The Miller Center for Community Protection & Resilience at Rutgers University will be hosting a webinar in response to the recent hostage situation at the synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, convening law enforcement, faith community, and national security experts to explore how faith-based organizations can harden their facilities and effectively train their communities to protect themselves while also retaining a welcoming and spiritual atmosphere.
Wednesday, February 2 at 1pm EST via Zoom. Learn more and register.
The two-part webinar series will deliver insights along with the latest promising and best practices from a multi-disciplinary team assembled from the nation’s foremost authorities in faith-based security.
The webinar will be presented to over 400 organizations in coordination with the National Sheriffs’ Association, Rutgers Center on Policing, Rutgers Center on Critical Intelligence Studies, CrimeStoppers USA, the National Police Athletic/Activities Leagues, International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators and the Network Contagion Research Institute. It is an outgrowth of the Miller Center’s work in faith communities in the United States and Europe, and the publication of its guide to houses of worship security. Read the Miller Center Guide, based on extensive student research and written by Senior Miller Center Research Fellow Dr. Ronald Clark.
The webinar will build on this expertise to educate the law enforcement and faith-based communities and the general public on best practices. “Although the world’s great religions differ in their ultimate beliefs, they are also among the world’s most vulnerable populations and, as such, face common issues of safety and security,” said John J. Farmer, Jr., Director of the Miller Center. “In our experience, those shared security concerns can form a bridge to understanding and compassion across the boundaries of belief.”