Author
Reference
Benard.,
L., (2015): How to enhance security at the local church
in Kenya. Intel
Fire Group of Companies Blog. Nairobi, Kenya.
 |
| A local church in a remote village |
How to enhance security at the local church in Kenya
Kenya has experienced some of the worst
security issues in the horn of Africa and this to a larger extent has been
targeted at churches and even those targeting other institutions of higher
learning has been castigated on religion background. Churches at the capital
Nairobi and major towns in Kenya have enhanced their security by, among other
measures, hiring private security firms to take charge of their security
operations during church services. In most of these churches the private
security firms have ensured that there is surveillance, night patrols and in
even bigger churches a patrol base established within the church. The bigger
question therefore is “Are all churches
equal”.
According to how you view this statement
your answer will definitely be that not all churches are equal in the “eyes” of
man but to God they are the same. Back to enhancing security, the local
churches in Kenya especially those in remote areas do not have the same budget
as those in town therefore their security setup in most cases will not involve
the hiring of a private security firm. In these churches their security is
composed of the members of the church who will take turn in guarding the entry
points and the surrounding of the church. For these particular churches they
are the easiest targets to security threats as churches are supposed to welcome
strangers. Take for example a church in Turkana and West Pokot area where
cattle rustling have been reported and many people killed, the threat is local
security threat. To enhance security in these areas therefore, the local
churches needs to consider implementing the following procedures:
1.
Train Church security team on basic security enhancement techniques
They may not be able to pay for the
training but the church should focus on one of its members with advanced
knowledge on security issues to train the team on basic steps to take to ensure
the team participation can secure the rest of the church members. The trainer
can either be a church member or even the local police not to mention the immense
skills of the police reservists in most of these remote community churches. This
usually is not an intense training which leads to certification but a general
training that creates awareness to the team on majorly security screening, surveillance
and threat identification and handling.
2.
Limit the entry and exit points to the church
This in some churches this might be a
tall order as the church itself is incomplete in an isolated unfenced compound.
But again the team can mobilize its members and place temporary fence around
the church and ensure that the entry and exit point to the church compound is
one and since the population is usually low, the entry and exit point to the church
room should also be one. This is simple to ensure there is an order into and
out of the church and any violation should arouse suspicion of a security
breach.
3.
Talk to members as they get into the church
Most security threats have been thwarted
through establishing the background of threat perpetuators and one such way is
the security engaging each and every one attending the church service as they
go through the entry point. This does not mean the team engages in long village
talks but just a greeting especially to strangers just get a little bit on them
as they join the church service.
4.
Screen the attendees to the church service
These texts have indicated that these
churches are in remote areas and using metal detectors and scanners is out of
the question as one they cannot afford and even if they did they would not know
where to get it. The best screening method is conducting a head-to-toe hand
search for any metal like material carried by the church goer. The metal-like
devices like phones must be seen by the team conducting the search and if in
the pockets it must be removed for confirmation. Any weapon especially light
weapons like knives, rungus and
others should never be allowed at the church.
5.
Rotate the security team members
After a period of time, the members to the
security team should be resulfled and new members added into the team who will
learn from the rest. Just a caution that not all the team members should be
replaced as this would mean building from scratch the security team.
Yes security must start with the church
members, but the members must be proactive in dealing with security issues at
the church and around the church community.
The Author is a Research Generalist in Projects Management Specializing
in Safety Service Delivery
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