Editor’s Introductory Note: This guest article was selected by JWR. It was first published at the Sheepdog Church Security website. It is reposted with permission.
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Let me start this article by saying that “I like the police”. No, that’s not strong enough – “I love the police”. On a couple of occasions, I worked as a consultant to help one of our local police departments and sheriffs’ departments work more efficiently together. I was extremely impressed with the professionalism of the officers on these projects. And, contrary to what the news would have you believe, these officers showed a high level of compassion for individuals in the community.
The Limitations of Police Response in Active Shooter Events
However, faith-based safety teams and houses of worship cannot depend on their local police department if there is an active shooter event. Police officers can’t be everywhere, all the time, immediately when you might need them. The issue is “time” – typically the police are not on-site when an active shooting event occurs.
I write this article after reviewing yet another set of proposed practices that houses of worship could use when faced with an active shooting event. In this specific case, the recommendations were based on the “Tree of Life Synagogue” attack. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the recommendations were incomplete and perhaps naive. The author of the article presented information following the typical run, hide, fight model. However, the author really wasn’t being proactive about the fight portion – fighting for your life and the lives of people you love.Continue reading“On Police and Faith Based Safety Teams, by Robert E. Downing “