Country Singer Randy Travis Cited for Simple Assault in Church Parking Lot

From: The Washington Post

PLANO, Texas — Police in suburban Dallas say they’re citing country star Randy Travis for simple assault after he got involved in a couple’s argument.

Plano police Officer David Tilley said Friday that a woman and her estranged husband were arguing Thursday night in a church parking lot. He says Travis apparently knows the woman and got involved.

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Best Practices for Securing a Parking Lot or Garage

Joe Wenzel published an article in Security Magazine today related to "Best Practices for Securing a Parking Lot or Garage" Listed below are several of the items he highlighted.

• Keeping all areas, especially stairwells, adequately illuminated.
• Providing intercom call stations for stranded patrons or patrons requiring assistance.
• Providing alarm stations that immediately summon security to the alarm station location (this is used predominately on university campuses).
• Providing well-illuminated shelters for waiting patrons.
• Providing intuitive directional instruction signs to areas, levels, terminals, shuttle stops, etc.
• Designing parking lots and structures that minimize the distance required for the patron to access their vehicle, thus reducing the time spent outside their vehicle.
• Installing CCTV systems (e.g. video surveillance) that are regularly monitored.
• Displaying notifications about each facility’s safety measures (e.g. “This Facility is Under 24 Hour Surveillance”).

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Church Parking Lots and Security

When looking at the safety and security of a church building, you should start at the perimeter of the property and move inward. Special concerns should be made for parking lots and the exterior of the church. Having a member of your security team patrol the parking lots may be a first line of defense for an incoming threat. 

Two Baptist Churches, One Small Town

Two Baptist churches in one small town… One church was the victim of car break-in while the other was the victim of a stray bullet. One incident may have been preventable while the other a random act of violence or just simple stupidity.

Does your church have a parking crew or security team assigned to monitor your parking lot? If not think about how you can start off small. Is there a member of your church who would be willing to volunteer to walk your parking lot once or twice during the church service?

Criminals normally want to strike easy targets. Many times they are also smarter then we give credit for. Most criminals will check out or conduct surveillance their targets multiple times people carrying out their crime. It only takes getting caught once to end their malicious activities.

By patrolling your parking lots and the exterior of your building you are providing a visual deterrence for anyone who may be considering do wrong to your property. This is a small task that can provide great rewards!

http://www.gastongazette.com/news/church-42405-gastonia-police.html

http://www.gastongazette.com/news/police-42406-church-gastonia.html