Black and white Sound Cloud icon Black and white YouTube icon Black and white LinkedIn icon Black and white Facebook icon

A Bolt of Security

Securing the Church through Access Control

The keys in the lock of the door on the outside safety locked doors security privacy

The subject of this article applies to several Safety Member Certification training modules.[1]

From the Bible

But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof (Nehemiah 3:3; see also verses 6, 13, 14, 15).

Introduction

Almost all of us are familiar with deadbolts on doors. Most can be turned by a lever on one side of the door, but only with a key on the other side. A deadbolt can then serve as a symbol of access control, a basic security measure. Like all security measures, it works only when it is used.

Access control is for more than service times, class times, and office hours. A church is many times more likely to be targeted by a burglar or vandal than by an active shooter. Therefore, access control is a 24/7 operation.

On the Web

Consumer Reports - In July of this year, CR published a review of several deadbolts. There were five they recommended and some they advised avoiding. The tests these deadbolts were put through included kicking and drilling. In addition to the deadbolts themselves, CR recommended replacing the provided short screws with longer ones that go into the 2x4 frame.[2]

CNET - In an article about how burglars choose which homes to get into and rob, author Tyler Lacoma based his observations on interviews a criminologist conducted with convicted burglars. Vulnerability and opportunity are often provided by "lazy security practices."

The first thing a burglar looks for are unlocked doors and windows. Just go in and look around. If these are locked, a burglar would rather kick a door in than to break a window. Two reasons are no noisy breaking of glass, and no glass shards to get cut on.

What makes a home attractive to a burglar?

  1. Indications of wealth means valuable items are inside.
  2. If a house or apartment has cover, then they can do their work without being seen from the street.
  3. If a burglar has successfully entered a building, he is more likely to try it again.

The article goes on with suggestions on how to foil burglars:

* Note: Although the article focuses on homes, this can also apply to businesses and churches.

Action 1st - This security system supplier recommends keyless entries for churches. There are several options with these. The greatest advantages are

  1. No unaccounted-for keys (and no unauthorized copies)
  2. Designated access - who, where, when.
  3. Keys can be cancelled.[4]

Salt Lake City, Utah, October 24, 2017 - On a Tuesday, police were looking for a serial burglar who was wanted on several warrants. When he fled, he entered a church and hid in the boiler room. When he tried to leave, he found that he'd locked himself in. What next? The fugitive burglar called 911. It was the police who rescued him, and they took him into custody.[5]

* Note: The church's boiler room door had a lock. So, how did he get in there?

Jefferson and St. Louis Counties, Missouri, February and March 2018 - An Illinois man was arrested and charged for burglaries at two churches. In the break-ins, he damaged the churches' door handles and other features.[6]

Potomac, Maryland, November 25, 2022 - A historic AME Zion church was vandalized by burglars. Surveillance footage shows them going into the building.[7]

Seneca, South Carolina, January 2021 - The Parent Handbook for the preschool operated by a Seneca church states the procedure for picking up children when they are dismissed. Access to a child at dismissal time is limited to the custodial parent. A non-custodial parent or another person will not be allowed to pick up a child without written permission from the child's custodial parent.[8]

* Note: This is an example of procedural access control.

Greenville, South Carolina, and Huntington, Indiana, April 29 & 30, 2023 - Two hacking gangs targeted separate religious organizations on the same weekend. One gang launched a ransomware attack on a South Carolina church on Saturday, then the other gang attacked a religious publisher in Indiana on Sunday and bragged about the data stolen.[9]

In a Security Connection article on Worship Facility, Shane Libeda identifies five steps in access control for the church's digital presence:

  1. Secure the church's gateway
  2. Train and monitor personnel
  3. Have an advanced security system
  4. Invest wisely
  5. Be vigilant[10]

The Question of Who Gets in

Access control means controlling who has access to places, items, people, information, equipment, etc. There are many reasons for access control:

Three basic kinds of access control are physical, procedural, and digital.

Physical Access Control

The second oldest form of access control after procedural is physical. It consists of walls, doors, gates, and locks. It is now enhanced with two-way radios, security cameras, motion detectors, and keyless latch-and-lock.

Physical Barriers

A church building is an integral part of access control for safety and security. Therefore, it and its components should not be taken for granted. The walls, naturally, need to be strong, since they and/or the frame hold the roof in place. Outside the building may be a fence or wall around the property. This or some type of plantings defines the perimeter.

In a high-crime area, such as in many major cities, many churches have chain link fences topped with barbed wire (a modern descendant of the stone walls). Gates are there to close the driveway when services are in progress. The gates may swing or glide, and they are locked when closed. For most churches in the country, this is not the case.

The available entry points in a church are the doors and windows. These are also exit points in an emergency. Most churches nowadays do not have the once-standard large heavy oak doors that took a strong person to open and close. They are usually lighter, and modern hinges make even heavy doors easy to push or pull.

Security requires a strong door for access control (see the article "Strengthen the Gate"). The best are solid, strong wood or steel. Glass doors can be strong if they are (1) made of tempered glass, and (2) have some form of shatter-proofing. People my age remember the wire mesh embedded in window glass in schools, especially in door windows.

There is also laminated safety glass. This is two glass layers with a shatter-resistant film between. It is now mandatory for car windshields. If the glass windows and doors in the church do not have this shatter-proof feature, a shatter-proof laminate can be added. The advantage of this is that it slows down anyone trying to shoot or smash their way through a glass door or entry window. The Covenant School Shooting in March 2023 demonstrates the need for shatter-resistant glass.[11][12]

Doors need latches and locks. These need to be strong enough to resist brute force entry (including drilling). But these are only as strong as their mountings. A truly safe door will have at least a double-stud door opening in a well-built wall section. The hinges need to be tough. Mounting screws are needed that go all the way through the door frame and into the studs. The same principle is applied to the strike plates for the latch and the deadbolt. If the key is electronic, the locks and strike plates still need to be strongly mounted.

Physical Auxiliaries

There are now auxiliaries to physical barriers. These include surveillance cameras (with monitors and recorders), sensors on doors and windows, and alarms. The purpose is to enable a limited number of personnel to see all the way around and through the church so they can enforce access control.

Procedural Access Control

This is the oldest form of access control. God himself instituted it with the command concerning access to a certain tree: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). Procedural access control consists of policies and procedures as to who has access to certain places, items, data, etc. As an example, a church in Seneca, SC, specifies who may pick up children from their preschool.[8]

There are other applications of procedural access control:

This list is not all-inclusive.

Digital Access Control

Cybersecurity has become a major concern for churches and other religious organizations. A case in point is the ransomware attacks on a church and a religious publisher on the same weekend.[9]

Churches need to do more on the web than livestreaming services and having a Facebook page and/or website. They need to protect their data. Thieves have always sought to "break through and steal," and they are now doing it electronically. There are measures we can take to protect the church from these robbers. Here are a few questions to ask:

Cybersecurity advice and expertise are available through Worship Facility's Security Connections (edited by Simon Osamoh).[10] Other sources of cybersecurity help for churches are through Alert.Church, Tithe.ly, OnSolve, and other digital service providers.

Conclusion

Access control is one of the keys to church safety & security, as seen in the list above under "The Question of Who Gets in."

Training

All members of a church safety team need to be trained. They can be trained and certified through the Safety Member Certification program with its eight training modules:

The first module, "Safety Team Fundamentals," describes some applications of access control. It is not hard to see how this applies to "Active Shooter Response," "Protecting Children from Abuse," and "Arson and Fire Safety," where we want to deny access to killers, child abusers, and arsonists.

These courses are available as Self-Paced Training. Each class (module) completed is followed by a certification test. A student taking each class and passing each test will be certified for two years.

These classes can be audited by those whose jobs in the church are covered in the material. For instance, all teachers and childcare workers should take "Protecting Children from Abuse."

There are group rates, making it easier to enroll the entire team.

References

  1. Kris, Moloney, Safety Member Certification, Sheepdog Church Security, © 2018 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/bundles/safety-member-certification].
  2. By Daniel Wroclawski Updated by Daniel Bortz, "Best and Worst Door Locks of 2024," Consumer Reports, Updated July 15, 2024 [https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/door-locks/best-and-worst-door-locks-a1022071701/].
  3. Tyler Lacoma, "We Asked a Top Criminologist How Burglars Choose Homes. It's Easier Than You Think," CNET, July 24, 2024 [https://www.cnet.com/home/security/home-burglary-common-tricks-burglars-use-and-how-you-can-prevent-break-ins/].
  4. Staff, "Why Churches Should Consider Keyless Entry Systems and Door Locks," Action 1st, July 10, 2023 [https://www.action1st.com/why-churches-should-consider-keyless-entry-door-locks/].
  5. Associated Press, News Partner, "Utah Burglary Suspect Flees Police, Locks Self In Church, Calls 911: Cops," Patch, Wed, Oct 25, 2017 [https://patch.com/utah/salt-lake-city/utah-burglary-suspect-flees-police-locks-self-church-calls-911-cops].
  6. Tony Krausz, "Alleged church burglar faces charges in Jefferson, St. Louis counties," Leader, March 5, 2018 [https://www.myleaderpaper.com/news/police_fire/alleged-church-burglar-faces-charges-in-jefferson-st-louis-counties/article_859ed156-20c7-11e8-8254-5faa145dcb06.html].
  7. Mark Hand, "Video Shows Suspects In Burglary Of Historic Church In Potomac: Police," Patch, December 5, 2022 [https://patch.com/maryland/potomac/video-shows-suspects-burglary-historic-church-potomac-police].
  8. Gina Cote (Director), "Little Lambs Preschool Parent Handbook," page 5, Eternal Shepherd Lutheran Church, Revised January 2021 [https://www.eternalshepherd.org/documents/lambs/Preschool_Parent_Handbook.pdf].
  9. Jonathan Greig, "Cybercrime groups find a new target: religious institutions," The Record, May 2, 2023 [https://therecord.media/cybercrime-groups-find-new-target-churches].
  10. Shane Libeda, "Enhancing Church Security in the Digital Age," Worship Facility, April 2, 2024 [https://www.worshipfacility.com/2024/04/02/enhancing-church-security-in-the-digital-age/].
  11. WGV, "2023 Covenant School Shooting," Sheepdog Church Security, November 14, 2023 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/articles/2023-convenant-school-shooting-lesson-learned/].
  12. Kris Moloney, "2023 Covenant School Shooting | Church Security Roll Call 377," Sheepdog Church Security Academy, November 14, 2023 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhtp3QfcjI4&list=PLiGluOUZx7RddCQLOshTS5mxCfeQLjFsc&index=40&t=219s].