London Police Department to host church security training

LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Churches across the country are becoming increasingly concerned with how to keep their congregations safe while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere.

Tuesday night, the London Police Department is preparing a free church security training event to address those concerns.

London Police Department Public Information Officer Hobie Daugherty said that this is one of the many programs that they offer to make their community a safer place. Tuesday’s free church security training gives the community an opportunity to enhance the church`s security awareness and preparedness.

Officials said this workshop will equip church leaders, volunteers, and safety teams with practical knowledge to:

• Identify and assess potential threats
• Identify and address concerns in active shooter scenarios
• Develop an effective emergency response plan
• Strengthen on-site communication and coordination

Daugherty said in today’s society, it’s important to always be aware of your surroundings and be prepared for anything at all times.

“It’s one of those things that churches have always appeared as a soft target or they appear as something that’s going to make a statement, you know, and while we want the church to always be welcoming, we also want it to be a safe place, as well,” said Daugherty.

The London Police Department said that this training is a great way to learn how you can protect your congregation and prepare for any potential threats.

“So it’s going to cover a kind of a vast array, you know, they’re going to have a have an opportunity to kind of see a mock policy and procedures that they may or I should say, like a template, you know, it’s something that they’re going to be able to take from or add to and cater to their congregation and then really just going over different details about things you should be aware of that you may just not be thinking of at the time” said Daugherty.

The training event will take place from 6-8 p.m. at the London community center. The event will be led by acting Chief of Police Bobby Day. The training is free and open to all area churches.