Churches Making Safety a Priority with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office

Ottawa County, Michigan sent this bulletin at 01/13/2016 09:17 AM EST
Sheriff Press Release

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January 13, 2016

For Immediate Release

Media Contacts:

Area Churches Make Safety a Priority

The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office will be conducting Emergency Operations Workshops for houses of worship in the area. According to Carl Chinn, a national expert on church violence, there have been 1156 Deadly Force Incidents at places of worship in in last 15 years. These threats of violence are very difficult to predict. Chinn says that top reasons include robbery, domestic spillover, personal conflict and random violence. (Source: http://www.carlchinn.com/Church_Security_Concepts.html) 

“Many people think of a house of worship as a safe area where violence and emergencies cannot affect them. However, violence in houses of worship is not a new phenomenon and we recognize a need for expert training in the areas of safety and security," commented Garry Brand, Safety Ministry Leader, Grace Community Church. "In addition to violent acts, fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and arson also affect houses of worship. With many incidents occurring with little or no warning, many houses of worship are developing and updating plans to protect of their congregations, staff and facilities.”

This training is hosted by Grace Community Church and conducted by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office at no cost to participants. Registration is required. Visit http://www.solagrace.org/safety for more information.

PHASE I

January 28 | 6-8pm | Grace Community Church | 3500 New Holland | Hudsonville

Who should attend?

  • Church safety, security & medical leaders

Items to be discussed:

  • Security preparedness
  • Church safety & security
  • The need for a security conscious philosophy
  • Building Emergency Response Teams 

Register online by January 21. 

PHASE II

February 20 | 8:30am-4pm | Grace Community Church | 3500 New Holland | Hudsonville

Who should attend?

  • Building Emergency Response Teams (B.E.R.T.)
  • Team members who have been identified by church leaders.

Items to be discussed:

  • History of church related emergencies
  • Legal aspects
  • Crime prevention & environmental design
  • Emergency planning & roles of B.E.R.T.
  • Children’s ministries
  • Criminal background checks
  • Ottawa County Central Dispatch
  • How to identify suspicious persons
  • Security preparedness

Register online by February 13.