McLamb in security management / McLamb Keeping Religious Institutions Secure

1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-0-12-801488-2
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 210 Seiten

Keeping Religious Institutions Secure explores the unique vulnerabilities that churches, synagogues, and mosques face in regards to security, making them attractive to criminals who see them as easy targets. The text illustrates why all places of worship should think about security and the types of breaches that can drive people away. The book focuses on the most frequent security concerns experienced by houses of worship, including embezzlement, vandalism, assault, hate crime, and in rare cases, an active shooter-and how to help prevent them from occurring. Beginning with an overview of the basic security concepts and principles that can enhance the security of any religious facility, it then delves deeply into the particular security concerns of houses of worship, including the use of volunteers, protecting religious leaders, ensuring safety for children and teens, interacting with local law enforcement, handling the media, and much more. - Covers security best practices that are adaptable to any type of religious institution. - Addresses the key security measures-physical, electronic, environmental, and procedural-for protecting people and facilities. - Includes guidance on identifying threats and vulnerabilities and instituting countermeasures for deterring crime and violence.

Jennie-Leigh McLamb, CPP, PSP, PCI, has over 10 years of experience in private security. Currently, she is an independent security consultant who advises businesses and other institutions on preparedness and planning for a variety of threats, as well as conducts risk assessments and physical security surveys. She also conducts training sessions and designs curricula for a variety of topics including workplace violence prevention, security awareness, creating policies and procedures, screening social media for new hires, and situational awareness.She began her security career in the Private Security Services Section of Virginia's Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) where she performed a variety of functions including evaluating sources for alternative training credit, conducting compliance agent training, and helping develop new regulations as well as internal policies and procedures for regulating private security personnel. As the compliance and training administrator for a private security company, she managed training and licensing of over 1500 individuals across multiple jurisdictions and contract requirements, designed and updated curriculum and tests, and developed training plans in support of business proposals. She is an instructor and curriculum developer for both online and onsite courses in various security topics including access control, patrol, confrontation management, and others. In addition to her ASIS certifications, she has an MS in Security Management and is finishing an MBA with concentrations in Cybersecurity and Information Security Management.

Autoren/Hrsg.

McLamb in security management, Jennie-Leigh

McLamb, Jennie-Leigh

Leseproben

1 Introduction
Abstract
This chapter includes information on why religious institutions are seen as an easy target. It lists various security incidents in the United States and around the world to illustrate the multitude of crimes that can occur at a religious institution—whether it is a mosque, church, temple, or synagogue. Keywords
Crime incidents; Religious violence; Safety; Security; Terminology Religious institutions—whether they are a temple, mosque, synagogue, church, or other structure—are considered by their attendees to be a sanctuary that provides a safe refuge from the troubles of the outside world. They are a place to worship, sing, praise, contemplate, and enjoy fellowship with other believers. They are welcoming places that provide guidance, healing, support, and comfort in times of need. As a result, most attendees see them as sacred places. Unfortunately, criminals see them as an easy, target-rich environment. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr does not separate religious institutions from other businesses, making precise numbers difficult to ascertain.1 However, it is known that religious institutions are often victimized more than once and usually within a short period of time.2 In one instance, a church had their sound equipment stolen. A few weeks after replacing the equipment, the place was hit again, and the new sound equipment was stolen.3 Incidents in the United States
A brief listing of crimes in religious institutions shows the scope of the problem. • March 2005: A gunman killed eight people including himself at a church meeting—of which he was a member—in a Sheraton Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.4 • August 2012: A gunman killed six people and wounded four at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.5 • July 2008: A 58-year-old man entered a Unitarian Universalist Church and opened fire. Nine people were shot, and two were killed. Police arrived within 3 min, but three members had already subdued the shooter.6 • February 2010: Three gunmen opened fire during a service at New Gethsemane Church of God in Christ in California, wounding two people.7 • A nun was strangled in a church garden.8 • A pastor was shot in his front yard for counseling the abused wife of a violent husband.9 • An emotionally disturbed man took a congregation hostage and held them in a confrontation with police.10 • A deranged man drove his truck through the church doors during services.11 • A woman, who was praying, was assaulted, robbed, and raped in the sanctuary.12 There are several sources of information on religious violence that can be found on the internet. Carl Chinn also tracks deadly force incidents in religious institutions on his Website www.carlchinn.com. Another Website with information on events from history to the present is maintained by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. It can be found at http://www.religioustolerance.org/intol_news.htm. The Center for the Study of Religious Violence has a Website with blog at http://religiousviolence.wordpress.com/, which contains articles and links relating to incidents of religious violence around the globe. As these incidents show, no religious tradition or denomination is immune to violence. Facilities in every state, whether the city is large or small, are vulnerable. These are just a few of the reported incidents. It is estimated that most incidents go unreported. Incidents Outside the United States
Religious institutions outside the United States have experienced dramatic events as well. Many countries are known for incidents of religious violence, particularly clashes between different religions, as well as clashes between different denominations of the same religion. The U.S. State Department issues an International Religious Freedom Report that describes the status of religious freedom in each foreign country, government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations, and individuals, and US policies to promote religious freedom around the world. The 2012 report can be accessed at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm. According to a Pew Center Report, religious hostilities around the world reached a six-year high in 2012.13 The level of harassment or intimidation of particular religious groups also experienced an increase in 2012. Harassers were governments—national, provincial, or local—as well as individuals and groups. Christians were harassed in 110 countries and Muslims in 109.14 In addition, 2012 also saw an increase in the share of countries where violence or the threat of violence was used to compel adherence to religious norms.15 The full study can be viewed at http://www.pewforum.org/2014/01/14/religious-hostilities-reach-six-year-high/. • December 2012: At least 12 were killed in attacks on two Nigerian churches.16 • August 2013: The Greek Catholic Mar Elias Church and the Sunni Muslim Grand Mosque in Qusayr, Syria, were both almost totally destroyed as government and rebel forces battled for control. Though some icons have been recovered, they suffered grievous damage, with burns and tears running through the gilded works of art.17 • October 2013: Forty Coptic Christian Churches were attacked in Egypt.18 • June 2014: Hard-line Buddhists hurled gasoline bombs and looted homes and businesses on a Sunday in several towns in southwestern Sri Lanka. The attacks were led by a mob from Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force), which rails against the country’s Muslim minority.19 Terminology To avoid confusion, the following terms will be used throughout this book. I’ve attempted to keep them as religion-neutral as possible so as to apply to a broad spectrum of religious traditions and organizational structures. • Facility refers to the physical building and grounds, whether it is a temple, mosque, synagogue, church, parochial school, or other religious building. • Organization refers to the group as a whole, including facility, the staff, and members. • Principal refers to the head person at the facility. This person has the final say on all decisions made for the facility and its attendees, although he/she may listen to a council or group of advisors. • Leaders refer to formal or informal religious specialists such as clerics, pastors, priests, monks, rabbis, imams, ministers, and preachers who are typically ordained or otherwise designated as religious authorities by a certifying body, the audience, or the principal. • Advisors are those leaders who have positions of authority within the religious tradition and who advise the principal. Advisors may include deacons, elders, bishops, and monks. • Audience, used interchangeably with attendees, refers to the people who adhere to a particular religious tradition and attend a specific facility in order to worship. • Administrators are those people such as office managers, secretaries, or assistants who work for the principal and other leaders in secular positions. They are also called staff or employees. • Volunteers are those who work in various capacities as needed but do not receive monetary compensation for their work. • Adversary is anyone who poses a threat to the organization, facility, or its people regardless of motive, action, or method. This term is used interchangeably with perpetrator. Safety versus Security
Often used interchangeably, the terms “safety” and “security” actually have different meanings in the context of this book. Safety refers to the absence of danger, whereas security refers to the ability to manage or mitigate danger.20 Typically, safety refers to the operations of systems in abnormal environments—such as flood, fire, earthquake, electrical faults, or accidents. Security refers to those systems that are used to prevent or detect an attack by a malevolent human adversary.21 Purpose and Scope of this Book
This book is not an attempt to question anyone’s faith, but it is intended to provide additional tools that can be utilized so attendees are free to worship as they choose without fear of crime or violence. This book is designed to provide religious intuitions with a basic understanding of risk, methods of protection, and other considerations they need to take into account in order to keep their facility, property, and users secure. Whenever possible, it is important to consult and/or hire professionals who can provide the proper information on systems for lighting, access control, and intrusion detection. Organization of this Book
This book is organized as a logical progression from basic security principles to planning to respond to an incident to recovering from one. It also...