Houses of Worship Not as Secure as they Should be - continued from page 3
external thefts. The average property crime at churches amounts to a $2,000-$3,000 loss, but the average internal theft, perpetrated by anyone from the pastor to the church secretary to volunteers, rings in at $300,000 per incident. The exact number of crimes at churches is hard to pinpoint because not all crimes committed on church property are related to the church, nor are they all hate crimes. In addition, many church crimes go unreported because of a church's stance on "forgiveness" or because they are embarrassed or fear bad publicity. Despite over 783 incidents happening nationwide in 2013, Hawkins said that 75% of the churches that responded to a recent poll said they don't have any security measures in place, and 22% said, "they don't believe biblically" that security belongs in a church.
Read More The Seven Myths of Mass Murder
Recent cases of mass murder have pointed to misconcep- tions about this rare and frightening act, and some light needs to be shed on the seven most common myths. Myth 1: They “snap.” There is no psychological term called snapping, but many assume that mass murder is done impulsively, with great emotion, and without planning or preparation. Almost all mass murders don’t fit this profile. Myth 2: They can easily be divided into “psychopaths, psychotics, and depressives.” Myth 3: Incidents of mass murder are increasing. Myth 4: Banning assault weapons will lower the frequency of mass murder. Myth 6: It must be the drugs they are abusing. Myth 7: Mass murder can be predicted and prevented. While we cannot predict and prevent it, we can mitigate the risk of such events by paying attention to behaviors of concern. But there is another warning behavior that is quite frequent: mass murderers will leak their intent to others — a phrase expressed to another, or posted on the Internet, that raises concern. It may be overt or covert, so trust your emotional reactions of anxiety, wariness, or fear, and let law enforcement investigate.
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2012-2013 ANNUAL BACKGROUND SCREENING INDUSTRY BUYERS GUIDE
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A Cup of Joe
One of the recommendations we make to schools for which we conduct security assessments and do consulting is to establish a Police Room, on campus. The idea is to promote the physical presence of local law enforcement agencies at the school. Give officers a place to take breaks, write reports, have a cup of coffee or light snack, access WIFI and cable TV for news, etc. It is relatively easy to establish such a break room, and it can be a win-win for everyone involved. I was delighted to read an article about a school in Minne- sota that has taken the idea a step further. Jordan is a small, rural community in Minnesota of about 5,600 people. The Jordan Police Department has established an official satellite office at the school. Although the grittier police work (filing of complaints, interrogations) will continue to take place at the main police station, there will be a combination of full and part time officers working at the school, with at least one officer on campus at all times. This scheme brings down the response time to an inc ident to mere seconds. A fully trained, armed officer is at the door. Squad cars are a regular sight in the school parking lot. It all adds up to serious deterrence. Community response to this scheme has been extremely positive.
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The Oxygen Plan Releases the Stress Number® Report for 2012 and 2013
Employee stress drains $400 billion a year from U.S. employers–yet many organizations do not fully understand the damage stress causes to their profit margins, employee productivity levels and employee health. In an ongoing study of Stress in America, The Oxygen Plan Corporation reports 2012 and 2013 findings of the new health metric, the Stress Number®. Stress accounts for almost 8% of all U.S. health- care spending and for employers, the economic impact is almost $5,000 per employee per year. With over 4,000 respondents completing The Oxygen Plan’s stress test for the survey, the 2012 Stress Number® is essentially unchanged as compared to 2009 and 2010. So far, the 2013 Stress Number® for home, work and social are 2-3 points worse than the 2013 average. Although the change is not statisti- cally significant, it does indicate there is lots of unresolved stress in the country. Employers should be increasingly alarmed given that stress levels remain unchecked for 3 years running. A company of 10,000 has lost up to $50 million for each of the past 3 years for a total of nearly $150 million. The costs should grab the attention of any CEO or CFO, particu- larly since stress is the #1 modifiable health risk factor.
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