A picture of broken artifacts around an altar appears under the headlines of the Catholic Herald (7/12/19) reading, “Rise in crimes against churches in France shock Catholics.” The article then went on; Vandalism, theft, arson and other increasing attacks on churches in France have led to debates about their causes, amid shock to the community… Such crime has increased 4-fold between 2008 and 2019. Lest anyone think this is just an American problem, I start this week’s story with these statements from the east side of the pond. But Americans aren’t shocked, right? On 11/28/17 (3 weeks after 26 were killed in the Texas church attack), a worker was in the Center Christian Church in Jeffersonville Ohio when he heard gunfire outside. He found a man suffering from a gunshot wound in the parking lot. The pastor said, “It shocked me, I don’t know what to think, it’s never occurred…
2019 September
Last week I shared product highlights from the annual GSX event. This week I am sharing lessons learned from the educational class on the Pratt Manufacturing Plant murders. Aurora Illinois Police Chief, Kristen Ziman, presented that case study. Applicability to faith-based operations were abundant. The assailant was a 12-year employee with a history of antagonistic and victim mentality. Descriptions of him by co-workers later included terms like hot-headandracistwith some recalling his feelings that others were out to get him. He had been sent home on 2/14/19 for failing to wear safety glasses. Back to work on 2/15/19, he told co-workers he would, “shoot every MF in here”if he was called into the office. He was called, and tried to make good on that warning. 5 of the 40 employees in the building that day were killed by him. Cameras throughout the facility provided a review of his movements and actions…
ASIS International is the largest membership association of security professionals in the world. With 34,000 members in over 125 countries around the world, it is powerful. I attend the ASIS annual convention (Global Security Exchange, or GSX) at least every other year. This year it was in Chicago. It will take two weeks to give a decent report. This week, I will focus on the trade floor; companies unveiling their latest products for the coming year. Next week I will give you the top points of some of the educational sessions I attended. The trade floor had over 500 vendors. I visit those with products relative to church security operations. I am reporting my top three for this year. MADICO Safetyshield. Madico is a 115-year-old American manufacturer that introduced window films in 1948. By 1984 they were producing safety film coverings and have been improving the bullet and blast resistance…