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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane church leaders discuss security with former Colorado U.S. Marshal

Veteran police officer and former Colorado U.S. Marshal Tina Lewis Rowe speaks to local church leaders and staff during a presentation “Security and Safety for Places of Worship: Every Day and All the Time” on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at Life Center Church in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Nina Culver For The Spokesman-Review

Spokane’s houses of peace got a primer in self-defense Wednesday, as dozens of church leaders gathered to learn how to make their congregations and services safer.

The workshop, hosted by the Washington State Crime Prevention Association, featured veteran police officer and former Colorado U.S. Marshal Tina Lewis Rowe. Rowe served with the Denver Police Department for 25 years before taking up her post as marshal, which she occupied for another eight years.

The key is to provide security without being oppressive, she said. “I believe we can be both warm and welcoming and wise,” she said.

Wise, and responsive. Churches need to have a plan in place for potentially dangerous situations, and prepare by assessing their security and improving it.

“Our goal is not to have to do a lot of action,” Rowe said. “Our goal is to be ready for anything.”

Last year saw the deadliest attack in a church in recent memory, with a gunman opening fire inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland, Texas, killing 26 people. Two years earlier, a gunman killed nine people in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. While church leaders in Spokane said they weren’t overly worried about their congregations’ immediate safety, security was nevertheless a consideration.

“We’re just trying to think about what we can do to make our people safer, but we don’t think the sky is falling,” said Rev. Paul MacDonald of the Berean Bible Church in Spokane Valley.

Berean created a security team six months ago after congregation members expressed concern over the recent incidents. The congregation wanted to know how their church would respond in a potentially dangerous situation, MacDonald said. “People have a concern and that’s understandable,” he said.

His church has never had any problems during services, but there have been incidents of vandalism and unwanted people at other times, he said. There haven’t been any violent incidents. “We’ve had some minor issues,” he said.

He said he wanted to attend the workshop to learn what he and his staff could do better.

Rowe provided plenty of tips about creating and running a security team. She said she wasn’t going to advise churches to go out and buy lights, cameras or special security systems, though they can be helpful.

“You know what your resources are,” she said. “Many times we can do things that don’t cost you money.”

Any security team needs to do more than just supervise services on Sunday, she said. There also needs to be thought given to protecting events during the week like meetings, youth groups and baby showers. “Everything is important,” she said.

Security volunteers don’t have to have law enforcement training, Rowe said – they just have to be alert. Volunteers should be required to pass a background check and must undergo training, including conflict de-escalation and recognition of and response to mental illness.

Greeters and ushers should also receive training, since they are the ones who interact with people the most. “Greeters and ushers are usually the first to see anything,” she said.

She urged church leaders not to focus their security efforts inside the sanctuary on Sundays. She said she often visits churches she is evaluating and arrives after the service has begun since there isn’t usually anyone in view. “I can go anywhere,” she said. “I usually have almost full access to a church.”

While some security team members monitor the sanctuary, others should patrol the lobby, outside the building and throughout the building, she said.

Just setting up a security team and creating a response plan isn’t enough, Rowe said. Security is always evolving and changing.

“It will never be done,” she said.