I had such high hopes for this headline:
Former Secret Service agent on keeping houses of worship safe:
‘We have to think about it in a different way’
But then I read the article and the different way of thinking was not different, it was actually more of the same, status quo, conventional thinking where an organization has a team, training, and cameras.
While having armed security is an option and it can work well as we recently saw in Texas, I believe a ‘community-wide prevention effort’ where houses of worship are working together in a First Preventers Program is more proactive and truly different thinking. The gunman in Texas was well known by the church and known to be escalating in anger and behaviors… what if First Preventers had been involved before he escalated to the point of showing up at the church in disguise with a shotgun?
The First Preventers Program helps communities to leverage resources that can help with intervention, disruption and prevention efforts involving at-risk individuals who are exhibiting concerning behaviors and escalating behaviors.
Every community has at-risk individuals, and in many cases, the numbers of at-risk individuals are increasing, so every community needs the First Preventers Program to prevent more at-risk individuals from escalating and executing their plans of attacks because they feel they have been wronged, or have a grievance, or needs to get revenge, or other.
Depending on First Responders to address the at-risk individual will always be needed, however recent attacks that were over in as little as 6 seconds still resulted in innocent people dying, lives being ruined, new and growing fears, lost trust, and numerous other costs and consequences.
We can do better and the First Preventers Program is different thinking that is research-based and proven in the real world. With the new year and new decade, leaders should be looking for new and different ways to save lives, eliminate fears, improve trust, and more… because conventional approaches are not enough.
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Rick Shaw – Prevention Specialist & Executive Director of First Preventers