Churches receive tips from law enforcement on safety

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Churches keep their doors open for new visitors. But what happens if that person poses a threat? The Bladen County Sheriff’s office teamed up with Leland police to talk about church safety.

“These types of crimes and these heinous atrocities have been going on for a while,” Sergeant Gary Turlington said.

The Bladen County Sheriff’s office wants to help churches prepare for these crimes with security and safety training.

“There is a need for some type of plan, some type of response to initiate during a time of crisis or time of emergency in a house of worship until law enforcement arrives,” Turlington said.

The Leland Police Department wanted to bring this seminar to the churches in the area in wake of the recent shootings.

“We want to be able to give the church’s, the church leaders some tools, some resources that they can prepare in case of something like this happening to them,” Police Chief Mike James, said.

Some scenarios discussed were if a gunman shows up at the church, what you should do in that situation and the importance of developing a safety plan.

“I think we’ll go back now, evaluate what we’ve got in place, see what new things we may need to add. Some things we may need to change-take out, maybe that aren’t relevant anymore. So I think it’s very helpful and look forward to future seminars like this,” First Baptist Church Pastor Mark Edwards, said.

The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office says in this day and age, this program is necessary.

“We’re seeing an overwhelming increase in numbers of crimes in and out of houses of worship. And the reasons, I don’t readily have explanations for, but it’s better to be prepared than not,” Turlington said.

Many of the people who attended say the steps to make a security plan were new to them, but are something they want to do at their church.