Disasters and Faith-Based Organizations

From the WashPost: Too small to hire guards, too worried to go gun-free, community churches are now arming themselves

From an EMS Perspective: Safety and security in places of worship. Fire, EMS and law enforcement personnel can play an important role in the layers of safety that protect religious gatherings in the event of an emergency

From Homeland Security Today, this article: Jewish Community in America ‘Afraid in a Way We Have Never Been Before,’ Orthodox Union Tells Congress. Of special interest is what the Police Dept. in NYC is doing:

Miller said the NYPD’s new Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism unit — a 25-strong group of officers and analysts — is “specifically dedicated to investigating not just hate crimes, but more specifically the actions in the growth among violent hate groups as they spun across the country and across the Internet.”

“The idea is to identify groups with a propensity to violence and those individuals who may carry it out and to stop those incidents before they happen,” he said. “To do this, we go by the same rulebook and the same tactics and the same techniques we used to thwart attacks by ISIS and al-Qaeda and the lone wolves they inspire. We’ve already opened dozens of investigations within REME in the short time since it was formed.”

Ohio Gives House of Worship Toolkit to Prep for Aggressors. Site provides several table top exercises.

New 62 page report: HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY COUNCIL Draft Report: Preventing Targeted Violence Against Faith-Based Communities; DRAFT, December 17, 2019.

Update: Useful article describing this new report and its significance. See:
HSAC Outlines Urgent Steps to Secure Faith Community from ‘New Age’ of Domestic Terrorism

Update on Jan.5: Homeland Security chief orders review of protections for religious groups after recent attacks

The Dept. of Homeland Security has provided this YouTube video on Protecting Houses of Worship.

Although not aimed at houses of worship, this free guide may be useful. See: Active Shooter Protocol for Facility Managers.

From the NY Times:

Security Framework document (116 pp.) brought to my attention from the NYC Jewish Community Relations Council, but seemingly of interest to many.

Update: As of 4:30pm today there is news of an attempted attack on a synagogue in Colorado.  Improving security is an urgent matter!

This is a good time to review your facility’s security protocols to ensure that they reflect the current need for heightened vigilance. We suggest that you download JCCA’s Security Readiness:A Framework for Security at Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), YM and YWHAs, and Camps. The publication is a valuable tool for all kinds of organizations and the chapter on a “Security Escalation Plan” on pp. 42ff. features six indicators that should cause you to consider escalating security and the included checklist is a helpful template to build an effective response.