Building House of Worship Security Teams: An Israeli Training Model for Law Enforcement

As a result of training and field experience, officers understand the legal and tactical aspects of having to deal with hostile individuals in a variety of situations. Likewise, officers usually have some experience in providing security for various public and private events. These experiences, combined with officer character and community reputation, make the officer the ideal candidate to lead a house of worship security team. No matter how skilled, it is not possible for an officer, alone, to provide adequate security for a house of worship. To be effective, security must involve civilian members of the team, pastoral staff and congregation. This course employs the Israeli Security Model to unravel the complexities of church security and prepare the officer to lead the overall security program.

This one-day (8 hrs.) course is being offered at the North Carolina Justice Academy in Edneyville, NC, and is open to sworn active duty or retired law enforcement. This course trains officers to effectively lead a house of worship security team that will provide a secure environment for the congregation, without hindering normal routine and activities. The course prepares officers with the fundamental knowledge, methods, and skills to function both as a team leader and as a single operator to detect, prevent, and neutralize a wide variety of threats to the safety and well-being of a congregation. In so doing, the course provides the officer with a model for training civilian members of the security team.