendors of cameras and communications equipment (including
Falcon Wireless).
After
an evening of presentations and discussions, several conclusions could be made.
1)
Every church needs a safety plan and a security team equipped to deal with
emergency situations (i.e. able to communicate and able to defend as in radios
and weapons).
2)
Monitoring and securing access is an essential part of proactive planning. This can range from keeping personnel at the doors during services to locking
down the facility during the week when only a few people are on the premises with
access granted only to those who can be identified before entry is permitted.