Carl Chinn - Think About It - The Thing About Tunnel Vision

The Thing About Tunnel Vision…

You all know we have now had another school shooting in Colorado. An 18-year-old Senior from Arapahoe High School took a shotgun, 3 Molotov cocktails and a machete into his school.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the kid wanted to shoot many. Even though his anger stemmed from an incident with one specific teacher, beyond his initial vendetta he just wanted to kill a bunch more.

The key comment from Sheriff Robinson was that when the gunman encountered the armed school resource officer, he killed himself. So his planned mass-casualty carnage only had one victim (a girl remaining in critical condition from a head wound) aside from himself. 80 seconds after he entered the school he was dead and the attack was over.

It has now been 6 years since our attack at New Life Church. As soon as our gunman entered our church the first thing he saw was me coming at him with a gun. As he and I took cover positions, our focus was entirely on each other. An excerpt from my book on the subject tells a bit about the tunnel vision of those moments;

It is possible there were others in the hallway in those opening moments, but adrenalin sets tunnel vision on the primary concern. That reaction works for both the attacker and defender. An attacker’s focus (and aim) goes to the armed defender even before shots are exchanged, thus providing one more element of protection for the innocent. [i]

Once our shooter entered the building, the random shots were over. As soon as Jeanne Assam (our armed private citizen security team member) surprised him from his left, he shot himself as she shot at him. He – like so many coward killers – was determined to control his own fate. His only bullet fired in that stage of the attack went into his own head.

The best tool for defending against a killer with a gun is a defender with a gun. A large reason for this is that tunnel vision does work both ways. As soon as a killer sees an armed defender, you can count on it that their tunnel vision has just locked in. Among all other reasons I promote an armed defense, this is key among them.

Think About it:

Ø Training is important for defenders. We have all been trained on the adrenalin aspect, including tunnel vision. These killer kids pick up a gun and envision their attack as if it is a video game, and their gun is the joystick. Their training has come primarily through X-Box. But when they meet an armed and trained defender, their adrenalin hits in a way they were unprepared for.

Ø These coward killers may have been to a range (most have not), and they may be able to shoot targets (most cannot), but they have not been through any tactical training and they have no noble honor in their DNA. They cannot continue in the face of nobility. Our shooter in 2007 had just tried to kill many in a YWAM facility 77 miles to our north. As he began shooting at that YWAM, he clumsily fell out a door which locked behind him and he couldn’t get back in. Do you want to see the actual demonstrated skill level of an active shooter? Click on the video from the Bay School District board meeting shooting in Florida. You will see the shooter miss every target from 8 feet away. You will see him accidently fire off his second round into the floor (finger tightening issue per your training). What you won’t see is the killer shooting himself as soon as he is hit with defensive rounds from trained and prepared school security officer Mike Jones (I will be doing a full TAI on this event soon).

Ø These unstable coward killers can’t handle a confident and capable defender. Train, drill and practice your protection skills. You will not “rise to the occasion” as these killers with a gun think they will – you will “default to your training”. If called into it, answer with the confidence of your capacity and end it. You may even have the help of the attacker in ending it, but end it quickly and decisively.

We can’t prevent them all. Murder was the first violent act in the bible, and will continue as long as there is life. But every attack will end, and we can do our part to end them quickly and thus mitigating their effect – sometimes just as the school resource officer did at Arapahoe High School this week without ever firing a shot.

Think About It: By Carl Chinn - Stuff Happens

Think About It Series: By Carl Chinn

Stuff Happens

The week of Sunday, 4/28 through Friday, 5/3 was a revealing, while not abnormal, look at church crimes across the U. S. Had I not been getting on a plane and preparing for the Sheepdog Seminar in Texas, I would have selected an example for Saturday as well.

On Sunday, 4/28/13 -- 24-year-old Lawrence Capener went wild with a knife in the St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in Albuquerque, NM. As he rushed the platform where the choir was singing "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", he was going over the pews. As he made it to the stage, he yelled, “Fake preacher!” After stabbing four choir members (who are expected to survive), church members overpowered him and held him down as they waited for law enforcement to arrive.

At 5:30 AM on Monday April 29th -- an alert citizen observed a man climbing a pole beside the Good Shepherd Church in Royal Oak, MI. Police surrounded the church, and with the help of a K-9 unit discovered 45-year old Paul E. Murray hiding in the basement of the church where he was arrested for breaking and entering.

On Tuesday night April 30th -- a surveillance camera captured the face of 25-year-old William Hutto as he broke into the Albany Baptist Church in Albany, GA. It was the 2nd time that church had been burglarized in three days. Hutto has now been charged with three more church burglaries in the same county.

On Wednesday May 1st -- Corinth, TX Pastor Jeffery Dale Williams of The Church of Corinth was arrested for attempted sexual performance on a child. The incident had occurred a month prior, but enough evidence had accumulated during that time for an arrest. If the charges are true, it is one of many despicable examples of abuse by a person of trust. If the charges are a malicious fabrication, it is one of the many ways religious leaders are attacked.

On Thursday May 2nd -- FBI and IRS agents stormed the Swedenborgian Church on the Hill in Beacon Hill, MA saying, “Nobody move, nobody leave.” After several hours the federal agents were seen carrying boxes of evidence out to vehicles. It all appears to have something to do with a church employee and is said to not be connected to the nearby recent Marathon bombing.

On Friday May 3rd -- in Centralia, WA a house on the property of the Church of the Nazarene was intentionally set on fire around 03:30 AM. As firefighters were responding to that blaze, another arson broke out a mile away. Local authorities are asking for the public’s help.


Think About it:

• From the Pacific coast to the Atlantic and from Canada to Mexico -- stuff happens at churches.

• In all denominations; Catholic, Protestant and “non-denominational” -- stuff happens at churches.

• During services and during non-event times – from early morning hours until late at night and on any day of the week -- stuff happens at churches.

• From deadly force incidents, to lesser crimes -- stuff happens at churches.

• From intruders, occasional attendees, strangers and pastors themselves -- stuff happens at churches.

• Whether a one-time spontaneous outburst or another crime in a series -- stuff happens at churches.

Church Shooting -- Emporia, KS – 1988 - Carl Chinn - Think About It

Church Shooting -- Emporia, KS – 1988

By: Carl Chinn

A few days ago I answered the phone in my office. When the voice on the line said, “Mr. Chinn, my name is Jerry Waddell” -- I stood up. I had heard of Jerry (though I hadn’t learned his name until recently) throughout my years of research on deadly force incidents at faith-based organizations. To be speaking with him was an honor worthy of my full attention.

I have met some of the folks who were involved with this particular incident. This is a small portion of their story from Sunday morning, March 6th, 1988.

18-year-old Beverly DeWeese was sitting towards the back of the Calvary Baptist Church in Emporia, KS. They were all singing when she heard someone come in through the side exterior door behind her. Looking around, she saw a young man standing behind her wearing red ear muffs. It struck her as a bit odd but recognizing his foreign descent, reasoned it must be some Asian culture inconsistent with the mild Spring-like day. Not wanting to stare, she turned back around.

The young man standing there was 29-year-old Cheun-Phon Ji (aka Paul Ji). Ji had convinced himself that a particular girl (G. M.) would have had him as her boyfriend if the church hadn’t come between them in 1984. In truth, the girl wasn’t interested in him and the church had nothing to do with that. But in Ji’s mind, her rejection of him was caused by the church.

The 3 + years he had been gone from the college town (living in California, New York, then back in California) were years in which his anger festered. In 1988 he headed his car back to Kansas with vengeance in mind. It wasn’t ear muffs he was wearing -- it was ear protection for shooting.

Armed with a SIG 9mm, multiple clips in his waste-band, and plenty more rounds in his duffle bag, he entered the back door (being familiar with the church layout and operations). As he began shooting randomly, some thought it was a prank. The sight of splinters shooting like missiles from the pews, the smell of gunpowder, and the sound of screams quickly revealed this was no prank.

Beverly felt a bullet rip through her shoulder, then she and others hit the floor and began scrambling away under the pews as the shooting continued above them.

Further towards the front, and on the other side of the church, Jerry Waddell pushed his wife to the floor, and got down with her. He heard the shooting pause then recognized the sounds of fumbling with the gun. Looking up over the back of the pew, he could see the gunman struggling, trying to replace the spent 15-round clip.

Simply being angry at the rude disruption of their service, Waddell jumped up and began running towards the shooter. Still unable to work the clips, Ji dashed away from Waddell and back out the door. As they ran across the parking lot, Jerry realized he had his hard-cover hymnal in his hand with his finger still held in the page of the song they had been singing (“Peace Like a River” as Jerry recalls -- admitting his memory could be wrong). As they were both running, he launched the hymnal at the escaping gunman striking him in the back of the head.

Probably thinking his pursuer had struck him with a fist, Ji stopped and whirled to face the defender. The distance between them at that moment, combined with the freight train momentum Waddell had worked up resulted in a body slam that sent both men scraping down the driveway and 15 feet out into the street. Rick Grossenbacher and Richard Goza had also sprung to action and were right behind Jerry. The gang of defenders piled on and held the attacker down.

Police officer Mark Senn was just a few blocks away from the church when he got the call. When he came upon the scene, he could see the commotion outside and quickly determined the shooter was at the bottom of the anger pile. The men began to learn that their friend Thomas DeWeese (who had been sitting on the same pew with his daughter Beverly) had been struck through his chest by one of the bullets, and was dying. At this point Senn’s biggest challenge was to keep the defenders from killing the gunman.

When it was over, the 15-rounds fired resulted in the death of Thomas DeWeese. His daughter Beverly and three others were wounded. The gunman was taken away for life in prison. In his duffle bag they discovered a meat cleaver, several short pieces of rope, 2 loaded .44 Magnum revolvers, and boxes of .44 Mag. and 9mm ammunition -- clear intentions of mass carnage. An attack cut short by Divine intervention and the actions of a few good men.

Think About it:

• The church had no idea the man had any anger at them – a few barely knew him. Yet in his mind he was obsessed with their mistreatment of him. That anger had brewed for years. He had signs in his Apartment in California made of Chinese symbols representing, "Love", "Hate", "Patience", "Anger" (the Chinese “Anger” symbol was interpreted by some in his trial to mean, “revenge”).

• In a later appeal (May 22nd, 1992 – KS Supreme Court documents), the courts recorded that;

“…Even after he left Emporia in 1984 he believed that the people in Emporia were spying on him. Ji finally decided to travel back to Emporia to punish the members of the Calvary Baptist Church. He also believed if there were truly a Christian God that the bullets would be deflected and nothing would happen to the members of the church. If there were no Christian God, as he believed, the members of the church would be hurt. He believed that the members of the Calvary Baptist Church were criminals and he was morally justified in delivering their punishment. Ji admitted he was well aware of his actions and he realized what the consequences could entail but believed what he was doing was right.”

• In Ji’s head, the church (and the town itself) was full of "lying white supremacists." In an interview with a local paper in 1990, Ji justified his actions as a “the result of hatred caused by his years of victimization in an oppressive American society.”

• Threats can come as a surprise from many sources, to any size of a church. Something as innocent as a girl bringing a boy to a few bible studies can be the root of tragedy. Nobody gave it a 2nd thought when G.M would tell folks it didn’t work out and they’d moved on. That scenario happens many times in the lives of our youth. As we know from other studies, an abuser rarely “moves on”. Ji moved away, but he didn’t move on. G.M. wasn’t even at the church when the attacker returned.

• Ji was an officer in the Taiwanese Army before coming to America in 1983, yet he couldn’t eject and reload a SIG clip under stress. Defenders must operate well under stress, and hope that stress may cause a critical lack of mobility on the part of the attacker (we have seen this repeated many times over). Jerry Waddell took advantage of that stress, setting a model for others to follow. While there is nothing as valuable as a firearm to stop a deadly force attack, there are other things that a true warrior will use as weapons. Waddell showed us that (in the hands of a defender) a Hymnal can be a weapon.

• In my visit with Jerry he acknowledged the value of the hymnal tactic. He told me however, he would much rather have a gun were he ever in the same scenario again. I love pure simple Kansas logic – makes me proud to be a native Kansan.

• Jerry Waddell became the first civilian to receive the Gold Award for Valor from the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, (the result of nominations by former Emporia Police Chief Larry Blomenkamp and former Lyon County Sheriff Cliff Hacker).

Inspire Spring 2013 - Carl Chinn - Think About It

Inspire Spring 2013

By: Carl Chinn

Most of you know Al Qaeda has resorted to publishing an English language, on-line publication to recruit and train aspiring Jihadists. The fact that it is English speaking and on-line evidences the primary target.

Military operations had taken out American born Samir Khan (one of the key figures of the magazine) in the same operation that killed Anwar al-Awlaki on 9/30/11. While those strategic strikes were no doubt effective, and continue to prove the long arm of American law, the magazine continues. The Spring 2013 (or 1434 as they prefer to call it) has just been released.

These radicals are emboldened by past terrorist attacks, boasting how those attacks were effective by pointing out that;

• The number of mosques in the US has increased by 74% since 9/11.

• The national Muslim population in Britain has doubled since 9/11.

• The attack in Spain on 3/11/04 swayed the election and public opinions to be more favorable (I would say “cowered to”) Islamic opinions and against American influence.

There is a section called “Open Source Jihad” which is (by its own definition in the section subtitle) “A resource for those who loathe the tyrants; includes bomb making techniques, security measures, guerilla tactics, weapons training and all other Jihad related activities.”

The current leading article in that section encourages readers to use a simple match to combat all the “superior technology” of their enemy (that’s us by the way). The article goes on to say how gas can be carried in an apple-juice bottle as a disguise. The article boasts how 1,200 vehicles were torched in France on New Year’s Eve recently. By providing the procedures, they have also provided American security professionals and law enforcement with helpful counter-terror observations.


The procedures applicable to us as security professionals to note are;

• Carry your bottle(s) of fuel.

• Find a deserted parked car.

• Avoid CCTV cameras or areas where people could see you.

• After finding a suitable place, plan your escape route.

• Pour the petrol on the vehicle(s), do not forget the tires. You can pour a line away from the vehicle.

• Leave the bottle(s) to burn so as to not be caught with it (them).

• Do not touch the vehicle(s), just in case there is an alarm.

• Use a matchstick to torch the vehicle directly or the line of petrol.

• Quickly execute your escape plan acting natural so as to avoid suspicion.

Of all the news articles I have read on this today, none have pointed out the most concerning thing I discovered in the article related to those of us in church security. These Jihadist wannabes are cautioned to avoid the vehicles of fellow Muslims. One way to do that (according the article) is to “go to non-Muslim neighborhoods during their ceremonies”. That comment made me sit up, and should you as well.


Think About it:

• We all know it is a matter of time until the next front-line news story of an international terrorist attack on American soil. A common virus in American churches (even – I am sad to report – in ones with active security operations) is a culture that “it won’t happen here”. Somebody will be wrong about that.

• By being vigilant for such rare possibilities as terrorism, our eyes and ears teams will observe lesser impact but higher likelihood criminal and mischievous plans.

• In a section of Inspire written for women by a woman, they are reminded that, “We refuse humiliation and rejection, misery or subservience; and we want to be free from having to bow from the cross-worshipers.” This and many related comments throughout the common dialogue of this and other Inspire articles evidences that the teaching of Christianity is viewed as a direct attack on them, and they are poised and ready to counter attack.

• Every major metropolitan area, and many isolated small populations have a resident extremist population. Count on it that not far from you right now, are radical extremists who look forward to every new issue of Inspire magazine.

Think About It - Carl Chinn - Heart of Protection

The Sidewalk Presentation

By Carl Chinn

Those with the heart of protection who want their ministry to increase (or continue) security, should always be ready to clearly state why. We may hope for an opportunity to make a presentation justifying the need to the executive board or the senior pastor. To be so prepared is a good, but we should plan as if our only chance for that speech might happen as we get in step with the pastor in the short walk between his car and the church doors.

In smaller churches, an audience with the right people is easier – but even then we should be well prepared to state our passion in a crisp and effective manner.

So the following might be my Sidewalk Presentation. I encourage you to be ready with yours – in your own words and culture – when it is needed.

Pastor I am happy this is my home church. It is my home church largely due to your leadership. As you are called to lead, I am called to serve -- in protection.

Even before Joseph and Mary heeded warnings to physically protect (and even relocate) baby Jesus from harm intended by others[i], God has continually used His people to intentionally protect His people. At any one of those times (and especially with His own Son) He could have just used angels, but He typically prefers to use willing agents of protection. I am honored and humbled that He has moved upon me to be a servant of protection for our fellowship.

It is not my desire to see our property resemble Ft. Knox, our security team to look like Delta Force, or our medical volunteers dressed as surgeons. But I do hope you will allow us to intentionally and actively protect our staff and guests.

I’ve no doubt we both agree there is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.[ii] Will you allow me to be our ministry’s Sheepdog?


Think About it:

• Not everyone thinks about security the way you do. Your pastor probably doesn’t have this website marked as a favorite, and that is OK. We want him to present the message of your ministry in the way he is called and credentialed to do.

• Even if you already have a team, and are recognized as a viable effort, there are some who do not agree with security in church. And the day may come when those who once acknowledged the need, no longer feel that way. Always be ready to clearly state your case.

[i] Matthew 2:14-15
[ii] 1 Peter 5:8-9

Carl Chinn - Think About It - Nehemiah Griego

An Attack Sitting Ready in the Parking lot …

By. Carl Chinn 

 

I don’t know Vince Harrison, and have never been to the Calvary Albuquerque Church where he serves as Security Chief in Albuquerque, NM. Next time I am in Albuquerque I am going to look him up.

 

On Saturday morning, January 19th, Mr. Harrison was teaching dozens of Sunday School teachers on principles of incident readiness – including active shooter readiness. While we don’t know exactly what time 15-year-old Nehemiah Griego began wandering aimlessly around the church campus, it is quite possible that as Harrison was teaching that group, Griego had arrived.

 

Harrison was called back to the church after completing the readiness classes, as young Griego had been saying some disturbing things to a pastor. When Harrison began to interview the teen, his flags went up and he called the sheriff’s office. Harrison then drove Griego to their rural home to meet arriving law enforcement. There they found many Griego family members – Mom, Dad, a 9-year-old brother, and sisters 2 & 5 years old -- laying throughout the house shot to death.

 

The 15-year-old confessed to shooting all of them in their beds around 1:00 AM that day, except his dad. His dad had been working all night at a homeless shelter, so the teen had waited in ambush in the family bathroom for his dad to come home. When dad got there, he too was gunned down and killed.

 

Then Nehemiah had taken the assault rifle he used and another gun, loaded them in a van and headed to town where he planned to shoot some random people. His primary target was Wal-Mart, but he went instead to the church, where the van with the weapons sat ready in the parking lot. Church video confirmed he had wandered the campus for hours, speaking to many he knew from church.

 

Nehemiah confessed that he intended to “shoot people at random and eventually be killed while exchanging gunfire with law enforcement”. Thankfully he never carried out the rest of his attack plans.

 

Think About it:

• You never know when someone enters your campus, or walks into your front door where their mind is at, or what kind of things they have encountered before being there at your place. 

• While “intruder awareness” is a good readiness subject, attackers are often not an “intruder” at all – they are familiar faces. Nearly 1 in 4 (24.5%) of attackers in the DFI study were affiliated (member, past member, employee, or volunteer) with the ministry.

• The Greigo family were “front row seat regulars” at the church. The elder Griego and Nehemiah had been on missions trips together. Nehemiah played drums in the church youth band. Harrison had known the family for 10 years. Griego’s dad had served as a pastor at the church.

• The pastor that young Griego was talking to followed something (Instincts? Policies? Training?) to call the church security director. Does your church have that kind of culture with the counselors, pastors, teachers and staff? Please fix it if it isn’t in your culture – print this TAI off and give a copy to your church administrator and / or senior pastor – anyone who can start the staff talking to security when needed. Blame me – I made you do it.

• When you feel an urge to prepare your people – follow that urge. While the incident you see in your mind isn’t how “it” will go down, readiness will help when “it” takes shape in front of you.

• Harrison said it sent chills up his spine to later learn what kind of potential was present and waiting in the church parking lot. It sent chills up our spines as well brother.

• Pray for this church as if they were your own. It could have been any of us, and this is a hard thing for them. More than 2,000 attended the funerals for this widely known and respected family. Pray for Harrison as well as he continues to lead his people in readiness.

2012 in Review by Carl Chinn

Think About It - Carl Chinn

2012 in review

As you may have noticed, I do not try to be the breaking news of deadly force incidents – that just isn’t my calling. It always takes a few days for the real story to work its way out. Since the intention of {www.carlchinn.com} is to provide helpful insight from lessons learned, it is incumbent to get the stories as correct as possible in a fair time frame.

All the 2012 stories are in now, and it was a bad year for violence at faith-based organizations. Here is an overview of 2012;


· There were 135 deadly force incidents discovered (the highest of any year yet). Of those 135 incidents, 39 (28.9%) were an attack which resulted in the death of others (ARDO’s).

· In those 39 ARDO’s, 56 victims lost their lives.

· Of those 56 victims, 40 (71.4%) were Intentional current or former participants (member, past member, employee, guest, volunteer) of the ministry. 16 (such as stories from 12/30, 11/11, 8/16 & 8/7 as examples) were victims of a homicide that took place at the ministry, but had no known victim connection to the ministry.

· 19 aggressors (counting suicides) died in these incidents, bringing the total violent deaths at faith-based organizations in 2012 to 75 – the most I have ever seen in one year – by a long way. This was nearly a 39% increase from the previous most violent year (2009) in which we saw 54 violent deaths at FBO’s.

· As typical with the multi-year study, nearly 90% of the attackers in 2012 were not stopped by others – they stopped when they were ready to stop. There were only 2 stopped in the process by responding active-duty law enforcement (the Greater Sweethome Missionary Baptist killer on 10/29/12 in Texas, and the Sikh Temple shooter in Wisconsin on 8/5/12). 3 were stopped by church members (though one of those was an off-duty officer and one was a former officer).

· The most common weapon was a firearm (55.9%), followed by stabbing weapons (17.9%).

· It was once again evident that the exterior of the buildings is most volatile. Again it was 2 to 1 more likely that an incident would happen outside than inside.

· Catholic and Baptist places tied for the most incidents – each had 23 experiences on US soil this year.


Think About it:

• Though a gun is still the most likely weapon any church will face if there is an attack, there are still a lot of folks (and state laws) who don’t understand the need for armed security. As we all know, the best way to stop a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun.

• There was an average of 1.44 people killed in each ARDO. The average killed in attacks that were stopped by congregants in place was 1.33. The average killed by the time responding law enforcement got there was 3.5. This rating is consistent through the years – fewer people die when there is someone ready in the building. Year after year if the shooter isn’t stopped until law enforcement arrives, the death toll is going to be high. Yet there are still many who simply think 911 will suffice in a pinch.

• Though slightly off-topic, I want to encourage all of you to watch the Saturday Bulgarian assassination attempt. The suddenness of the attack should be a real eye-opener to all protection agents. Gavin de Becker’s book on the subject -- Just Two Seconds – is a very good read on this subject as well.

Carl Chinn: "Think About It" Series

Evil Among us

By: Carl Chinn

I am angry, can’t sleep, and am literally sick to my stomach. My wife’s throat hurt Friday from screaming out in anguish as the horror out of Sandy Hook Elementary became news to the world.

How do we stop such evil? At what stage can we stop it?

• Before it clutches the mind and soul of the attacker?
• If not then, perhaps before it plays out on innocent victims?
• If we can’t interrupt it before it starts, can we stop it short of its intended finish?
• If it runs a full course in one scenario, can we prevent it from the same source in the next?

It is incumbent upon us as protection professionals to give due diligence to every one of those phases. The 4 questions above fit into the security concepts of prevention, preparation, response and recovery.

As we brace ourselves for this thing to turn political, as protection professionals we need to stay out of the passionate arguments. We observe the horror to harvest our own lessons learned, and to sharpen the saw of our own readiness.

Think About it:

• Stand strong at your churches and ministries this week. Look into the eyes of those you protect and thank God for every one of them.

• I have studied and dissected 255 attacks which resulted in the death of others at faith-based organizations since 1999. Of those 255 attacks, only a total of 24 were stopped in the process by others (12 by law enforcement, 12 by volunteers). The troubling statistic here is that 90.6% of the time, the attacker did not stop until they were ready to stop.

• There is nothing like a gun in the hands of a defender to stop a gun in the hands of evil. I recall reading some of the criticisms in letters to the editor on our use of deadly force to stop the attacker at our church shooting in 2007. People actually suggested we should have used pepper spray. There really is a serious disconnect of reality in the minds of people who don’t understand evil – pure idiocy. That idiocy is observed in “gun-free zones”. We have to start fixing that issue. Gun free zones (like Sandy Hook Elementary) only provide a field of no resistance for evil. It is time we allow teachers, custodians, or any other workers who are willing to invest in training, and possess the character and desire of protection, to do so.

• Outside teams take notice. At Sandy Hook, the attacker parked in a drop-off zone. He was dressed tactically, and forced his way inside. Watch those DLR’s! (for those of you who are new to reading my website; DLR = “Don’t Look Right”).

• I thank you for your service of protection. Extend your thanks to those you serve with. Thank those in leadership for allowing you to serve in protection.

• Thank God for allowing us to do our parts in the deterrence, detection, delay, denial and destruction of evil. May He enlarge our steps as we work towards success in the protection of the innocent.

10 Questions Parents Need to Ask About School Security

10 Questions

By: Carl Chinn

Sometimes I see an article written by others that is just too good to keep to myself. Such as it was when I read the following written by my friend, Eric Smith. Currently, Eric is the Director of Security of a healthcare system. He is the sitting President of the International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS), Colorado Chapter. Previously, Eric was a police officer where he served as a firearm and emergency driving instructor, as well as a field training officer.

The following was posted on his website (which is a good one to add to your favorites bar): www.businesskarate.com


10 Questions Parents Need to Ask About School Security

Summer is winding down. That means school has started, or is about to, depending on where in the country you are. Amidst the rush to get supplies, school clothes and back to a more hectic pace of life, parents should ask some basic questions about their kids’ school security. Schools are normally safe havens for our children, but are very vulnerable to becoming a target. They are generally ‘soft’ targets with little in the way of security staff and attract a lot of attention when things go wrong.

As a concerned parent, take a few moments to ask some basic questions about the school’s security program and verify that everything reasonable is being done to keep children safe in school. Just by taking an interest and following up with the school will send the message that safety is important and helps ensure that the best steps will be taken.


1. Who’s in charge?

The first item is to find out who is responsible for security. Is it listed as a duty in their job description? It is a good bet that if no one is responsible for security, then security is just an afterthought at the school.

2. Access control –

How many doors are left unlocked during the school day and who locks them up afterwards? Are all the open doors in a location where they can be supervised by staff? How are visitors identified?

3. Background screening –

All employees working around kids should be screened during the hiring phase. Does the screening process look for criminal convictions around the country or just locally? What is the policy on individuals with criminal histories – at what point are they considered non-hirable? Is there any screening on long-term employees after they have been hired, such as an annual criminal record check?

4. Crime tracking –

Is there a record of criminal events or suspicious activity that occurs on the property? How about periodic tracking of data to see if crime is increasing or decreasing around campus?

5. Security risk assessment –

Every year, a security risk assessment should be completed to identify high risks and that information should in turn be the focus of efforts to fix the gaps. Does the assessment include a review of policies and procedures, crime reports, local crime, as well as building security including lighting and landscape?

6. Security drills –

When was the last security drill? Were areas for improvement identified and what steps were taken to make those improvements? Along the same lines, what kind of security awareness training has been provided to faculty? Has staff been trained to identify suspicious behavior?

7. Video surveillance –

Video surveillance can be a great tool for evidence gathering after an incident, as well as a chance to detect and deter suspicious problems. Does staff know how to use the existing video surveillance system to search for events, as well as download images or video for law enforcement? Is the software updated routinely and how often are the cameras cleaned or serviced?

8. Threat assessment team –

Does the school have a team to assess any risky events or threats? A mix of staff and local law enforcement should be part of the team to evaluate threats or violent behavior and develop an action plan on how to respond.

9. Tracking of custody issues –

This applies to parents with sole or shared custody following a separation. How does the school track and enforce who is allowed to pick up kids from class? What steps are taken to prevent parental kidnapping? Are copies of restraining orders kept on file along with any court-issued custody papers?

10.Special events –

How is security maintained when off campus? Field trips or even on-campus events may require additional security measures. What steps are considered and how is protection maintained?

As a parent, one of the best things that you can do to help keep your children safe at school is to ask these questions and show an interest, and let administration know that security is an important consideration.

Think About it:

• While Eric was writing about schools, his thoughts are applicable to any organization that has a regular population of children.

• Churches sometimes fear they will offend parents by taking measures such as locking certain doors, or having a posted guard in the area of their children. While there are some dissidents to any measure, most parents (and certainly us Grandparents) appreciate active, intentional measures to protect those children. While you are concerned about offending them, the parents should be looking at your church with questions such as Eric listed as they consider attending there.

• If your church can answer all these questions positively, you are confirming your care of children.

Why? - "Think About It Series"

Why?

By: Carl Chinn

(Excerpt from the book, Evil Invades Sanctuary)

Before 9/11/01 airline crews were instructed simply to cooperate with the demands of hijackers. The model of hijackers capitalizing on that quiet compliance to use the plane as a suicide bomb had never happened. It is not a bad mark against the crews and passengers of the first three planes that day that they didn’t take action. They complied as most would have, given the models to go by. It is really quite remarkable that the passengers and crew of flight 93 so quickly created the new model.

Now airline protocol (as well as passenger response) is different, and because of that difference Richard Reid now shares prison with the likes of Ted Kaczynski instead of sharing history with Mohamed Atta. Flight attendants and passengers took 6’ 4” Reid down hard with creative weapons of seatbelt extensions, headphones and brute force as he tried to bring down American Airlines flight 63 over the Atlantic shortly after 9/11 with a deadly bomb hidden in his shoe.

Just as law enforcement agencies, schools and airlines learn and adapt from incidents, churches should do the same. Threats are endless and unpredictable, as are their triggers (reasons for the attacks). The triggersoffered for heinous examples following are not spiritual theories. That angle can be written by someone else. These are simply the reasons discovered in the investigations.

On April 27th, 2003 Daniel Bondeson laced arsenic into the coffee in the Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine. Walter Reid Morrill died, and 15 others were hospitalized as a result of the poisoning. It was discovered to have been retaliation over petty church politics, personal grudges, and being offended by nasty tasting coffee at a previous church event.

On April 25th, 2008 an argument over damaged mailboxes erupted in the parking lot of the Pinedale Baptist Church in Ashville, Alabama leaving one man shot and killed.

In Wheaton, Minnesota on September 3, 2009 Claude Hankins and David Collins got into a fight in the sanctuary of Thy Kingdom Come World Ministry over a washer and dryer. Collins swung a baseball bat at Hankins hitting Hankins’s 14 month old daughter instead, killing her.

At a party on March 11th, 2011 at the Bethlehem United Methodist Church Community Center in Edin, North Carolina, Eric Blackstock and Akeen Laquan Clark got into an argument over the best place to live in the area. Clark produced a handgun and shot Blackstock in the chest.


Think About it:

• How can you determine when someone walks through the door of your facility where their mind is at? How do you know who or what may have set them off? It may not have anything to do with your place as the source of the retaliation. Often an offense simply came from an obscure church member or stranger. Ministry leadership was often not aware of, nor did they have any control or influence over the situation until it exploded under their roof or in their parking lot.

• In many deadly force incidents at churches and ministries there was at least some level of observation of the brewing storm. For various reasons it wasn’t taken seriously until it was too late and became an investigation. In Louisville, KY this week a shooting erupted inside the Springdale Community Church. A neighborhood housing association was meeting in the church (as a bible study and athletic program were occurring in other areas of the church and grounds). 73-year-old David Merritt was killed and 69-year-old Marvin Fisher remains in critical condition after 55-year-old Dr. Mahmoud Hindi became enraged over a long-standing dispute over a driveway, fence, satellite dish and no-trespassing sign on his property and started shooting.

• Many crimes (violent and non-violent) occur when we least expect them. But since the beginning of times when people interacted with others, there have been conflicts. When those conflicts are observed, we should pay attention. Of 581 incidents studied at faith-based organizations, 15.05% were due to a conflict between two or more people that erupted into deadly force actions.

Evil Among Us - "Think About It Series"

EVIL AMONG US

By: Carl Chinn

The LAPD Counter-Terrorism unit announced recently that, “… we have active terrorist plots, in this region, right now.” The statement by Deputy Chief Michael Downing (Commanding Officer of the Counter-Terrorism unit) was made Wednesday of last week in an interview with CBSLA. Downing clarified by disclosing that they are currently trackinggovernment of Iran operatives, Hezbollah, sovereign citizen, homegrown violent extremists, animal rights groups and others.

In the Southeast, a terror plot has been averted in the Savannah, GA area. With the Fort Stewart army base close by, the area is home to many current, former and aspiring military personalities. Not all of those have honorable intentions. Privates Isaac Aguigui and Christopher Salmon, Sargent Anthony Peden, former soldier Michael Roark and his 17-year-old girlfriend started all shooting together for recreation. Then it turned more serious.

At some point, Aguigui is alleged to have presented “the manuscript” -- a book about true patriots. They formed an anarchist group and labeled themselves as “FEAR” (Forever Enduring Always Ready). As they cached weapons, developed plans, and gained momentum, Roark and his young girlfriend got cold feet and began to be a concern to the others. Finally they were murdered to eliminate the threat of exposure. Due to excellent law enforcement work, their homicides resulted in the investigation that uncovered the group’s activities.

Beyond simple talk, the group is alleged to have plotted bombing attacks, the assassination of President Obama, and even the overthrow of the US Government. During court proceedings one of the accused recounted how it came to murder declaring the government needed a change, and how he thought “we were the people who would be able to change it."


Think About it:

• As long as there have been opinions, there have been those with extreme views and tendencies to act on their views.

• Though neither of these stories involved a church, churches often represent some symbol of society that some people despise. Isaiah 54:17 reminds us that, “No weapon forged against you will prevail” (NIV). Consistent with the very nature of warfare, if an organization is on the move, there are weapons being fashioned and plans being made for an attack by that enemy. This is not a call for fear, but rather a rational reminder of a very real, active and determined enemy. The security and safety of everyone associated with churches and faith-based organizations requires people, parts and processes that are intentionally focused on protection to (with God’s help) prevent those plans from prevailing.

The Wakeup Call - "Think About It Series"

The Wakeup Call

By: Carl Chinn

(Excerpt from his book – “Evil Invades Sanctuary”)

“Get your people out of the building or I will bring it down -- I have the explosives, and I will do it now!” As his profanities boomed through the big lobby, I saw the initial expressions of bewilderment from those around him. Then they began running out of the building as he undressed, revealing ominous ink scribbles on his bare upper torso -- instructions to the coroner regarding his body when the day was done.

As I witnessed his rage, I kept a watchful eye on the Walther pistol in his right hand and a pile of stuffed green military packs on the floor in front of him, in which he claimed were enough explosives to destroy the building. I could see what appeared to be small white wires going from the loaded pack material to a trigger device in his unstable left hand. He had taken two female receptionists hostage; I will never forget the way the women trembled. It was obvious this was no joke, and equally clear that my day’s priorities had just been changed.

It wasn’t the kind of scene one would typically see or hear in the normally peaceful lobby of Focus on the Family, a non-profit ministry intended to provide hope to families through biblical principles.

I worked for Focus through the development and construction of their campus in Colorado Springs. We had just finished the installation of a new panic alert system when this incident happened. When the alert sounded on my radio, I thought a receptionist was checking to see what would happen if she activated it.

Life is full of details which may not fit the larger narrative. Adrenaline burns some things into memory, distorts some, and loses some after a significant emotional event. That morning I had ripped my pants out. Too busy to go home, I called my wife to bring me another pair. Laughing, she discretely picked me up behind one of the buildings. After changing clothes in the mini-van, we went to lunch. We kissed goodbye as she dropped me back off at Focus at 1:10 PM.

Seventeen minutes later, my radio alarm sounded.

I am sure there are many who can recall similar stories of what they were doing before the day changed. In Colorado Springs, many were going about their business with no clue that an angry man awoke that morning, deciding “this is the day.”

Perhaps as he lit the first marijuana joint in his apartment, the receptionists – who would later become his hostages – were straightening the reception counter so it would look nice for the day’s guests. As he began writing those eerie messages on his skin, Focus employees in accounting, shipping, broadcasting and other departments were assuming their normal routines. As he was walking the last miles from where the taxi dropped him off, parents were walking their children through the Focus on the Family story-book rooms filled with pictures of “Mr. Whitaker” and the other familiar child entertainment characters.

He walked past a gardener who smiled and greeted him as she was weeding a flower bed. He passed by without a word as the soundtrack of “Natural Born Killers” hammered his mind through his Walkman’s earphones. None of us had any way of knowing what plans were developing against us.

Just because we didn’t know the details didn’t mean we were unprepared. Procedures were in place, initial responders trained, and an automatic alert system established. Most importantly, we were not naïve about the possibilities.

Though the investigation revealed he had planned the attack for years, there were some things the gunman did not know that day. He did not know about a memo that had been written exactly one year earlier, on May 2nd, 1995. Prompted by an internal investigation following the April 19th Oklahoma City bombing, that memo requested some simple security upgrades. The panic alert system was one of those upgrades.

And the gunman did not know that this day -- May 2nd, 1996 -- was the National Day of Prayer.

Think About it:

• Attacks start on an otherwise normal day.

• Focus didn’t look like “security central” then and it doesn’t now. You do not have to resemble Fort Knox to have a good foundation of readiness.

•  Pay attention to things happening to other congregations. An abuse scandal in Texas, theft of air-conditioning copper on the west coast, or a shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin should get your attention just as the Oklahoma City bombing had gotten ours at Focus. Consider them as lessons learned.

• Don Francisco was a popular Christian singer for a while. He sang a song about Jehoshaphat in which he ended with a claim that God “could have used the dog next door if He’d been so inclined”. Whatever level of readiness you accomplish, always understand that your safety will truly be from God – not accredited to your finest accomplishment. But let Him use you.

Copycat Criminal Action - "Think About It"

Copycat Criminal Action

By: Carl Chinn

On December 5th, 2007 – 19-year-old Robbie Hawkins killed 8 innocent shoppers then took his own life in the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska.

Two days later, a young man named Matthew Murray wrote in a public blog that, “it looks like one of the nobodies just became a somebody”. Two days after that and other references to Robbie Hawkins, Murray killed 2 at a Youth With a Mission facility, then traveled to our church where he killed two more before being stopped by security responses and killing himself in the hallway.

I will never forget something that happened at the end of a very long day at Focus on the Family in 1996. Four of us had been held hostage by an angry gunman from 1:30 PM until 3:00 PM that day. After the gunman surrendered late that night I accompanied the bomb squad to sweep the building looking for explosives. The last thing I was called upon for on that long day was to return to the crime scene with investigators to look over things near to where the gunman had positioned himself for 5 ½ hours.

Investigators were trying to sort out things that belonged in the area from things the gunman would have brought with him. “This yours?”, the investigator asked with a grin. He held up a Walkman and with his gloved hand popped it open to reveal a cassette soundtrack from “Natural Born Killers” -- a 1994 movie well known to have spawned many criminal acts.

When I encourage others to pay attention to copycat and media inspired crime, my fervor is encouraged by experience. Whether it is a significant anniversary or recent media frenzy, there are some on the bubble of emotional breakdown who will trigger over it.

The shooting at the Aurora movie theater affects us all.

Think About it:

• After Marilyn Monroe’s leap to her own death on August 5th, 1962 there was a spike in national suicides. That August had 200 more suicides than average (a 12% increase). This is known as the Werther Effect based on the association of media and suicide seen first following the 1774 release of the book, “The Sorrows of Young Werther”. Since many spree killers also intend to die, this phenomena is one to be aware of after any significant attack.

• “The Copycat Effect” is a book by Loren Coleman which addresses the association between media and criminal actions.

• There will be follow up acts. Please be vigilant (but not over-the-top paranoid) at your organizations during this season.

Is Additional Security Necessary at Movie Theaters?

From: Fox 21 News

By: Rachel Welte

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Oklahoma City, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Tucson and now Aurora.

Over the past two decades, Americans unfortunately have become all too familiar with domestic terrorism.

Carl Chinn has witnessed gun violence in his community first-hand, and not just once but twice.

Chinn was a staff member at Focus on the Family in 1996 when a gunman took several hostages.

"As a result of being a spokesperson at the following trials for the ministry, I became very involved," Chinn said. "I began to do research on the topic."

Then, a decade later, on December 9, 2007 Chinn was at New Life Church when Matthew Murray went on a shooting rampage in the parking lot killing two sisters.

Read More

Local Security Expert Shares Thoughts on Theater Shootings

From: Fox 21 News

Note: Carl Chinn (the local security expert) is a regular contributor to Security at Church with his weekly "Think About It Series"

Think About It - "It Wouldn’t Happen Here"

It Wouldn’t Happen Here!

By: Carl Chinn

Here in Colorado Springs the High-Park fire in Ft. Collins seemed a long way away. With the fire 150 miles to our north, we were irritated by the smoke. Prevailing thoughts were of wishing they would get it put out so our eyes would stop itching. The number of homes destroyed up there was tragic for them; “100 or so” had been lost.

It was far from us.

Then on Saturday 6/23/12 we heard of a new fire just west of Colorado Springs – in Waldo Canyon – an area where my wife typically hikes every week. So this was a little closer, and the smoke was a lot more irritating. As I visited a customer site on Tuesday afternoon around 2:00 PM, I saw many people photographing the C-130 tankers dropping fire retardant, and helicopters dumping Bambi-Buckets of water on the hills above us. It seemed to be about 2 miles away, with hundreds of firefighters between it and the homes (not to mention the constant flow of aerial protection efforts).

So it still seemed far from Colorado Springs as I (and most others) went about our busy schedules.

A little after 4:00 that afternoon, I was headed east (away from the fire) towards another customer site. Something caught my eye in the mirror, and I saw flames on our side of the mountain slopes. It seemed to be sliding down the mountain with the horrifying flames twice the height of the big pines it was exploding in its raging descent down the slope. The fire had produced it’s own weather, creating near hurricane-force winds, pushing it east down the mountain and towards Colorado Springs at 65 MPH. That sounds impossible to you reading it, and it looked just as impossible as we saw it.

The dragon was attacking.

I came out of that customer’s site about 5:10 PM and our world had changed. The parking lot I had just parked in an hour earlier now seemed like night due to the heavy smoke roaring over the entire region. As I drove away with my lights on, I saw all the parking lot and street lights with photocells were on as it seemed the sun was setting.

It had come to our town. And it was big and angry. As the night went on I heard of 3 church’s, and 6 Para-church ministries in it’s path where I had spoken on the importance of incident readiness over the last few years. Then I began getting e-mails from friends displaced. Some of those friends I have written of by name in my book – members of our church security team.

As I wrote this on Saturday 6/30, the number of homes destroyed was at 346. Surprisingly there have only been two deaths discovered. For an extraordinary time lapse history of the fire capturing the Tuesday rage see the 16-minute video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBA7eHY022k

Think About it:

• As with any major disaster, things occur that impact people and businesses in a far reaching area, in ways many haven’t thought of before.

• Our daughter (a fire-fighter in another jurisdiction) was called into the Waldo Canyon fire response team when it raged into town. Her crew evacuated a rest-home as the fire actually made it to the property as they were evacuating.

• Church and Para-Church ministries were evacuated all throughout the area. They had less than 10 minutes to clear their buildings and get everyone out. In the days that followed, many ministries and churches with unoccupied offices invited their evacuated friends to come and set up operations until they could return to their properties. Some of those ministries (like Focus on the Family) were well equipped to bring them in and support them immediately. It was a remarkable display of ministries helping other ministries.

• Some churches had already set up their sites as potential shelters. One church I am close to was in the midst of their preparations with the area Emergency Operations to designate their church as an emergency shelter when they too were evacuated out of the fire zone. Now they know first-hand how important it is for people and businesses to have a place to go.

• The Burlington-Northern coal trains came to a stop and backed up the tracks both ways – south to Texas and north to Wyoming. The tracks went right through the evacuation zones.

• When it’s somewhere else, it might be “300 or so” homes lost. When it’s your community, churches, friends and family -- it is 346. As I said in March -- Cancer, domestic abuse, business failure, divorce, tornadoes, tsunamis and the need for security are the kind of things many of us didn’t care about until they hit us personally. Then we learn all about it.

• It can and does happen here.

The Value of Vigilance - Carl Chinn

The Value of Vigilance

(Taken from Carl's book Evil Invades Sanctuary)

By: Carl Chinn

Mom was a Sunday school teacher. I recall how she told the story of Gideon’s fight with the Midianites. With the odds already stacked against Gideon by sheer numbers, the Lord wanted him to engage the enemy with even fewer men so there would be no doubt as to Who truly saved the day. The Lord directed Gideon to select the men by watching how they drank water.

I remember how we were spellbound first-graders as she read Judges 7: 5-7;

So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."

I will never forget how Mom dramatically mimicked a dog lapping water. She delivered a lasting impression of how dogs lay their head almost flat over the water and dip their tongues into it, never taking their eyes away from constant searching for action.

According to Mom, the other men were making everyone vulnerable as they dropped to their knees and looked straight down into the water, laughing and talking as if there were no danger around. Her obvious point was that the Lord is looking for people who are vigilant.

Vigilance is always crucial; attentiveness results in awareness.

On the quiet afternoon of September 7th, 1876, a young man by the name of Henry Wheeler was home in Northfield, Minnesota taking leave from his medical studies at Michigan University. Sitting under an awning in front of his father’s store across from the bank, he watched three strangers ride into town. He saw them stop at the bank and throw their reins over the hitching posts. But they did not tie the reins. Other similar observations resulted in him and others being ready when the first shots were fired by the bad guys in the bank. When the incident was over, the Jesse James / Cole Younger gang would never ride together again. Common townspeople foiled one of the most notorious gangs in U.S. history, because a college student noticed the reins weren’t tied.

Think About It

• Had young Henry Wheeler simply noticed that the reins were untied, and did nothing about it, the results would have been different. More people would have died in future bank robberies from the violent gang.

• Vigilance without being prepared to act is simply watching. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was the Lutheran pastor executed in Germany for his part in plans to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He said, "If I see a madman driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders, then I can't, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe and then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.”

Think About It: A Time To Speak

A Time to Speak

By: Carl Chinn

Some months back I wrote about good times to be quiet – there are a lot of them. But there are also times to speak. It takes wisdom to know the difference – courage and resolve to speak when it’s time.

The clergy / penitent privilege is one of the great things about our wonderful nation. We have the ability to confide in our pastor or priest without fear of our confessions becoming gossip. This is a right (some states call it priest / penitent privilege, clergy privilege, confessional privilege or ecclesiastical privilege) protected by each state by state statutes (§).

There are conditions to that clergy / penitent privilege in many of those individual states however which mandate disclosure of certain confessions to law enforcement or social services. These mandated requirements are typically focused on protecting the welfare of children who may be in danger of neglect or abuse.

With all laws there is a certain amount of ignorance in the application. Many who are in pastoral positions dismiss the importance of this reporting structure, and the application is a grey area at times. For example, what if the person is talking about an act that occurred some years back, and no child is currently in danger? Some state statutes are better at the interpretation of that than others, and many don’t address it at all.

A lot of attention has been on the Etan Patz story recently. As many of you know, 6-year-old Etan left his lower Manhattan home on 5/25/1979 bound for his bus-stop to go to school. It was the very first time he had made the 2 block journey alone. Nobody has seen him since. Now the investigation is centered on a man who (among other things) told his church bible study group in the early 1980’s that he had killed little Etan.

In this case, part of the gray area is that the killer didn’t confess is to a pastor. He confessed it to a bible-study group. Even though there were about 50 people in the group, there is no record of any of them coming forward. At least one now says she did report it, and she very well may have. If so however, the report was not followed up on (at best). While there are moral obligations to report some things, legal obligations to do so are often difficult to prove.


Think About it:

• The Child Welfare Information Gateway is a good resource for understanding where your state comes in on the issue. Go to their State Statutes search to find your individual § reference. For a document produced by them summarizing this issue as it relates to the protection of children, go to Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws

• Beyond (but based on) the law, the insurance coverage for many churches has a clause requiring reporting of certain crimes. Each church security leader should have a full copy of the church insurance policy and become familiar with all aspects of it – especially the mandatory reporting sections.

• There is a case right now in Antioch California where 6 sisters are suing their former church and specific pastors for failing to protect them. One of the girls had gone to their pastor to report abuse in the home in 1995. While the pastor knew he must report it to authorities, he tipped of the parents first so they would have a “heads up”. The girls were allegedly subjected to awful treatment and pre-conditioning of what they could say before authorities visited their home. Read more at the East Bay News.

• Grooming of relationships is in the DNA of an abuser. He, she or they will be persuasive with relationships. They could be a “pillar in the community”. Those close to them will “feel bad” for them, and not want to see them get in trouble. Please understand that is part of their con-game. Deal with abuse directly and decisively.

• As security operators have these discussions with your church leadership. Sit down with the pastoral staff and the counselors and make sure they are all aware of both moral and legal obligations. When the specific situation is unclear, make sure there is diligence and counsel applied in walking through it.

• As with all church security issues, have an attorney close by. Do not try to read the state statutes without legal help – it is too important of an issue.

Think About It: What Does a Church Security agent look like?

What Does a Church Security agent look like?

By: Carl Chinn

I have been blessed by being able to travel to many states meeting many church security teams from multiple denominations. I’ve seen big churches with small teams and small churches with big teams.

What always interests me is to see the many backgrounds of folks who serve in this capacity. Of course there are often those with some sort of law enforcement or military experiences, but I know many churches that have none from such resource pools available, or too few to make a whole team. Those churches have creative service from folks with backgrounds in the construction trades, building services, real estate, agriculture, manufacturing, engineering, airlines and automotive services, and other trades of all types.

One of the most effective security directors I know is a man in California who is a former convict. He is now on the pastoral staff of an evangelical church, with a heart of protection. He wouldn’t pass muster or clear a background for most security teams, and he can never own a firearm. But if I were to have my own dream-team of agents, he would be on that team. The LAPD obviously feels the same way as he works with their gang unit as they try together to turn young kids’ lives.


Think About It…

• All protectors have one thing in common -- that heart for protection.

• Most protectors have another thing in common. The overwhelming majority have children of their own. There is no experience like that of having children to awaken the protective nature in an adult.

• Those who know me well know I have tremendous respect for law enforcement and military – I come from a family of both. But I will not tolerate any in those fields who feel they have an exclusive in protection abilities. Officers who work well with civilian service used to be rare. There are still a few from that old school (I’ve met some), but most recognize there is nothing like a dedicated person with a heart of protection to keep congregations safe.

• If you have a heart for protection, and a desire to serve please do not let a lack of official training stop you from pursuing an appointment as a church security agent. Some of the greatest stories came from people who were thrust into a role they had no background in. Ronald Reagan was criticized for being an actor when he got into politics, and none of Christ’s disciples came through seminary.

• If you are a law enforcement officer or military qualified agent running a team, please don’t overlook the heart of passion for others who wish to serve. If they can listen and follow the can be a great asset to your team. 

Think About It Series: A Time to Speak

A Time to Speak…

By: Carl Chinn

More than 30 years ago I read the book, “A Day no Pigs Would Die” by Robert Peck. It was the story of growing up under the guidance of a sometimes harsh, but constantly wise and strong father. As the young lad was venturing out of the county for his first time to attend the state fair, his dad told him to “never miss a chance to keep your mouth shut”.

As I recall that little bit of wisdom, I also recall Ecclesiastes 3;

(1) There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
(2) a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
(3) a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
(4) a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
(5) a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
(6) a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
(7) a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
(8) a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

On 3/25/12 we saw an amazing story come out of Boiling Springs, South Carolina. Jesse Gates had come to the church about 10:00 that Sunday morning, and complained of heart trouble. He asked the pastor to call the local news channel.

The pastor called 911 instead. EMS responders checked him over and released him without treatment, so Gates left the church.

But the pastor’s Grandson, 26-year-old Aaron Guyton remained vigilant. He was observant enough to notice when Gates returned at 11:20 and saw him pull a shotgun out of his car.

Young Guyton began to lock down the church and was prepared with a weapon of his own. When Gates kicked through side doors of the church, he was quickly overpowered by Jesse Smith and Leland Powers as Aaron held him at bay with his own weapon. Even the pastor got in on “the takedown” as he came over the railings at the front of the pulpit and took the shotgun from the attacker.

No shots were ever fired.

What struck me most about this story was waiting a couple weeks to see if young Aaron would make the media splatter. He never did other than answering a couple public questions right after the incident. This young man has established a model the church security operators everywhere should take note of.

I tip my hat to the wisdom of this young man and the others in Boiling Springs, SC.

Think about it;

~ There is no record of Aaron Guyton being overzealous on protection. He was quiet before and after the incident, but he was a serious agent of protection. We see a contrast here between this case and the George Zimmerman / Travon Martin case.

~ Every church security team should have a policy that nobody talks to the media after an incident without special permission from the pastor. That pastor should exercise wisdom in considering the timing of public news releases. Give the scenario time before coming out with news.

~ The pastor is also to be commended for recognizing the real issue, and not just following the request to call the news. He responded correctly at several opportunities that day – the marks of a true leader.

~ Adrenalin forces tunnel vision, and few things trigger tunnel vision like a gun in the hands of an angry person. A gun in the hands of a protector also triggers tunnel vision for an attacker – it gets his attention taking it away from innocent others. We can’t stop every gunman from entering a sanctuary, but we can hope for more protectors like Aaron Guyton.

~ As you think about the characters on your security team, think about the media that will occur should there be a use of deadly force. The world will probably never know the truth behind the Zimmerman / Martin case because it has spun so far out of control that it will now be resolved by whoever gets the most powerful attorney. What we do know is that it has an element of sensationalism that isn’t helping the agent of protection in this case. I’ve said it before, I will say it again – be careful of using zealous security operators. I don’t like using the Zimmerman case as a model, because it looks to me like he has been given an unfair shake. But that is my point, fair or not, the character of security agents will impact your story in the event of a serious incident.

~ There is a time to be silent, and a time to speak. When in doubt, don’t miss the opportunity to be quiet.