Keeping religious institutions secure

Keeping Religious Institutions Secure explores the unique vulnerabilities that churches, synagogues, and mosques face in regards to security, making them attractive to criminals who see them as easy targets. The text illustrates why all places of worship should think about security and the types of breaches that can drive people away. The book focuses on the most frequent security concerns experienced by houses of worship, including embezzlement, vandalism, assault, hate crime, and in rare cases, an active shooter-and how to help prevent them from occurring. Beginning with an overview of the basic security concepts and principles that can enhance the security of any religious facility, it then delves deeply into the particular security concerns of houses of worship, including the use of volunteers, protecting religious leaders, ensuring safety for children and teens, interacting with local law enforcement, handling the media, and much more.

Includes index.

Front Cover; Keeping Religious Institutions Secure; Copyright; Contents; About the Authors; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1 -- Introduction; Incidents in the United States; Incidents Outside the United States; Safety versus Security; Purpose and Scope of this Book; Organization of this Book; Considerations; End Notes; Chapter 2 -- Examining Typical Crimes; General Crime Information; Financial Crimes; Crimes against Property; Crimes against Persons; Hate Crimes; Final Thoughts; End Notes; 3 -- Understanding Basic Security Principles; General Concepts; Disaster/Crisis/Incident Management Cycle.

Physical SecurityElectronic Security; Environmental Security; Operational Security; Information Security; Final Thoughts; End Notes; 4 -- Evaluating Risk; Risk; Risk Assessment; Security Survey; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Putting It All Together; Final Thoughts; End Notes; 5 -- Choosing Physical and Electronic Security Countermeasures; Security System Functions; Designing and Implementing a Physical Protection System; Improving an Existing PPS; Systems Integration; Performance Measures for PPS Functions; Building Your Facility; Final Thoughts; End Notes; 6 -- Utilizing the Total Environment.

Benefi…