Security
Cyber security
What are cyber risks and what can your church do to protect themselves?
Methodist church security
11 July 2019
Though your church is unlikely to experience a serious attack, knowing how to react can minimise the impact and keep people safe. These special buildings are places of worship, meaning a balanced and proportionate approach to planning is necessary.
Creating a security plan for your church
When looking for ways to minimise security risks at your Methodist church, it’s important to remember that each church is unique. Here are some tips to consider when creating a plan for your Methodist church:
- Security plans should be developed to identify the individual risks at your church including blind spots, valuable contents and flammable items.
- Consideration of the personal safety of your clergy, volunteers and congregation should feature.
- It is important that the plan is compatible with any other plans for the property, for instance evacuation and fire strategy plans.
- Incident response and business continuity plans are diligent ways to ensure an effective response following an incident.
- Regular testing helps to check the efficiency of your plan and ensures people are aware of their responsibilities.
Raise awareness of potential security attacks amongst staff and volunteers – additional training may be required.
Methodist church security checks
Search for suspicious items
Educate staff and volunteers on how to respond to suspicious mail or unidentified objects. Make sure a formal and recorded search plan has been introduced at opening and closing times to identify any suspicious activity or device.
Review access points
Review security at entry points to your premises including vehicle access. Take a look at the appearance of existing door and window locks to see if they appear robust/suitable.
Alarms
Check that intruder alarms, fire alarms and CCTV systems at your church meet your individual requirements. Are there identified blind spots that need to be addressed?
Employee checks
Ensure any appropriate background checks undertaken on new or existing staff and volunteers are carried out.
Sources of ignition
Don’t make life easier for attackers. Never allow ignition sources or other materials that could be used in an attack to be left inside or outside the building.
Events
Keep in mind that extra attention and precautions are required as events are likely to attract higher footfall. Think about having dedicated staff for car parking and visitor conflicts. If an incident does occur, ensure you have appropriate debrief and counselling support available for your staff and volunteers.
Suspicious activity and community support
Any suspicious activity should be reported to the police immediately. You can consult experts for guidance, regional police forces are now often supported by dedicated Counter Terrorism Advisor Teams.
When developing your plans, consult with neighbouring businesses as they are likely to be affected by any incident that affects you.
Attackers will often visit a building a number of times to plan their attack prior to the actual event so communication between organisations is a good way to spot trouble early on.
Cyber security risks at your church
As churches rely more on technology, there is a greater risk of cyber-attack. Cyber criminals are indiscriminate about the types of the organisation they target.
- If you are experiencing a cyber attack call Action Fraud immediately on 0300 123 2040.
- Educate staff and volunteers on how to respond to suspicious emails.
- Review your insurance cover to check if you have cyber insurance in place.
