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On a late Saturday afternoon in June of 2021 a man crashed a stolen truck into a building in my
hometown of Winthrop, Massachusetts before fatally shooting a man and a woman - both Black - who happened to be walking
nearby. The shooter was subsequently shot and killed by a Winthrop police officer. The crash and shooting took place a short
distance from the synagogue that I attended that morning and of which I have an active member for several decades. Many
synagogue members assumed that the shooter was on his way to commit an act of violence at the synagogue, but no evidence
was ever uncovered to support this assumption.[1]
Following this shooting, and after a number of highly publicized anti-Semitic incidents across the
entire United States, several members of the Winthrop synagogue became extremely concerned for their safety and called for
increased security at their house of worship. On those days when the anti-Semitic threat was deemed to have escalated, such as
the "Day of Hate", the synagogue arranged to have local police stationed at the building.
In 2023, as a result of the growing number of anti-Semitic incidents around the country, the Combined
Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) in Massachusetts was making grant funding for installation or upgrading
of security systems available to synagogues. My Winthrop synagogue took advantage of the opportunity and went about
the process of adding external video cameras to its security system.
Physical security and access control play an important role in helping institutions of all shapes
and sizes as they work toward achieving a balance between an “open and welcoming” environment and a “safe and secure” one.
The CJP Communal
Security Initiative (CSI) recognized that the purchase, installation, and maintenance of physical security systems involves
financial costs, and for this reason announced that they were offering grants for which Jewish organizations might be
eligible. These grants could be used for physical security infrastructure improvements or to contract a professional grant
writer to assist applications for Federal and/or state security grants.
[2]
BUT, nothing is more dangerous than a false sense of security.
Video surveillance is a key component in a comprehensive security package. However, used alone it can
create a false “feeling” that a person is secure, when in fact he/she is not.
Let’s suppose that a security system consists of video cameras that record what is happening
in the area under surveillance. It's important to remember that the cameras do not detect a crime being committed
unless and until someone looks at the imagery. Unless someone is monitoring the imagery in real time, the security
cameras cannot prevent the crime from being committed.
It is essential to differentiate between ACTIVE security protection and PASSIVE security protection.
Security cameras can provide tremendous benefits in recording a crime, but a PASSIVE camera system will not
prevent a crime form occurring! Only an ACTIVE camera system that is constantly being monitored can potentially
prevent a criminal act from taking place. And even then, the prevention of the criminal act depends upon the speed of
response of the monitoring agency and the local law enforcement department.
A passive video camera system does not immediately alert you that something is
wrong and therefore cannot prevent a crime from being committed. Passive video protection only records
what is going on and is only useful after-the-fact, i.e., in identifying and/or prosecuting the person or persons that
perpetrated the criminal act.
Since video cameras do not immediately provide an alert that something is not as it should be, the
problem will not be discovered until after it has already occurred. For example, someone could break into a synagogue and
commit an act of vandalism. With a passive video system, the break-in would not be discovered until well after the commission
of the crime.[3]
There are several questions that need to be asked when considering the installation of video camera
security system beyond the most obvious one: Will the security of what/whom I am trying to protect be improved? The answer to
this question is almost certainly YES, but not necessarily to the degree that many might anticipate.
Other questions to be asked:
What is the cost to install?
Will the camera system be active or passive, i.e., will it be actively
monitored?
If monitored, by whom?
If monitored, what is the cost?
If monitored, what is the expected time to respond to an in-process
crime?
What will be the annual cost to operate and maintain the camera
system?
What is the expected false alarm rate of the camera system?
Whenever there is a synagogue event, should a passive camera system be
augmented with actively monitored cameras at locked entry points?
To be realistic, I do not know of any instance where a passive video security system has
prevented a shooting
or bombing from occurring. To actually improve security at a synagogue, the best course of action may be an
armed on-site security presence – either an armed guard or the presence of a loaded weapon at the synagogue along with staff
and/or congregants who have been trained in the use of guns and gun safety. Real security needs to be available 24/7.
Real security should be there when needed and not simply after the event has occurred. What isn’t needed is a false sense of
security!
In partnership with the US Homeland Security Department, the Jewish Federations of North America in
2021 launched the "LiveSecure" program to keep Jews safe from threat of anti-Semitic, terrorist attack. As part of the program,
synagogues could install secure doors, surveillance cameras, and employ security guards.
The $54 million in funding for the program allowed communities to be connected to a special
surveillance and security network that performs an intelligence assessment of the extent of threats to Jewish community
members posed by terrorist and anti-Semitic organizations, allowing each community to be ranked according to the security
threat it faced. In addition, the program allowed experts to search for gaps in security and work to improve existing security
measures.
As part of these security upgrades, synagogues could receive closed-circuit security cameras, have
secure doors installed, and have community members trained for potential terrorist threats. Private security guards could
also be hired for special events.[4]
POSTSCRIPT:
Anti-Semitic reported incidents spiked across Massachusetts last year (2022), as the total number
of incidents against the Jewish community hit record highs in New England and around the U.S., according to Anti-Defamation
League (ADL)officials who called it a “a grim reminder that anti-Semitism continues to infect our communities in real and pervasive
ways.”
The ADL’s annual “Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents” recorded a total of 204 anti-Semitic incidents of
assault, harassment and vandalism in the New England region last year - a 32% jump from 2021, and the highest number of
anti-Semitic incidents ever recorded in the region.
The Bay State accounted for 152 of those 204 anti-Semitic reported incidents. Massachusetts’ total of
152 incidents was a 41% surge from the previous year, and the state recorded the sixth highest number of incidents in the
country.
Nationally, ADL recorded 3,697 anti-Semitic incidents last year, a 36% increase and the highest total
since ADL started tracking such data in 1979.
“The continuing increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the region and across the country should
dispel, once and for all, the myth that anti-Semitism is a problem of the past,” said ADL New England’s interim regional
director. “Behind every one of these numbers are people who have experienced the harm, fear, intimidation and pain that
reverberates from each of these incidents.”[5]
Over the past few years, there have been numerous attacks on religious institutions in America
and elsewhere around the world. Sadly, the killings continue. Mass shootings have increased in frequency in recent years,
and none of the churches, synagogues, or mosques affected saw it coming. To keep our houses of worship places of peace
and safety, we must prepare.
Could this happen at my house of worship? According to a University of Birmingham
researcher, there were no mass shootings at places of worship prior to 1963, but since then, the United States has had 14.
Texas and Georgia have been affected the most, but Illinois, Idaho, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New York, Louisiana, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin have also had devastating shootings at religious sites.
To those who take this information as a reason not to worry, the researcher says, “Odds are their
house of worship will never face a serious threat. But if their congregation does face a serious threat, the odds won’t
matter much.” And note, the number of mass shootings is increasing each year.
Churches, synagogues and mosques are vulnerable to attacks. Most houses of worship welcome
strangers with open arms, which can make it easy for people with sinister intentions to violate the trust of worshippers.
That same trust usually means there are no metal detectors, multiple unlocked and unmanned entrances, and no security
cameras. Thanks to good-hearted intentions, houses of worship often lack the security that could make all
the difference in an emergency.
A Solution can be a step-by-step security plan. Follow the steps below to protect your local
congregation and make your worship experience safer.
Coordinate with your local authorities and first responders: Taking the time to meet and discuss
safety with the very people who will come to your aid in a state of emergency is a huge step in the right direction to
keep your house of worship safe. Many local agencies will even walk your building with you, suggesting improvements to
increase security, ease of exit, etc.
Adding security cameras to hallways, entrance doors, or parking lots can greatly assist in
monitoring an active threat who is on the move or possibly even prevent a dangerous suspect from entering the building.
Install a security application. When all members of your congregation have access to a network in the app, they can report
a threat as soon as they see it, have two-way communication with first responders, connect those first responders to
building information and cameras to monitor a threat, and send alerts to everyone on the network. Imagine if an active
shooter leaves a synagogue only to lurk just outside the building. If everyone on the network is notified when and where
it is safe to exit, many lives can be saved.
Monitor entrances during services or activities. It can be helpful to have a volunteer walking
the parking lot or monitoring entrances. If possible, locking all but one entrance to those outside of the building
(while making sure that anyone on the inside could open the door in case of an emergency exit) controls who is in the
building and secures the other areas from trespassers.
Make a plan. Train your congregation, or at least a few volunteers, to know the plan if an
emergency situation occurs. FEMA has issued the following recommendations for an active shooter situation:
* Run to an exit.
* Hide where the entrance can be blocked.
* Call 911.
* If you can’t exit, take cover from threat.
* If safe, offer first aid to others.
If a few members of your congregation are trained in the best exit routes, safe places to hide
or take cover, equipped with a mobile safety app or another way to easily contact 911, and trained in first aid, more
lives are likely to be saved in the most frightening situations.
Ultimately, we don’t have to live in fear of the tragedies that have occurred across the country
if we take the right steps to prepare for them. Keep your religious family safe by preparing
now.[6]
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References:
- Gun Violence Hits Home, David Burton, Son of Eliyahu: Article 484, 15 July 2021.
- Communal Security Initiative Physical Infrastructure Grants, www.cjp.org, Accessed 20 March 2023.
- DO VIDEO SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS GIVE A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY?, securityalarm.com,
15 July 2015.
- US synagogues ramp up security amid increasing antisemitic attacks, Dan Lavie, Israel Hayom,
31 December 2021.
- Anti-Semitic reported incidents surge, Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: Pge 8, 23 March 2023.
- PRAY IN PEACE: A CALL FOR BETTER PROTECTION IN HOUSES OF WORSHIP,
www.saferwatchapp.com, Accessed 10 July 2023.
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