| Proverbs 22:3 |
| "... foresee danger and plan ahead..." |
| 07/13/09 - Church Security: crime in the first 6 months of 2009 |
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The Christian Security Network began tracking criminal incidents against Christian organizations, mostly churches, this year. The reason was two-fold. First, we did not see any other organization that was compiling this information. And second, there were too many varying opinions as to the extent and frequency of the crime problem in the Christian community. So this past week the Christian Security Network released its report “Crimes Against Christian Organizations in the United States – Mid Year Report 2009” to the media and its subscribers (NOTE: this report is available in the TRAINING ARTICLES section of the website for CSN subscribers). As with all statistical reports there are some disclaimers that have to be made. The Christian Security Network does its best to track every crime that comes to its attention through media reports, police blotters, and incident reporting from newsletter readers and subscribers. However, we know that this is by no means a complete report of all crimes. In fact, in the report we state that when it comes to crimes against property, like burglaries, we are probably 5 to 6 times lower than the actual number. There are so many we just could never track every one. That said, the report should be another wake up call to church leaders as to the many risks and loss of life and property that is being experienced in the Christian community. Even though this is a mid-year report, and the first time we are publishing it, we don’t have data to compare it to, so we really can’t comment on trends, which is important. But we can state that it doesn’t matter whether a church is in a city, rural, or suburban, small or large – all are at risk. Here is part of the report: INCIDENT SUMMARY • 427 total incidents • 42 states • 6 homicides • 11 other violent incidents • 1 suicide • 1 attempted suicide • over $6.3 million in estimated property losses The loss of life and the violent incidents are tragic; it always is when someone is killed or hurt in the commission of a crime. But the other side is the financial loss and all the other losses that come with it that can never be tracked. Loss of time spent after the incident or loss of service that church staff and congregation members suffer because their church has been burned down or severely damaged, or critical equipment stolen, are all noteworthy. The types of crimes, their methods of being committed, and the frequency shows that churches are as much at risk as any other secular world organization that has assets and invites the public into it. There has always been this idea that churches are generally exempt from crime and that it “just doesn’t happen here”. And in the past that was probably true – churches were held as a place of reverence and not a place targeted by criminals. However, now churches are regarded as “soft targets” that have valuable assets inside and take little precaution to protect them. Most often to the criminal, the church is just another building – most are not Hate Crimes, they are just crimes of opportunity. Church leaders have to understand that they are spending a lot of time building their ministry for the Lord and asking people to tithe to support these Godly efforts. But the second part of that effort is to do what the Bible instructs us to do and that is to be good stewards of what He provides. Not taking reasonable and prudent measures in my mind is not being a good steward of what God has provided. One of the primary goals of the Christian Security Network is to make the Christian community aware off risks and threats and this report is just another tool in this effort. No one in authority should be able to claim ignorance in this area any more – it becoming much too prevalent in our society – churches and ministries are at risk. In Christ, Jeff Hawkins Executive Director |
