Following the recent murder of Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed when two jihadists took over a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy, new draft guidance has been issued by an adviser to the Home Office advising that bouncers should be put in place at the door of the building.
The document recommends that churches make sure their doors can be properly bolted and that the congregation be briefed on what action to take should they spot something suspicious, the Daily Telegraph reports. In addition, personal attack alarms and CCTV should be fitted in a bid to improve security.
“The job of the person on the door is to delay any offenders (including those who are not terrorists), so that the police can arrive and deal with them,” the document goes on.
Similarly, Counter Terrorism Advice for Churches from National Churchwatch has provided advice for worshippers about what to do if they are in church and a terrorist attack does happen. Director Nick Tolson said that attacks were more likely to take place at small parish churches, rather than Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s, similar to the incident that took place in France.
Another option for churches looking to protect themselves is to install bomb blast window film on all windows in the building. This can drastically reduce the chances of injury from shattered glass flying about if a bomb does go off. The vast majority of injuries during such incidents come as a result of flying glass but the risk of this can be seriously mitigated through the installation of this kind of window film.
