Church Solutions' Factbook 2008 also features an article titled "Is Your Church as Secure as it Could Be?" Something none of us really want to think about, and a question to which most of us would probably answer "No." The article points out that many churches foster a very open environment: easy to get in and out of, and easy to case. Also, "more than ever, church facilities contain valuable, high-tech items such as musical instruments and multi-media equipment."
Two things the author mentions that I found interesting: keyless entries and different kinds of alarm systems for after hours.
Keyless Entries
You know: ID badges, keyfobs, access cards, etc. In addition to everything a lock-and-key entry does, keyless entry systems allow temporary access for visitors, provide entry and exit reports, and eliminate the need to rekey or change locks.
Alarm Systems
Conventional systems are motion-based and work a lot like what you see in the movies. The problem with these is that the alarm creates a loud noise (so the intruder has time to escape and knows where the alarm is), and police are often slow to dispatch because 98% of these activations are false.
Another kind of alarm system is based on noise. First of all, they're silent, so the intruder doesn't know an alarm has gone off. Second, they're verified, which means trained professionals at a monitoring station are listening to determine if a break-in is actually taking place. If they decide it is, they dispatch local police to a "burglary in process," which gets much higher priority.
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