Church Security

TO THE EDITOR:

The tragic event in Sutherland Springs, Texas, has created a great deal of interest from churches in our area concerning security. Violence in our churches, schools and other places is an unfortunate fact of the world in which we live and has been for some time. I’ve seen in your paper where the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department is offering classes to assist the local church community in raising awareness and this is good thing. I know the Texarkana, Ark., Police Department is doing the same thing.

I’m a member of Beech Street First Baptist Church. When we got serious about church security back in 2008, one of the first things we did was to reach out to the TAPD. Chief Harrison and his department were and have continued to be an excellent and willing partner as we developed a security plan and team. While we used a professional security consulting firm to do some of the training we needed, the TAPD came along side us as we started our journey and supplemented what we got from the consultants.

I cannot thank the TAPD enough for their willingness to help us understand and implement a security plan that makes sense for our church. We are indeed blessed to live in a town where the police departments are so willing to help its citizens help themselves.

David Walker Texarkana, Ark.