Preventing church violence is a growing concern in the United States. Public interest and media attention have focused primarily on dramatic but very rare types of violence such as church shootings or bombings.
Violence in the church environment is a serious safety and security issue. Its most extreme form, homicide, is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. Violent situations can emerge within the church environment and range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide.
Church violence is a serious issue that calls for deliberate responses from pastoral leaders, church staff, law enforcement, and the community.
You can depend on USA Safe Church to help improve your overall church safety and security. For over 20 years MoreThanTalk, LLC has provided a variety of solutions to churches, schools, businesses and government.
With an emphasis on problem solving, we along with your church security committee will create a Strategic and Comprehensive Church Safety plan that will enhance the quality of your churches safety.
“We focus on Preparedness, Prevention, Response and Recovery with every project we take on. It is the safety of your congregation, staff, and community that we care about.” Rex Osborn CEO / President of MoreThanTalk LLC
Church Safety Plans
A Comprehensive Church Safety Plan is more then a few drills set up by the church. It is about creating a living document that is tested at all levels to insure safety. It includes Emergency Action Plans that are specific to your church and its unique characteristics. These plans are monitored by the church and maintained by the specific church sites: Church Safety Committees are formed and empowered to make plans work, and not just sit on a shelf. It is a process not a program.
Risk Assessment & Reduction Teams
Threat Assessment is not a one person operation so we will help to create a replicable Threat Assessment Team. This team is empowered to manage the threat. It is vital that each church has a multi disciplinary team of individuals who work to identify and reduce risk.
Crisis Management
Managing during a crisis or a critical incident is more then just having of list of spokespersons. Understanding the role of the church staff and volunteers during an emergency and the recovery following a critical incident is crucial. We conduct 4 – 8 hrs. basic information training’s for your church and include a critical training on media management.
Physical Security Assessment
How vulnerable is your church? Our team will evaluate from the front door to the playground to determine how vulnerable your church is and make recommendations on how to create a more secure and safe campus. The survey is conducted by professionals who understand CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) and will help develop a strategic plan to deal with issues discovered. more then locks and alarms, it is about having a plan.
Questions We Ask Your Church
1) Do you have a detailed Church Safety Plan?
2) Does your plan include a “Threat Assessment Component”?
3) Do you test your school safety plan with first responders?
4) Do you have a plan to recover after a critical incident?
5) Have you ever held a table top training exercise to evaluate your Plan?
6) Did first responders help you create your plan and test it?
7) Have you ever had your plan evaluated by a 3rd party?
If you answered NO to any of these please contact us, you could be at risk.
The USA Safe Church team is made up of individuals who have years of faith based experience and are emergency first responders.
Youth Church Ministers, Emergency Planners, Police Chiefs, Sheriff’s Commander, Threat Assessment Professional, Detectives, SWAT Commander, Crime Prevention Officer, School Resource Officers. Hostage Negotiators, Fire Inspectors, Fire Department Trainer, FEMA trainer. College Professors, K-12 Principal, & Adult School Administrator. Board of Directors for California Threat Assessment Professionals, California Hostage Negotiations. Members of the ASIS International, California School Resource Offices Association, Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern Ca.