The first thing that I think is necessary to mention is that a sexual predator or pedophile does not have a certain look….they don’t stand out in looks in fact they generally look like the rest of us a fit in pretty well.  In fact they are typically a kind and helpful person.  They are encouraging and they are there when you need them.

Now I am not an expert in the detection, conduct, treatment or recidivism rates of Sexual predators, but I do know the things I am aware of because of my law enforcement experiences and knowledge and studies.

So lets talk about what to look for.   Studies and testimony from pedophiles show that they generally begin with an act of grooming a child.    They spend time, energy and maybe even money to get children and their parents often times to feel comfortable with the situation between them and the child.     After trust is established then the predator will become a little more risky or intrusive….pushing the limits a bit if you will, so that they can test boundaries. 

This stuff you might see could be hugging the child, kissing, tickling, wrestling and maybe even be slightly improper while the child is dressing, changing clothes or using the restroom…..   The restroom within your ministry should be a big concern when it comes to the safety of the children by the way.  

Some of the touching that goes on may be claimed to be an accident, again as part of that testing to see how the child reacts and any parents or other teachers and leaders present react.   Also keep in mind all of this prep work and becoming a trustworthy friend to the child and the adults around the child helps prevent people from reporting if the pedophile gets caught.  This trust system works for them, that one reason why they get away with the predator behavior for so long.

So lets look at some clues or signs to look for that a pedophile might be grooming or working on your child:

The person tells the child that he or she is a “special” friend

They give the child special gifts

They may talk to a child about adult topics including sex or marriage problems.

They may give a child adult items like cigarettes or alcohol.

They may try to arrange a child to spend the night or be close to them, maybe in the same cabin or tent, if they go to a camp together.

A little more detail is added to this process for us by retired FBI agent Kenneth Landing.  He has published five steps to help us identify the process most sexual predators use to groom children to be their victims.  

First, he tells us that pedophiles have different victims that they are searching for, but most of the time they find their victim has some vulnerability.

Next, Agent Landing tells us that a pedophile will then collect as much info on the child victim they are targeting as they possibly can.   Most of the time they do this through conversations with the child, parents or guardians.

Third, the pedophile then looks to become part of the child’s life by fulfilling a need.  If the child is poor for an example the predator will provide him/her with expensive toys.   If the child is lonely the pedophile becomes a friend.

Next Agent Landing tells us that a pedophile will work to lower the Child’s inhibitions concerning sexual matters.   He may use games or activities that involve getting undressed, making sexual comments or show the child pornography.

In stage 5, Agent Landing say the pedophile begins to sexually abuse the child.

So how should we be preparing to use our concealed weapons……one of the first things I tend to note with people is often times we don’t want to talk about how much we practice with our firearms.  When is the last time you have practiced with your firearm?   Or how about the folks that you consider to be part of your security team……or the ones you are thinking about making part of your team…..we all carry these firearms and when are we actually practicing with them?   What scares me is when I hear some pastors say that they know people carry concealed weapons in the congregation and those people will take care of anyone who comes into the church shooting.

Now here is what I want us all to consider, whether you are the one carrying a concealed weapon, or you are the one asking people to carry a concealed weapon or you are the ministry leader who says my congregation has concealed weapons and will take care of it if something goes wrong…….think about this for a minute with me…..when something goes wrong how easy is it to use that weapon?  How easy is it….. when someone is firing their weapon at me or other in church to duck to find cover, reposition myself to get my gun out of the holster or concealed carry location, draw it and fire it……as my stress and nerves are taking control?

Think about that……if you have to use your weapon to defend yourself, it is not like being at the gun range…..no one is going to say OK put on your eye protection and your hearing protection and now are you ready?   OK begin firing………no this is shock and overwhelming rush of emotions….coupled with indecision and disbelief……

Let me apply some statistics to this for you to prove my point……many years ago The Police Policy Studies Council looked at 29 police shootings at one agency (and I will leave them anonymous because this is not about the agency….it is about the use of firearms in the heat of battle).   These 29 police involved shootings occurred over a 4 year period….by the way this study was done to propose the officers needed more training ……..   In this study it was determined that the police fire a total of 186 shots total in these 29 officer involved shootings.   Their hit ratio?  Of the total rounds fired they hit the intended person 112 times…….so you do the math that means they missed 40 percent of the time…..so the point I want to make with this is that police officers train often with their weapons, many agencies require officers to shoot a 90 or 100 percent hit measurement in practice 3 or 4 times a year… some of the agencies also have practice time dealing with holster systems and then shoot don’t shoot decision making drills or discussions.   That means these officers might be thinking about weapons use and or practicing as much as 6 or 8 times a year at a minimum for up to 40 hours total time per year…..and what is there accuracy rate? 

So now you are carrying your concealed weapon around with you and your have not practiced in 3 years…..you have not shot your weapon, you have not practiced drawing your weapon and you have not practiced or even thought about doing those two things while you are trying to fall to the ground or take cover, practicing while on the move?  What is your accuracy rate going to be?    I am guessing if the police training 40 hours per year 6 to 8 time during the year and have a miss rate of 40 percent…what might our miss rate be……I am afraid we might not even be able to get our weapons out of the concealed holster on our belts or in our purses….and if we do get the weapon out during all the chaos ….we might have a 100 percent miss rate when we do fire……

So the next question is where are your bullets going when they miss there intended target?   Think about that for a minute….again we are not on the gun range where they go down range and into a pile of dirt or sand trap when we miss……those are what we call in law enforcement……million dollar rounds when we are firing our guns and missing our target in the middle of a crowd……those misses might hit innocent people and it is very costly…..money cost…..but also emotional costs and I do not want that for you or for your ministry.

So practice is important…..we need to practice drawing our firearm…..which we can do once it is safely unloaded in our bedroom, shop or other private and safe location.  Practice, Practice, Practice……draw…successfully practicing drawing that weapon 5000 times might improve your ability to draw it under the pressure of an actual shooting incident.   It becomes easier and just natural when you practice drawing your weapon that many times……then it is just second nature for you.

When we practice drawing, we might want to simulate how we might be drawing it …….if we are practicing for church are you seated?   Probably a good chance…or are you standing?   So simulating what we think the situation would be is a great way to practice…..real world simulation meaning we trying to think of the dynamics of what will happen if a violent shooting incident happens…..I am going to move for cover, I am going to draw my firearm and then I might use it.    Practicing the mechanics of drawing, moving and firing……is what our goal should be…..and practice in a safe manner.

Churches are very visible within our cultures and within our communities, and at certain times of the week a lot of our community members are all gathered in one location for our ministries.   This adds to the idea that at times churches are easy targets which if attacked could affect a large part of our community.   Most ministries also have an open door policy,  you allow all people to attend your services and in fact are seeking out people often times who are already in crisis.

Some other things that add to the seriousness are that we live in a violent world, there are violent people out there that will harm you and today there seems to be less and less fear of consequences.  As I eluded to earlier people like the notoriety they get from creating danger, damage and hurting people, in fact their goal often times is to hurt large numbers of people.

A lot of negative community emotions can be linked to these incidents the more people they affect.  So I would propose even further that the better prepared you are the quicker the incident may be stopped, therefore causing less damage and/or death and destruction.

So what could possibly happen in our ministries or what could cause disruptions to our services that we need to be thinking about and preparing for, hear is just a list of a few items that I think are possibilities in many of our communities and our churches not just people issues but any event that could spell disaster for our ministries:

Intruders, Bomb Threats, Hostage Situations, Sniper Attacks, Assault, Domestic Violence, Sexual Attacks, Weapons possession, Child Abuse, Drug Abuse, Drug Trafficking, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Floods, Fires, Kidnapping, Utilities Failing, Gang Violence, Accidents which cause injury or death, Illnesses spreading within our congregation, Hurricanes, Accidents in Church Vehicles including vans or buses. Incidents at Camps or Campouts.

Now when we are talking about the people created events, You might be asking yourself as you explore this idea of preparing mentally “why might someone want to harm you or your people or your ministry these days.   The typical reasons from my experience and what I see in different criminal reports is 

To get ahead somehow….whether it is to get something like satisfaction, money or revenge.

Some people just want to hurt, upset or cause problems for people.

Sometimes they have different believes that you do and want to press those beliefs on you.

Some people want notoriety for their actions…..they do not get satisfaction from other means and so they look to get some fame…..maybe as they prepare to leave this life by suicidal means.

So what can we do to prepare?   Maybe we can only begin to add to our mental participation in this preparing for Violence or Emergencies in our Ministry.   So what do we start with to get prepared or more prepared that when are today?

I believe we just need to begin to look at how would we respond to a crisis in our ministry?

First that is developing a simple plan for people related violence and other emergencies.

Next, I think about trying to put together a team…..that maybe you and another person or a couple of police officers or military people that attend your ministry regularly.   What is the best team you can put together. 

Next, we need to begin to identify likely incidents or likely threats.   In Episode #3 we talked about the top 10 likely incidents which might occur within your ministry.  So for this segment you can listen to that episode and think about the likely incidents that might cause you issues. 

Next determine how you would like the response to be.  As a ministry or security leader you will decide and relay how you want the response to go with each incident and I further reinforce this and say that it is important for you to share with your people whoever they are, how strong or low key you would like the response to each type of incident you perceive might occur.

Next I would recommend thinking about the impact these incidents might have on the ministry if they were to occur.  Also the impact on the community.   What things can you do to reassure the community or your congregation once something has occurred?   This might be a community outreach opportunity as a positive note, if there is one in these situations.

Next what will we do to recover after a major incident.  If it is a disaster or emergency what will we do for the short term with our ministry and then long term plans.   Secondary meeting facilities might be a preplanning idea for recovery.   Maybe identifying counseling resources within our ministry family to support those affected by violence.

Lastly we might consider how we cover the liability for these incidents…….insurance and other items that might come to mind…..such as preplanning, training and other things that help us to prepare in case there is liability that comes back on us.

One of the first areas when we discuss crime prevention would be “break ins” to your church.   Typically we do not alarm our buildings or churches, we have a lot of people in and out, so security of doors and windows is not very good.  And you have electronics and other valuables which are great targets for thieves.   So here is one area to look at for increasing our safety.   Looking at facilities people who tend to be the last person out, task them with doing a perimeter check, checking doors and windows.    Do you have janitorial people that work late, can you educate them a bit more in security principals and ask them to “patrol” the perimeter of the building once in a while.

Next…..money money money….and maybe this segment should be appropriately titled “don’t show me the money”.    Money handling should be a big crime prevention focus we have in our churches.   There is money that is missing, robbed or stolen much too often from our Ministries. 

 Do your ministry members take money home to count it and then deliver to the bank on Monday, or do you have multiple people that count the money on site at the church?  Does that money sit in the office until Monday or Tuesday?  Having one individual handle money or not looking at security risks for getting the money to the bank can spell disaster.

Next, lets talk about the parking lot during your services…….this can be a great place for people to make some quick work of stealing property.    Stealing from parked vehicles in the parking lot should be a concern for all of us.   It ruins the day of our members and I do believe it is preventable most of the time.  Do you have a couple of ushers that you send out to the parking lot during services?

The last thing I want to talk about today is cash…..yes one more time more specifically one more area of problems.   Another security risk can be keeping cash in the church office to provide to those strangers or transient people in need.   Churches traditionally keep money on hand to give to people who stop by the office for assistance.   If people get to know this and where you keep the money it could certainly pose a risk to those working with the money or working in the office.  It could also simply pose a problem for someone to return after receiving some cash assistance to break in and get more.

I would recommend getting some basic gift certificates for lodging, meals or gas to keep on hand.  Not as tempting as cash, as they have the appearance of being trackable.  You can easily handout the certificate to be used for their purpose at local businesses.  This also might help with misuse of the funds you are giving out if you are concerned about that,  ie someone actually purchasing alcohol or cigarettes with “gas” money that you have given them.

April 22, 2014 –  On Tuesday, April 22, 2014 a funeral was being held at the Galilee Baptist Church in Trenton, New Jersey.   The funeral was for 19 year old Cagney Roberts who had been shot to death on April 9th in a street shooting.  Hundreds of people were in attendance at the church for the funeral.  Just after noon, As the sermon in the sanctuary was about to begin, gunfire could be heard outside the church.   Police reports say that shooters opened fire in front of the church injuring 3 people.   During this chaos there was also one person who was trampled as people were fleeing the church.

April 9, 2014 – In Cicero, Illinois a man who served as an authority figure within the roles of Youth Minister, Church Photographer and a Teacher at the church is accused of engaging in sexual conduct with several juvenile boys within the church between the ages of 9 and 17.  As the information is coming out it is alleged that this misconduct took place over 6 years and in numerous locations including his own apartment and two youth retreat camps.

February 12, 2014 – An Intoxicated Male at the Seagate Baptist Church in Naples, Florida causes a disorderly drunken disturbance at the church and in the parking lot. The report accuses Thomas Wilson, 52 years of age, a homeless man, of being heavily intoxicated and yelling profanities at church members as people were arriving for an evening church service.   He refused to leave so law enforcement was called to the church. 

February 2, 2014 – A shooting incident at the Double Springs Community Church in Cookeville, Tennessee left two people dead.

In this episode we are going to discuss different training suggestions for your security personnel.   What courses should we offer to make sure they are prepared both for protecting us but also training that covering our liabilities.

So the first topic I believe you should focus on is making sure that all members who you are considering as part of the security team, need to have training on what leadership wants and what the policies of the ministry are, what some of you might also call an orientation.    How do you want them to handle medical situations, how do you want them to handle disruptions or crimes within the church ministry.

You would also want to make sure they know your direction on domestic violence issues, disruptive issues, how to handle suspicious people around the service areas, and how you would like your personnel to interact with law enforcement when something more serious happens.

Next I would suggest that we have to discuss in detail “use of force” issues.  There needs to be some discussion of what level of force is needed for various situations that might arise.

Then we might as well discuss training for your armed personnel if you have them in your team.  They obviously need to know the requirements to be able to carry a firearm, those state or special laws and regulations.   Then use of force needs to be an important training topic along with discussions about carrying the firearm and how you want them to conceal and or control the firearm with holsters.   Then we need to discuss the big issue for our gun toters and that would be actual training time at the gun range. 

Some really good verbal communication skills are a really good component of training for a security staff member.   Learning how to talk to people is a skill many of us have not mastered.

Last the basic training should include discussion of how we will handle general emergencies as an individual security person or as a group.

In this episode we are going to discuss different options for armed security for your church. 

Those 4 options include; Off-duty or previously employed and trained law enforcement personnel.  Your own personnel or Internal Security Staff, Contracted outside security officers, and the concealed carrying members of the congregation.

The first option for discuss is a great option.  The people with the best training and most current knowledge for armed security options would be any of the already attending law enforcement officers to your services.  

The next option for discussion is having your own security staff or volunteers internally.  This option is certainly one that you can track and control more, especially with maintaining a balance between the ministry and the security operation.   When you take on this option however keep in mind you take on the regulations, the screening, supervision, training and all of the liability.

The next option for you to consider is hiring an outside security officer or guard.  Using an outside professional security guard company provides several benefits.   First, you certainly would want to do your homework in looking for a reputable security officer company.  After that it takes some of the liability off of you or certainly provides a layer of protection for you, the church leadership and the church.

The last option I want to briefly discuss is relying on those people in your congregation who might be lawfully carrying concealed weapons.   I have heard ministry leaders talk about this option and consider it to be a valid option.  Not knowing who you have in your congregation, I certainly do not want to immediately write this option off but I do want to make sure and discuss a couple of items.  The first is the biggest issue for me.   Most people who get concealed weapons permits or are allowed to carry firearms at church by law, certainly like to talk about taking action and stopping violent offenders, but my concern is their actual ability to take this action safely.  Most of these folks, use their firearms in the course of getting their carrying permit or at some point they have practiced.   However, how long has it been since they have actually fired that gun?   I propose to you that many to most people who carry a firearm within the guidelines of the law have not shot the firearm in many many months to many years.   That is frightening to me.  

Training Topic for this episode

For our training discussion in this episode I just want to share a brief thought with you about tracking the training you do with your staff, security persons, ushers or anyone else.  Documenting by filing training paperwork or using a sign up roster during the training session or documenting it in an excel file is something you need to think about soon, if you have not already.  You will see at different times I will put briefing training papers or resources out on the website at churchsecurityanswerman.com, for example in the show notes attached to episode 3 of this podcast on churchsecurityanswerman.com I attached a sheet which you can download to discuss with your people.  The discussion is about a factual situation that occurred at one church, it was a man playing his guitar, during service and refusing to stop.   The training sheet has a discussion question after you read the incident, it is designed to challenge discussion for you and your people.

The Top 10 Safety and Security Issues We should be prepared for in our Ministries.

Medical Emergencies

Trip and fall – heart attack – loss of consciousness

Disorderly Conduct or Service Interruptions

Domestic Related Issues (Custody or Disputes)

Restraining Order Violations  (No Contact Orders)

Issues in the Parking Lot or Around Perimeter  

(Vandalism, Attack, Abduction, Arson)

Natural Disaster  (Earthquake)(Power Outage)

Child Abuse / Child Abduction

Members Attacked  (Arriving or Departing)

Violent Intruder / Active Shooter

What I want to discuss today is the idea of being a team…..everyone in your ministry being on the “security team”.    If we are going to truly protect your ministry everyone has to be trained and be eyes and ears and part of the plan to protect.     The reason for this is, that problems do not often times just appear one time.  In fact some of the worst problems like violence or predators, may in fact grow over time as a problem.   The issues such as predators of your children my scope out your facility, ministries and personnel, so we all have to be part of that team looking for those things growing or evaluating you to prey on you and your ministry.

So everyone has a part and needs to be involved to one degree or another.  Office staff are not trained to respond to service interruptions on Sundays, but they are trained to be aware of things going on during their duty times maybe Monday through Friday.   They may notice someone in crisis starting to hang around the church and can alert you to this fact.   This makes you aware of Jim Smith being in crisis and now on Sunday when you see Jim you can greet him and begin to ask questions to determine his mindset.