 In our November 2024 online seminar “Getting Ready for the Holidays” we talked about preparing the safety teams for the Christmas season. Since so many churches have other activities on their property, I felt we needed to make sure that safety was a part of every celebration happening on the campus.
I also talked about how mental health issues are going to be the next biggest threat to the churches. An essay by the Journal of Crime and Justice cited a study done by James Densley and Jillian Peterson of the Violence Prevention Project, “Murder in a time of crisis: a qualitative exploration of the 2020 homicide spike through offender interviews.” In this article, Densley and Peterson said that there was an unprecedented 30% increase in homicides in the United States since 2020, “the largest surge in over a century.” They attributed this recent increase to the “COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, economic instability, and civil unrest.” When the churches came together after the COVID-19 restrictions we warned safety teams of possible issues by those who lost a loved one, their business, or having a hard time with isolation. This was a hard time in this country and shutting down the churches was truly one of the worst things this country did and there are still people that have not gotten over it. Densley and Peterson confirmed what we were concerned about by stating in their findings that “The pandemic and subsequent civil unrest only intensified these challenges, creating an environment where mental health struggles, economic hardship, and the breakdown of routine escalated personal crises. For some, losing jobs, facing homelessness, or dealing with unaddressed mental health conditions triggered extreme reactions.” Another look at mental health issues in America, Facts.net published a paper from the World Federation for Mental Health, “40 Facts about World Mental Health Day.” The World Federation for Mental Health “promotes mental well-being, reduces stigma, and advocates for better mental health services.” In this article, it states that:
No sooner than we did the webinar I observed a newspaper article from White Settlement, Texas where a person suffering from mental health issues was arrested with multiple weapons and improvised exploding devices (IEDs) in his van. His target is a church. Since then, there have been multiple incidents where people with mental health issues targeted Christian organizations, not to disrupt services but to kill people. Three more incidents (as I am writing this, a shooting has happened at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin) involving Christian facilities have happened over the past month where it appears subjects with mental health issues have either attempted to shoot someone in the church or tried to kill people at a live nativity event. On December 4th, while visiting Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo, California, a person with a history of mental health issues asked about enrolling his child into the school only to later produce a firearm and shoot two students and then committed suicide. During a December 8th church service in Suffolk, Virginia, a man tried to shoot a staff member. He was tackled by the pastor and safety team members before anyone was hurt. Then on December 11th, a man drove his vehicle on church property in Allen County, Indiana yelling he wanted to kill everyone there before police and church members were able to stop him from injuring anyone. The church was just finishing a live Christmas nativity event when the suspect arrived. Looking at the incidents and seeing the reactions of the suspects after the arrest are clear signs of mental health issues. Looking deeper into these occurrences we really must ask the question of what is triggering these people to decide they need to kill people at churches or religious organizations during this Christmas season. If this is any sign of what safety teams may be facing as their churches hit full capacity during the Christmas services, we need to be ready. Pastor Kevin Haggerty and I just did a Rumble video podcast talking about the church needing to be “Safe Places” for those who are angry or depressed. Angry or depressed at the way the election went, not understanding why God would take a loved one or just the way the world seems to be headed toward destruction. We, the church, need to be safe places for people to move away from all the craziness in this world and remember the real “reason for the season,” the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the peace He offers all of us. I am praying that churches across the country all have wonderful and peaceful Christmas services, but we, the safety team of the church, have to be watchful and proactive for what Satin may throw against us this Christmas season. Have a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.
0 Comments
 During my time with the Norfolk Police Department, I worked in a unit called Crime Analysis. Supervisors Benny Rogerson, Bruce Hierstein and Les Barnard put together a book that showed algorithms that with the right crime data could almost predict the next crime. It was all new stuff back in the 1980s and since then there have been hundreds of books written on being proactive in crime prevention through crime analysis. When you watch today’s crime shows, crime analysis is always used as a part of the process to catch the bad guy. They make it look fancy and easy when actuality it is challenging work from the officers and analysist who serve in departments today. Today’s computers make the work a little easier, but they all started with innovators like Benny, Bruce, and Les.
Church safety consultants scour the internet looking for crimes against houses of worship and then put valuable information in weekly emails, podcasts, or blogs to inform you of incidents involving churches. This is a form of Crime Analysis for the church safety world. If you are on such an email list, do you read these emails and start to watch for those types of trends in your area? If there is a rash of vehicle burglaries in your church area, could your church parking lot during Christmas services with cars loaded with Christmas presents be their next target? If there is a rash of vandalism in your area, look at the recordings on your cameras to see if someone might be surveilling your property. Pictures of a suspicious person captured on your system may help police in the arrest of others committing vandalism in your area. Looking at my Google Alerts today I came across a news article, “Man found with bombs in White Settlement planned to attack church.” Reading the article, the suspect not only had bombs but two AR style weapons, a handgun, and a lot of ammunition. While reading the article I remembered that the West Freeway Church of Christ shooting was also in White Settlement. Taking the address of the arrest and looking up the church’s address, I found the suspect was arrested less than two miles from the church. This really does not mean much. There are churches all around the area of the arrest but looking at this from my crime analysist point of view, I saw some parallels. The West Freeway Church of Christ shooting happened in December of 2019, five years ago. Researchers have found a lot of mass shooters plan to do something near or on anniversaries of other shootings. Could this suspect be a past friend or associate of the shooter at the West Freeway Church of Christ shooting? If they had a look at his computer, would you find the West Freeway Church of Christ shooting in his search history? Little things like this cross our minds and cause us to ask these questions. You see, we start to look at things differently after working with some of the best minds in Crime Analysis. If you do not get a weekly crime against churches newsletter, look at getting on someone’s email list. Simon Osamoh with Worship Security Academy, or James Maute with Church Safety & Security or our own Jessica Howard at Trinity Security Allies. The information provided by these church safety experts could save someone’s life and give you an insight into what is happening to churches around the country to share with your safety team and the leadership of the church. Church safety is not an option anymore. If you do not have a safety team, go to your leadership of the church, and ask them this simple question, “Do you want everyone in your church safe?” It seems a little rhetorical but if they do not immediately respond yes, maybe this is not the church for you and your family. |
AuthorJim has many years of law enforcement experience and has run the safety team at his church for several years. TSA was formed after he realized God's calling when multiple churches reached out and asked him to present at their church. Archives
March 2025
|
RSS Feed