Report from Safety and Security Task Group

Report from Safety and Security Task Group

For Second Presbyterian

May 6, 2023

 

Members:           Rev. Randy Clayton, Emily Park, Janet Short, Scott Silverwood

               

                On March 21, 2023, the above individuals, along with Beth Felder, participated in a Safety and Security walk-through of Second Presbyterian’s buildings and grounds that detectives Robinson and Atkins from the SHIELD Department of the Baltimore City Police Department led.  The SHIELD Department’s mission is to work with the public/private sectors of Baltimore City to create “additional eyes and ears and a force multiplier in the fight against crime and terrorism.”  Upon completion of the walk-through, detectives Robinson and Atkins compiled a vulnerability assessment for Second Presbyterian.

                The Task Group, first and foremost, understands that we want our church to be warm and inviting.   As such, they are keeping this priority at the forefront when deciding how to proceed with the safety and security recommendations.

                The Task Group met in early May to review and prioritize the tasks that pertain mainly to securing the exterior of Second Presbyterian.  The tasks under consideration include installing outdoor cameras, improving outside signage to entrances (with guidance from Guilford Association), improving outdoor lighting in association with a BGE energy audit, assessing all doors and locks, pruning shrubbery and trees near windows and entrances to ensure surveillance, obtaining a police “go bag” with blueprints of the church, developing future emergency action plans for fire, weather, medical, and active assaults, and installing a mass alert system.

                Some of these tasks are relatively inexpensive to fulfill and are already under way.  Grants are available to help finance big-ticket items such as a mass alert system.

                As the Trustee in charge of Safety and Security for Second Presbyterian, it is my vision that members who have knowledge and skills in the above safety and security tasks will step up and share them with us.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Janet Short

Trustee, Chair of Safety and Security