Houses of Worship

Dear Religious Organization, The Phoenix Chapter of ASIS, American Society for Industrial Security, has committed to share in the community effort to keep our Houses of Worship safer for future generations. We are concerned about the security of Houses of Worship because they are subject to threats, as an institution they represent a major segment of our society and they require a special approach to security. The special approach is required because of the intentional open environment, high profile setting and because they can be considered soft targets. For years, Houses of Worship have been affected by vandalism, hate crimes, internal crimes, staff/volunteer misconduct, incidental crimes, crimes targeting parishioners and children, and theft of proprietary information and property. We at ASIS have committed to combating these acts by offering our help and expertise to local Houses of Worship. ASIS International is the preeminent organization for security professionals, with more than 33,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1955, ASIS is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of security professionals by developing educational programs and materials that address broad security interests as well as specific security topics. The Phoenix Chapter is offering to assist churches that want our help by identifying security vulnerabilities through an on-site security survey, and offering sound improvement recommendations. If you would like to participate and take advantage of this free service, please complete the attached Application Form and send it to the Phoenix Chapter of ASIS, P.O. Box 35396, Phoenix, AZ 85069, Fax it to (830) 608-3596, or call Jay Martin, CFI, CPP at (602) 317-7870. A member of the ASIS Houses of Worship Committee will contact the religious organization to schedule a time for the security survey to be completed. The religious organization will receive a copy of the original security survey that will include site-specific security recommendations. All information obtained is considered confidential and no information will be released to anyone outside of the Securing Houses of Worship Committee.

What are churches saying about the security survey?
Trinity Bible Church, Phoenix: “Thank you so much for this excellent assessment of our campus security. This will be a timely resource for our upcoming discussions with our Board of Elders as we plan changes and upgrades to our facilities.”

Chandler United Methodist Church: “Thank you for the time you spent performing the much needed security survey. The council was impressed with your suggestions and is willing to begin to make some changes where feasible. This survey has caused many of us to rethink the real need for church security.”

Word of Grace Church, Mesa: “Thank you very much for your time and the involvement of ASIS in developing this assessment. As I mentioned, the timing could not be better.”