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The church is a place of peace where people go to lower themselves before the Almighty. It creates the bondage of sacred feelings between the worshipers and God. Unfortunately, over the last few years, the church has become a targeted place for the terrorists to conduct mass-killings. Therefore, a new concern has been raised among the security agencies to tackle the unprecedented terrorist attacks.

The horrible invasion to the place of worship results in the loss of life and property, and such a deadly raid can turn the holy haven into an inferno within a few seconds. Of course, you can remember the bloodshed of St. Thomas Catholic, St. Philips Catholic, and Theresa Catholic Church, or Charleston or Sutherland Springs in the US that shocked the global humanity.

Currently, both the state and the private security agencies are framing a new vision and mission to take full control over the multi-safety threats and attacks in the church. Along with mass-killings and terrorist attacks, the despoiling of priests, hijacking of rare religious relics, suicide bombings, shootings, stabbings, and destruction of the buildings is vandalizing the entire security system of the churches across the world.

Why is church security a rising concern at present?

Church security management isn't a new phenomenon. It has a long history but in the post-modern technological era, it is facing multi-faceted challenges. Now, no one can feel secure anywhere, even in the place of worship. The deadly global terrorist attacks in recent years have changed the definition and dimension of the security system.

In 2017, there were horrific incidents of terrorist raids in many holy places like mosques and churches. And these attacks cost the lives of many people, including men, women, and innocent children. Therefore, the church authorities are now thinking to initiate multi-layer protective measures against these horrendous invasions.

And suicide bombings have become common weapons for the religious fundamentalists and terrorists to operate their missions. It's hard to spot perpetrators in mass gatherings. 

In many countries, the deadly attacks on priests, church leaders and worshipers has caused apprehension and it has posed a hard challenge for the peacekeeping security agencies. 

What are the objectives of the church security management?

Ensuring security in the churches is little bit different from the house, shopping mall, and conference room. Here, nobody normally doubts anyone. People generally believe that God will save them from any hazards. And the attackers avail of this opportunity to operate their bloodshed operation. Therefore, the security agencies divide their total security plan into three major objectives - deterrence, detection, and response.

Deterrence: The church leaders should consider a proactive security measure to deter the potential attackers. It's important that you organize your safety steps in order to stop any incidents as quickly as possible. Although, it's a matter of budget to deploy highly-trained security personnel to ensure flawless security, the church authorities shouldn't rely upon unskilled individuals or uniformed law enforcers. With a well-thoughtout deterring measure, it's possible attackers will feel the pressure and abandon their plans.

Detection: The security service providers should determine how intruders access areas of the church, either with an overt or covert security system that takes full control of the access points.  This is essential to detect the attackers. Normally, churches have many access points for worshipers, which is a weak point to ensure security. Therefore, the first step should be to close some of these gates and open just a few gates to limit the access by outsiders. And the access gates should be under tight control of guards, if possible with some sort of check in and out system. No relaxation should be paid to controlling the entrance points. Our suggestion is to utilize the best security service providers. Fast Guard Service is one of the trusted names to meet that demand regarding church and othersecurities. It provides highly professional and equipped personnel for tight security.

Response: This is the stage that determines the efficiency of the security personnel in preventing the potential intruders and attackers. The response must be quick and effective so that the attackers cannot wreak havoc. Based on the level of detection, the measures for intervention may be of different. However, the law enforcement agencies should be tactful in order to avoid any unnecessary rumor, panic, and further danger in the church.

In the constantly changing world, security is an important issue for everyone. And even when this is a question of safety for holy places like the church, it requires attention and precaution to ensure impeccable security for innocent worshipers. May God keep us safe everywhere!