It was mid 2014 when I was speaking at a conference on the subject of Domestic Terrorism when a person in the audience asked about any future predictions I may have. I put my head down for a moment because the answer I was about to give was one that bothered me down to my core. I replied to them with an answer that I truly hoped would be absolutely false, and said “Religious places like churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues seem to fit the pattern. I hope I am wrong.” Here we are in mid 2019, and within the past few weeks we have seen pure evil come to the surface in attacks against places of worship around the globe. Places like New Zealand, Sri Lanka, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Baltimore (as of this morning) and countless others. The death toll keeps rising, the attacks keep happening, and far too many of us haven’t taken any steps that go beyond our deepest thoughts and prayers.
Over the past couple years we have seen a few religious institutions starting to question the security of their facility and the protection of their patrons. Some have even brought in consultants like S2 Strategic Defense or others to help evaluate, develop a plan, and train the right staff; but relatively speaking this is a small percentage of organizations and certainly not enough to awaken the others. Meanwhile, practitioners of any faith have been questioning their safety as they attend their congregation. I have had the opportunity to speak with Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Seikhs, and Jews which all find common ground in the question “What can we do to feel safer as we head to prayer?” A heartfelt question, with no simple answer.
WHAT THE STATISTICS SAY:
I believe that is more than fair to say that no faith truly believes in violence, and that practitioners will always seek refuge in their beliefs. But that shouldn’t prevent anyone from accepting the reality of the situation/circumstances and do what it is necessary to protect themselves and their communities. The truth is that most of the leadership of these congregations has almost pacified these attacks as an anomaly, something that rarely occurs and typically isn’t worth taking any additional precautions for. Turn on the news or do just a quick internet search and we see horrific statistics and details of attacks that very clearly indicate that these attacks are NOT an anomaly, and require immediate attention. We see statistics such as:
- Hate Crimes increase by 17%
- Religious Hate Crimes increase by 23%
- 1564 Religious Hate Crimes reported in 2017 which only second to the attacks of 9/11
- 1 of every 4 mass shootings is against a place of worship
- 1 of every 5 hate crimes committed are motivated by the victim’s religious beliefs
Even more frightening is that many of these hate crimes and religious hate crimes are grossly under reported, which means that the numbers are a bare minimum! How can anyone call this an anomaly or rare occurance? It is not. The problem is real, it is here to stay, and is only going to escalate.
LEARNING FROM THE PAST:
What else do we know about these attacks places of worship? Well, if we study the recent events over the past 3-5 years we can actually learn quite a bit! Allow me to give you a brief overview via bulletpoint that you can research and consider for yourselves:
- Religious hate crimes have not targeting any one particular religion. Although we may see a short string of attacks against one faith, when we review them on a grander scale we see that they are fairly evenly spread out. Just as an example, in the past 3 weeks we have seen a few attacks:
- Christchurch, NZ- attacks against Muslims at (2) mosques
- Sri Lanka- attacks against Christians on Easter Sunday. Events taken place at churches and hotels
- San Diego, CA- attacks against Jews on the final day of Chabad
- The Manifesto: Increasingly more often, the attackers are leaving behind a written manifesto of their beliefs. These manifestos have been taken off of the internet extremely quickly, and studied in depth by law enforcement officials. Many of the writings often contradict themselves multiple times and can often be a bit confusing to follow, but all of them seem to a writing that the shooter hopes to be a part of their own legacy.
- Websites: There was a time when extreme hate groups were hiding in small corners of the world. Now with the power of the internet, there are several websites in which these people can congregate and almost cheer each other on. They begin their posts as “Anon” which is short for anonymous and tend to get reposted by like minded individuals which helps this person build their twisted version of courage to then execute their professed act of hate. These forums are now under the scrutiny of law enforcement at all times in efforts to identify potential bad actors, but hasn’t proven to be effective quite yet, especially since new websites are created easily and often.
- Setting Records: One of the most common hopes of any mass shooter (religious or not) is to gain their fame by trying to escalate their success in death counts. If one event has 50, the shooter then wants to have greater than 50. It is almost a battle of evils to see who can be most effective at being evil. Think about that for a moment! And now with the power of things like social media and live streaming, they get an added tool in their toolbox to get that fame.
- Political Cover: This aspect is fairly new in comparison, but one of the aspects that we find is that in the manifestos left behind the shooters tend to quote their political preference, twist it around, then show themselves as a devotee to a cause and encourage others to take action. Some sort of self-stated “political martyr” of sort. However, none of their claims tend to align with any true political ideology.
- In any of these shootings, the only way the attack has stopped or slowed down is when the attacker is met with resistance. The sooner that resistance happens, the less the body count. In New Zealand, the shooter was in his 2nd mosque when a patron threw a credit card machine at him to break the rhythm. In San Diego, CA .. a combat veteran and a former law enforcement officer immediately took action. In Sutherland Springs, TX, a neighbor heard the gun shots and responded by using his semi-automatic rifle. However, when no resistance is given.. the attack continues until the shooter either kills themselves, or law enforcement officers take appropriate action.
WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW!
What are a few key notes for all religious institutions to consider, RIGHT NOW! Whether they want an armed personnel or not, training or not, consulting or not; there are a few things that every religious institution should do immediately.
- Place “spotters” though out parking areas and any ingress/egress areas. This person’s first responsibility is to spot any behavior or threats that are entering the premises and be able to communicate immediately back to the building(s) to barricade the doors.
- Establish a working relationship with local law enforcement. Invite them to speak at your congregation and get to know the patrons. This line of communication is critical under fire.
- Chain Of Communication: Part of the relationship with law enforcement is to develop a chain of communication. Who can the agency speak with in the case of a threat, attack etc. There should be more than one person from each organization.
- Invest in emergency medical kits that include tourniquets, chest seals, wound dressing etc. A proper IFAK kit located in several areas. You’ll need to provide some training on these items but this WILL help save lives.
- Establish an emergency evacuation plan and repeatedly remind everyone of it. Doors, exits, places to barricade if needed etc.
For religious institutions who want the best option, apply the above list and follow up with:
- Develop a known team for protective detail
- There should be specific training for each member. Some may be inclined for medical, while others for armed response, while others may help herd the masses. Give members their task!
- Training should be regularly scheduled
- Evaluations of your facility to identify entry/exits, areas of barricading, transitional spaces, choke points etc. This same floor plan should also be sketched out appropriately and given to your local law enforcement.
- Use technology to your favor. Real time video surveillance, zoned lock out devices, proper alarm systems are all commercially available.
- A proper consultant will take you thru the steps of development and implementation of the right plan
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
It is never a pleasant thought to consider high levels of violence in anywhere let alone a facility that we see as sanctuaries for people to connect with their religion or their God. We don’t want to see these horrid actions in our places of worship exposing our patrons, our elderly, our children. But we also cannot simply act as if the threat isn’t real and hope for the best. As leaders in the community, as steeples in our local societies, it is our responsibility to ensure that our patrons are safe. It can be a complex problem with infinite variables, but the at the core of it all we have to take our responsibility seriously. Please take the time to consider a proper safety protocol and training. Truly, lives are on the line.
For more information, please contact our staff at S2 Strategic Defense through our website at www.S2Strategic.com or by email at [email protected] for your consultation
