Safeguarding Your Church

Debbie ScholzEmergency Response and Preparedness Planner

– SEA Consulting Group

Harbor View Presbyterian Church

Purpose

• To provide you with ideas, tools, and guidance on how to best protect the property and people of your church from:– Thefts – Accidents– Mis-use of Facility– Assault / Injury– Fire / Natural Disaster– Other

Agenda

• Topics Being Addressed in this Presentation:– Physical Plant Safety– Corporate Safety Policies

• Member Safety • User Safety Requirements and Policies

– Insurance Review / Audits– Training Education Needs– Update and Maintenance of Plans and Policies

Won’t Happen Here Attitude

• It won’t happen here.• If it does happen here, it

won’t affect me.• If it does affect me, it won’t

be that bad.• If it is that bad, I can’t do

anything about it anyway!

WRONG!

Disclaimer

• There is no such thing as 100% effectiveness!• Security is a component of Safety.• Security and Safety are attitudes ALL staff and

congregation members must adopt – otherwise you are doomed to fail.

• Complacency Encourages Crime.

Bottom Line – your church is not a prison and should serve your community and membership, but you

need to minimize your potential loss risk!

Systematic Approach

• Keys to Achieving a Safe Church:– Utilize a Planning Cycle – can’t do it all at once!– Many of the topics in this presentation are common sense

items…regular maintenance / oversight is required

Step 1: Planning

• You probably already have many of these items in place or underway – may just need to be formalized

• Many of these items in this presentation are common sense requirements…– Most Insurance Companies now require the use of Best

Practices for Church Safety• See what other churches already have – don’t have to re-invent

the wheel – Steal Shamelessly from others and customize for your purposes

• Reach out to your local Emergency Planning Department (EPD, Fire, Police – often your own members) for additional information / guidance

– Legal Review of all plans/policies is highly recommended

Planning Corollaries

1.Plans are only as good as the information incorporated into them

2.If you don’t use and/or maintain a plan, it is essentially a “door stop” – not much good for anything except holding the door open

3.“Safety is not a passive strategy”4.“Hope is not a strategy” when addressing

planning needs

Physical Plant Safety

• Conduct Internal Audit of Facility: ($ to $$$$)– Secure the facility – general (regular) maintenance is key:

• Repair broken windows, doors, locks, etc.• Remove bushes and shrubs that block doorways and line of sight• Ensure all trees and shrubs are well pruned, especially near

outbuildings • Fencing and gates operational and utilized effectively

– Identify and address “Slip, Trip, and Fall” hazards internally and externally from:

• Rain / Snow / Ice• Localized flooding and drainage issues in parking lot, egress areas,

etc.

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.

– Lighting ($ to $$)• Replace all burned out bulbs / lights regularly• Incorporate motion-detection and emergency lighting

at all ingress and egress points, bathrooms, etc.– Hard-wired lights– Solar lights

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.

– Signage: ($ to $$$)• Clearly mark facilities, internally and externally

– Are signs clean, clear, and readable? From a distance? Up close?

– Spelled correctly?– Attractive and Professional?– Do they direct people to where they need to go? – Are lighted signs working? If not repair / replace

“Signs! Signs! Everywhere there’s signs.Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mindDo this, don’t do that, Can’t you read the sign?”

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.

– Access Controls: ($ to $$$)• Alarm Systems

– (Fire / Security)• Panic bars with alarms for exterior doors• Provide view windows for all interior doors

– Must be able to see into all rooms from outside

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.

– Develop Strict Key Control Policy: ($ to $$)• How many people have keys to your facility?

– Master Keys– Main Ingress / Egress doors– Interior Rooms– Other

• Do you have a list of all keys and who has them?

• Are they numbered / accounted for?

If not, its time to Re-Key!

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.– Develop and maintain complete inventory of all Church

property: ($)– Electronics (computers, copiers, A/V Equipment, Phones, FAX, etc.)– Music (sheet, choir, other)– Furniture– Room by room – Facility design, upgrades, HVAC systems, etc.

• List brand, model and serial numbers, value, # of copies, etc.• Photograph and video inventory also recommended• Inscribe electronics and furniture with church name, phone number

or use “Property of” tags

• Maintain several copies – don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!• May want to provide CD copy of all files to your Insurance Company

Example Equipment Inventory Example Photo Inventory

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.– Copper Thefts: ($ to $$$)

• A/C system thefts can cause $3,000 – $75,000+ in damages per event

– 8/2009 - $1M copper stolen from School construction site - Greenville– 12/2009 - $60-70K in AC unit theft – Summerville – 7/2010 – Copper water pipes stolen from home – Charleston– 8/2010 – Copper removed from A/C unit - Charleston– 8/2010 – Copper gas line stolen from home – Charleston

• Copper downspouts, copper roofing, etc., are also targeted

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.– Copper Thefts, Continued:

• In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy called copper theft a $1-billion problem that was getting worse (DOE, 2007)

• Many churches in the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery have experienced these thefts

• Insurance deductibles are often high…severely impacting the affected facility

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.– Guard Against Copper Thefts by:

• Installing lights, trim shrubbery to provide visibility of copper sources

• Protecting A/C units with locked fencing or cages – leave room for servicing

• Consulting with alarm companies for additional protection options

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.– Church Vehicles and Trailers: ($ to $$$$)

• Stealing, outright• Removal of equipment• Vandalism• Destruction• Other

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.– Church Vehicles & Trailers Theft / Vandalism Protection

• Enclose vehicles / trailers with fencing• Secure vehicles with alarms and CLUB on steering wheel• Park in place visible by passing motorists / residents• Engrave / weld name onto trailers / frame or etch windows• Mark trailers with special paint-jobs, decals, lettering, etc.• Spray paint name / phone number inside of trailer in

fluorescent paint• Obtain license plates for trailer – so serial / VIN number on

record

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.

– Church Historical Data• Church Registers and other data for your church • Is this information archived anywhere? Is it stored in a

secure place resistant to fire / flooding?– Most churches only have electronic records from mid 1980’s

forward – often these are stored on media that you can no-longer retrieve

– Established back-up procedures?– Have you identified who has copies in case of evacuation?– Alternate storage site for all information (on line? Member

home?, Pastor, etc.?)

Physical Plant Safety, Cont.

– After doing initial Physical Plant Updates, Request a Crime Prevention / Security Survey: ($)

• Free Audit by Charleston Police Department – previously by Sgt. Trevor Shelor (SHELORT@ci.charleston.sc.us) or

• Use other Security Company

Privacy = Opportunity = Crime Risk

• Build “Layers” of protection to reduce risk• Should address:

– Thefts / Vandalism / Security issues by “unauthorized persons” – defined by CCPD as thieves, vandals, beggars, homeless persons seeking shelter, pedophiles, non-custodial parents, violent individuals, or curious trespassers

Corporate Safety Policies

• Develop Plans / Policies for your Church. Examples can include ($ to $$):– Employee Manuals – Elder Manuals– Disaster Response Plans / Hurricane Plans– Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) – Business Continuity– Communication Plans – emergency contact teams– Member Care Plans– Credit Card Use Policy– Vehicle Driver Certification Policy – required for use of Church

vehicles when transporting members or other individuals

Corporate Safety Policies

– Data Security Management Policies – Church Key Control Plan– Worship Service Safety Plans– Parking Lot Safety Plans– Facility Use Policy

• Meeting Use – BSA, GSA, NA, AA, Etc. • Weddings• Funerals• Visiting Groups / Mission Groups• Facility Rentals – Other (e.g., use of gymnasium for basketball,

aerobics, etc.)

Corporate Safety Policies, Cont.

– Member Care Policies provide unified safety / security for all members and facility users

• Covenant of Care Policy with Children, Youth, and Vulnerable Adults (or similar) – for on-site and off-site activities

– Training and education requirements ($ to $$)– Background checks (DSS and National Offenders List) ($ to $$)– Hard to achieve at all times – but necessary

Expect push-back from members – NOT POPULARMay be required from insurance standpoint

Insurance Reviews / Audits

• Establish Committee to annually review insurance requirements / needs for your Church. This may include but is not limited to: – Commercial Property – Building and Contents– Hurricane / Wind & Hail– Earthquake– Commercial General Liability & Additional Liability

Coverage– Automobile Insurance– Workers Compensation– Umbrella Policy– ?

Insurance Reviews / Audits, Cont.

– Understand Limits and Exclusions of Policies• What is the deductible for each component? Can your church

budget afford a deductible of 2-12% of total value from a fire or natural disaster?

– $50,000? $120,000? $200,000+• Replacement Cost or Current Value?• Loss of Income• Who is allowed to drive Church vehicles? Are there any

restrictions or training required?

– Conduct insurance audit with Insurer – evaluate the realities of your situation annually ($ to $$$$)

Step 2: Implementation

• Provide information and training to staff and congregation for new policies and plans – Keep everyone informed – Use what you already have in

place for communications in your church• Announcements in Church• Bulletins• News letters• Church gatherings / events• Mailings• Websites• Social Networking – facebook, Twitter, etc.

– Where necessary, conduct training on the material– Get the word out using all means available!

Step 3: Evaluation

• Conduct Annual Reviews of all plans, policies, and protocols (at a minumum)

• Most plans are living documents – and should be modified as circumstances warrant:– Collect all changes and lessons learned from the year and ensure that

these changes are reflected in your planning documents and procedures

– Review Insurance requirements relative to your existing policies– Are all plans still necessary?– Are there new components of your church life that needs to be

addressed?– Have significant losses been incurred? People, financial, facility, etc.?

Did these losses change your Church operations?

Step 4: Review & Update

• Release revised plans – ensure that date stamp or version number is incorporated into document– Provide Education and training updates to staff and

congregations on changes – make it easy for everyone to be informed:

• Announcements in Church• Bulletins• Newsletters• Church gatherings / events• Mailings• Websites• Social Networking – facebook, Twitter, etc.

– Post finals to website (where applicable) and maintain print copies in Church office for easy access

For More Information

• Contact Other Churches in your area for copies of their existing planning documents

• Visit Church / Presbytery Websites for additional ideas

• Contact Local Emergency Planners / Law Enforcement Agencies for ideas and information

• Contact your insurance agent for information

Thank you

For copies of this presentation or for copies of documents discussed in this presentation, contact me at:

Debbie Scholzdscholz@seaconsulting.com 843-367-5126

Ms. Scholz is an Emergency Response / Preparedness Planner with SEA Consulting Group here in Charleston, SC for more than 18+ years and is the current chair of the Harbor View Presbyterian Church’s Administration Committee that oversees these plans, policies and associated documents.