Author Reference
Lango, B. (2016). A simple Security
Procedure During Church Service. Intel Fire Group of Companies Blog. Nairobi, Kenya. October
02, 2016.
On March 24, 2014 the Daily Nation
(March, 2014, Online version) reported that 100 suspects had been arrested when
attackers sprayed gunfire to worshipers leaving two people dead and several
injured. First forward to May 3, 2016 and leaflets are found outside a church
in Likoni estate on a Sunday and a jerrican
containing what was believed then to be petrol sending panic across the church
with most members who heard the news staying away. This then begs the question,
how should the churches be secured during religious services? Does securing
these churches mean procuring security guards at the main entrance whose major
duties according them is sweeping the metal detector on worshippers as they get
into church? Is there a standard procedure in securing the churches whether
with guards or not? It is for this particular reason that this articles focuses
on the Kenyan local churches to provide a simple standard procedure in securing
the churches.
1. Gate Manning
One of the major duties of security
or guarding officers or even selected security team at the church premises is
the manning of the gate. This should be clearly demarcated as either exit or
entry and in cases where the gate is one, the entry and exit sections must be
established. The manning activities entail screening the incoming worshippers
without discriminations albeit not religiously. The officers undertaking the
screening must be able to assess the incoming individuals from a distance to be
sure whether the individual is a safe screen or suspect screening
(“your instinct will never fail you”). While performing the screening the
device should use the procedure of top-to-bottom and back-and-front swipe.
These devices are not ritual tools to be passed on someone before they get into
the church but this, friends is a serious task bestowed on officers to screen
for metals, weapons and suspicious devices that should not get the church
blessings.
An experience with a church in Changamwe Mombasa Kenya gave me the impression
that the guarding officers had only one objective to securing the church and this
was standing at the gate and ensuring that each person had the metal detector
passed through them. Worse part was when the detector signals a metal, the
officer would ask whether it is a phone and in some instances assumes it is, and
lets the owners through “home and dry”.
The only identification of these officers was their heavily branded uniforms
which by a glance one would note the pride the wearers had in cordoning the
cadre. Adding surveillance to their procedure would elevate the pride to a full
command officer (read the most
intelligent African the church can ever have).
2. Church Surveillance
Apart from gate manning,
surveillance is one of the most importance aspects of securing the church and
its occupants during services irrespective of how religious the sessions are.
Surveillance does not mean that as a security officer you take it upon yourself
to undertake the march of honor inside the church while the service is ongoing.
This will most probably be construed by members as the work of “devil” using you as its “security officer” to distract them from
focusing on their conversation with their maker.
Surveillance therefore entails the
security officers apart from manning the gate, allocates part of the team to
walk around the church compound both within and outside ensuring that there is
no suspect activity, no suspect material or item, no suspect procedure, and
that the entire compound is secure both internally and externally. Studies have
proven that the presence of security officers within and outside the church
compound would act as a deterrent mechanism for any trouble-maker to think harder before engaging in any sinister
activity. The church as one of the believers is protected by the blood of Jesus
Christ but it is paramount that the same blood guides the church and its security
officers in detection, identification, deterrent, and elimination of any threat
before actual harm for Jesus died to save even the most sinful of them all.
After the service there must be a closure of the security procedure.
3. Closure Procedure
Immediately after the church service
the security officers should not leave the church premises with the members in
toes. Instead there should a standard procedure in bringing to closure the
heavy security that was being envisioned during the church service back to the
not so heavy one after the service. This is what my layman knowledge would term
the low-peak-to-high-peak security
procedure and the high-peak-to-low-peak
procedure. The latter is overwhelmingly ignored by even the most profound of
the guarding units who forms the majority of the officers. There must be a
standard procedure of any form in a church security closure setting and this
must be unique to the players. This must entail a security brief to the church
officers in charge and the chief security officer of the securing company or
relevant arm of the authority. On this therefore we have a closure on this
article based on a scenario of the church goer you are and that the security
happenings of your church are your greatest concern. If you are not very Christian
then this does not relevantly concern you at the moment but the next may. IT IS
IGNORANT TO BELIEVE IN THE PROTECTION BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST AND FAIL TO
FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES THE BLOOD REQUIRES YOU TO PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE YOU ARE
PROTECTED.
The writer is a PhD Generalist in
Service Delivery and Project Management.
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