Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team

Emanuel Kapelsohn The Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network (ACLDN) is a membership organization that helps members in the legal fight after they justifiably use force in self-defense by paying for the services of attorneys, expert witnesses, private investigators, and more. It also educates members in the law governing use of force in self-defense and how armed citizens can protect against unmeritorious prosecution.

Attorney, court expert witness, and ACLDN Advisory Board member Emanuel Kapelsohn, president of The Peregrine Corporation, and author of the House of Worship Firearms Use of Force Policy Bundle is interviewed in the ACLDN Journal on the subject of “Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team.” Below are the complete 2-part video interviews, links to the Journal print articles, and bullet points of salient information from the interview:

Part 1 | Part 2 | More Articles of Interest

Part 1

Or watch Part 1 here.

• In a house of worship today it doesn’t make sense to me not to have armed security because houses of worship are targets.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

• We have to understand that the goal of armed security in the house of worship is not to replace the police.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Terrorists Call for Attacks on Christians ]

• The duties of your security team, or at [my church] we call it the Safe Team, may not only be response to an armed attacker, but it may also be providing first aid.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Self-Defense Includes First-Aid Defense: Turn to ProTrainings to Learn ]

• The security team may also be trained to help evacuate the building in the event of a fire or perhaps a bomb threat and many other things that are beyond our subject today. The security team may do things as mundane as looking for a lost child.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Situational Awareness Building Exercises ]

• The clergy must buy into having an armed security team. If the clergy isn’t for it, it’s not going to work. In some congregations, depending on their size and the makeup of the congregation, the congregation may need to buy in to it, as well.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Book Review: Defending the Flock ]

• One of the preliminary considerations is whether it’s legal and what steps need to be taken to make it legal.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Self-Defense Legal Insurance Options ]

• Another preliminary consideration is insurance….There are two very large insurance companies, one called Church Mutual and the other is Brotherhood Mutual, that cover, among other things, houses of worship. They will cover houses of worship with armed security, including armed congregant security. They want to know that you have a training program and about the setup of the program.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Firearms Training: A Directory of Shooting Drills ]

• If you’re going to have an armed team, your local police should know so if they respond to an incident, they’re not surprised that there may be some congregants there, possibly even with drawn guns holding someone at gunpoint, who aren’t bad guys….Other first responders need to know about armed security, too, whether that’s your local ambulance squad or fire department.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Directory of Medical Kit Resources ]

• [Here’s a standard to apply to Security/Safe Team applicants:] Someone to whom you would entrust the care of your children and someone you would choose to have with you in a fight is levelheaded, trustworthy, has good judgment and is mature and even-tempered in all respects. If you combine those two, you have a standard which is, admittedly, very subjective, but that we can all understand.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

• [At my church, Safe Team members] don’t carry guns openly….We don’t have a dress code. You dress however is comfortable for you as someone attending services. I often wear a blazer because it’s the easy way for me to cover my gun and my radio and whatever else I’m carrying, and we have other people who just wear a sports shirt.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security: Radio Communications Best Practices ]

• The Safe Team and medical team are issued radios…[with] ear buds….We also issue armed security sashes and require people to carry them whenever they are there. These are the sashes made by DSM Safety Products – the initials stand for Don’t Shoot Me….We train our Safe Team in the use of pepper gel. We don’t require them to carry it, but we strongly encourage it as a less lethal option.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Why Use and How to Choose Pepper Spray ]

• We have written policy that specifies the kinds of firearms that are acceptable to be carried. It specifies that you must qualify with the firearm you’re carrying not just a similar one, but the actual Glock or Smith & Wesson or Springfield or whatever it might be with that serial number. The ammunition you are carrying must be controlled expansion ammunition, not full metal jacket….We mandate a minimum of 9mm or .38 Special and within a certain range of calibers.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Armament Recommendations By Tom Givens, John Correia, and 6 Other Professionals ]

Read the complete ACLDN Journal Part 1 interview article.

Part 2

Or watch Part 2 here

• We require that our team members start with a 17-hour long program that includes classroom training on state law, firearm safety, mental preparation, alertness, and mental conditioning for this task. It includes range training on everything from drawing and firing single and multiple shots to engaging multiple targets, reloading, clearing stoppages, firing in situations where you have to miss innocents and other things. It includes firing a qualification similar to what a police department might fire.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Self-Defense and Church Security: Proper Firearm Defense in a Crowd ]

• Class starts in the classroom on a Friday night. Saturday morning we’re in the classroom and on the range in the afternoon….Sunday afternoon we’re back on the range. That’s how we get in our good, solid 17 hours of training. People also get a written 3-ring binder of materials….You have to pass a written test in that class. If you don’t pass it, you can’t be on the team….[And y]ou’ve got to qualify with your weapon….After being accepted for the team, they get the first aid, pepper gel, and unarmed defensive tactics training.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 2) ]

• We have a written use of force and firearms policy. I suggest that any house of worship should have that if they have an armed congregant team….Our policy is a little bit over 30 pages long….If you have an attorney who represents your congregation, legal counsel certainly needs to look at the policy.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Checklist: Church Security/Safety Equipment ]

• Two people is a magnitude of more than twice as good as one person. Two people can back each other up. One can communicate, while the other addresses a problem. One can serve as a contact to a potential threat, while the other is a cover officer.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Training: Decision Decks Help You Think Through a Crisis Before It Happens ]

• Our medical team is used much more than the Safe Team is and when the Safe Team is used, it’s often to assist someone who’s fallen down or to help someone who’s having a problem of some sort or reunite a child with their parents, not because of a violent attack. You have to be realistic. If you have people on your security team who are only there because they intend to have gun fights with terrorists, you probably got the wrong person on your team.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

Read the complete ACLDN Journal Part 2 interview article.

Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team

Part 1

Part 2

Read More SemperVerus Articles of Interest on Church Security

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