Hi all,
I'm just thinking aloud here after discussing the recent church attack in France with friends of mine.
Some people immediately started shouting for armed guards on each church door, however with tens of thousands of churches throughout France, it would
be simply impossible. Also many churches wouldn't want armed guards with weapons at thier door.
So what in your opinion would be a good option when it comes to security?
If armed guards are not an option, i feel that anything else would be maybe a deterrent, followed by an early warning system once the attack has
started.
I envisage volunteers being at the entrance of each church, a "greeter" so to speak. Some churches already have these. These would be the eyes and
ears that react to anything/anyone suspicious coming near the church. It would be good if they had access to a panic button of some kind, which
patched straight through to the police. Maybe one on the lecterns that the vicars stand at to read their sermons. They have full view of the church,
should anyone come in like in the attacks, just a press of the button under the lectern could alert authorities of an emergency.
Yes i appreciate that the volunteer on the door would essentialy be at great risk, but i know people would offer to do this if it meant protecting
their fellow parishiners.
CCTV of course... viewable by an offsite agency would be good, so live views from the inside and outside of the churches were available to any
responding units
Like i said, i'm just thinking aloud. I appreciate that much of what i've said costs money, but most churches aren't exactly short of a few pennies,
so a couple of decent cameras and maybe an alert button system would not be astronomical in price considering the reasons for it.
Here in the UK, we have a system that the elderly and disabled can use in thier homes if they want, it's called "Lifeline".
Something happens in the home, a fall or whatever other emergency and the occupant of the house presses a button on either a wristband or a necklace.
This immediately calls the call centre via a telephone unit somewhere in the house. This also has a speaker on it. The call centre operative then
speaks to you, find out what the problem is and acts accordingly.....dispatching emergency services if need be.
I'm thinking along these kind of lines, but with the call centre being the local police unit. Pubs here have them too, i know my local has a panic
button behind the bar, if anything serious happens in the bar, they just hit it and officers are there within minutes.
So what do you think? Would it work as a least a first alert? Is the idea flawed?
Nothing is perfect i know, and i appreciate that you could kit out every church with this gear and they could start attacking shopping malls, or
community centres.
Thanks for reading this and thanks in advance for any replies or ideas.
CX.
edit on 27/7/16 by CX because: (no reason given)
edit on 27/7/16 by CX because: (no reason given)