Law Enforcement, Faith Leaders Talk Security Plans

(TNS) – Locking entry doors during church services would have seemed unimaginable 20 years ago, said Mark Rychak, a member of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Richland Township.

But given the growing number of attacks on places of worship in recent years, even churches such as his that seek to welcome everyone have been forced to rethink how they do it, he acknowledged.

“It’s sad,” Rychak said, “but we have to be more careful now.”

But leaders of local churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship don’t have to address the issue alone. Local law enforcement officials stand ready to help them prepare for potential attacks, Cambria County Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) Commander Michael Plunkard told a group of nearly 50 faith leaders on Monday.

Faith leaders from across the county were invited to a gathering at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown organized by Cambria County District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer, the Rev. Reggie Floyd, Cambria County SERT and other law enforcement officials.

The fact that church members are already thinking about the issue — and asking important questions — is the first step, said Plunkard, who is also a Johnstown police captain.

The next step is to conduct risk assessments of their places of worship — and develop in-house plans to respond to attacks, he added.

Given that every church building’s layout is different, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

Plunkard said local police and emergency management officials are willing to help.

That includes working with church leaders to identify potential issues within church buildings — and answering important questions that would arise if a gunman entered, aiming to take lives.

“Who would lock down the building? Who would make the 911 call? Who would guide (church members) to designated safety zones?” Plunkard said.

Churches should create security teams that would develop a plan to assign those roles and answer other important questions — and once a plan is in place, it should be shared with police and modified when changes warrant it, Neugebauer said.

He urged attendees to lean on the strengths and talents of their own congregations’ members to select their security committees. That could include church members who are police officers, counselors, firefighters, doctors or nurses.

Those teams would work with local police departments to iron out those plans — much like schools across the country do, Plunkard said.

Neugebauer said the goal on Monday was to “spark conversation” — to get worship leaders talking about developing their own plans to protect their churches.

“It’s great to see how many people from our local houses of worship came out … to start thinking about procedures they can take to protect themselves,” he said. “They know their places of worship best. They know their buildings’ strengths and weaknesses.”

Elder Gary Menett, of Johnstown’s First Presbyterian Church, praised local law enforcement officials for reaching out about the event.

He said that First Presbyterian Church members added security cameras in recent years and have undertaken active shooter preparedness training. But in today’s times, there’s always going to be more to learn, he said.

“Something that works for someone else might not work for us,” Menett said. “We’ve never had a problem before, but we know we have to be prepared.”

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