The public seminar on “Protecting Houses of Worship” sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina was composed of two main sessions: “Law Enforcement Support to Protecting Houses of Worship” and “Local Area Houses of Worship Discuss Security.” The first presenter in the first session was Greenville Police Sergeant Mike … Continue reading
On November 15, 2018, less than a month after the mass murder of 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina held a public seminar on “Protecting Houses of Worship.” Sadly, the seminar was not scheduled in response to this … Continue reading
In my haste to get a post up yesterday about the safety and security threats faced by congregations, I neglected to address two important findings from Christopher Scheitle’s recent article based on a national survey of congregations: Religious Congregations’ Experiences with, Fears of, and Preparations for Crime: Results from a National Survey. I dealt only … Continue reading
I concluded my post on Jeff Kowell’s view of church security as ministry by highlighting his point that very little church security involves any physical intervention at all, armed or unarmed. And, yet, church security is often treated just as a variant of armed security in general, especially as concerns “active shooter interdiction.” So, in … Continue reading
Although the entire premise of this blog and my research on Gun Culture 2.0 more generally is that self-defense and concealed carry have been become the core of American gun culture, I do recognize that self-defense and concealed carry have always been a part of American gun culture. Even in the late 18th and early … Continue reading
Earlier this year, I put out a call for resources on protecting houses of worship for a possible research project on church/congregational security. I received so many suggestions that I was able to create two lists: Training Organizations, Groups and Individuals Other Resources (conferences, books, DVDs, articles, etc.) I am happy to report that the … Continue reading
I haven’t had time to write this up yet, but an underlying theme in academic studies of guns is that carrying a concealed firearm (and in some cases even owning one) is not a rational decision for most Americans under most circumstances. “Rational” here understood in the classical economic sense of maximizing benefits and minimizing … Continue reading
