Churches need to establish a crime prevention strategy to protect their place of worship.
There are some preventative measures that Places of Worship can take that can have a significant effect on the reduction of criminal damage, arson, theft and burglary.
A place of worship that is used regularly, with well kept lawns, swept paths and maintained buildings, have an obvious visual signal. It is those neglected, run down, overgrown places of worship and the grounds surrounding them that give clear signals to would-be criminals, who might be tempted into acts of vandalism or arson.
Neighbourhood Watch schemes have proved to be effective in reducing and/or removing crime from specific areas and the extension of these schemes to include your place of worship should also have a positive effect, as would security campaigns directed at the local community.
It is considered important that liaison takes place between you and the local police, in particular with the local crime prevention officer.
There are many considerations to take into account when establishing a crime prevention strategy for places of worship. For this reason, you are advised to appoint sub-committees, in order to ensure that no one person is left with all prevention matters.
