“And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account
of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had raised him, are they not written
in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?” (Esther
10:2)
Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to
the gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!" The king said,
"He must be bringing good news, too." (2 Samuel
18:26)
There is one common element in the Bible passages quoted
above, and that is communication. It was sometimes oral, sometimes written. Sometimes the news was urgent, sometimes it
was a matter of gathering information. When
it comes to a crisis situation, the state of events can change with every
passing instant. If people can’t keep up
with this rapid change, it can lead to disaster. A perfect example of this is the Battle of New
Orleans, which was fought two weeks after the peace treaty for the War of 1812
was signed.
Why? It
took longer than that amount of time to notify English and American troops that
the war was over.
Two way radios should be a part of any safety and security plan
for a house of worship. Should an incident occur, the 5 minutes before
and 30 minutes after are most hectic. Ensuring your key folks are
instantly communicating together is key. The primary internal communication medium
recommendation for a Church Security Team is
two-way radios. While we can communicate
with each other face-to-face, this is limited to close proximity. With a two-way radio, we can communicate with
anyone within range of that system. Modern
radios also now include encryption. This
means that communications are secure and outsiders using the same channels on
the same frequency cannot listen in.
With two-way radios, it is possible to communicate with more than
just the team. Fixed radios can be placed in classrooms and the office for
inter-department communications. Separate channels can be assigned to other
departments, such as the nursery and preschool. One example of use would be calling the
nursery to say a non-custodial parent is in the building. Another example is the pre-school care room
calling the Safety Team to say that a child is ill and the
parents need to be notified.
There are nationally and internationally recognized protocols for
using two-way radios, whether ham (amateur), CB (Citizen Band), emergency
services (fire, police, ambulance, and medics), truck fleets, or private
systems (including church security ministries). [1] [2] [3] The intent of these procedures is to promote
clarity, order, efficiency, and courtesy.
Using earphones has two primary advantages. The first is that it keeps messages
confidential. Only you know what comes
over your radio. The second is that it
does not disturb services, classes, and other activities in the church. For instance, if you are in the sanctuary
during the sermon and are called to go to the kitchen, you just quietly leave
unnoticed.
The two-way radios would belong to the Church Security
Ministry. They are there to
be used by the Security Team when on duty. Therefore, it is important that (1) they are
accounted for, and (2) they are available and charged when needed. A Security Team member reporting for duty is
to check out a two-way radio and headset for use during the shift. At the
end of the shift the radio is to be checked back in and put on the charger. Responsibility for the radios also extends to
handling them with care and maintaining them. This is stewardship of resources.
Etiquette is, by history and definition, respect and consideration
for others. Radio procedures define
etiquette for using radios. [4] Three important points are:
1) Use radios only
for official safety and security communication
Small talk and meaningless chatter may be permissible on CB radios,
but not on a Safety/Security Team radio
system. That way, if you hear something
on the air, it is important enough for you to pay attention. Also, using profanity, playing music, and
making inappropriate comments (such as ethnic/racial slurs or jokes) is not
acceptable and will result in a reprimand or discipline.
2) Keep transmissions
short
The reality of two-way radios is that you cannot talk and listen
at the same time. When you push the PTT
(Push to Talk) button, it becomes a transmitter, and when you let the button up
it returns to being a receiver. When
what we say is short, we can then hear what others are saying. Also, by keeping your transmission short there
is not too much for the other person to remember.
3) Interrupt
transmissions only in an emergency
To begin with, interrupting what someone is saying is not polite. If everyone keeps transmissions short, then
our turn will come soon enough. However,
if this is an emergency, we may interrupt transmissions on the radio. Whoever is listening will hear you
immediately. If the person talking keeps their transmission short, they will
hear your broadcast in process. Then if
you repeat it, they will hear the whole message.
Clear and understandable communication is the goal of radio use. Being cute or clever reduces understanding. In
line with keeping transmissions short and understandable, there are standard
Plain English phrases which we need to know and use. Here are some of the most used ones: (note how
much shorter the phrase is than the sentence it stands for):
1) "Go
ahead," means, "Send your message."
2) "Copy,"
means, "The message was received and understood."
3) "Say
again" means, "Retransmit your message." (This would be because you were doing
something else and the message wasn't heard clearly by you.)
4) "Stand
by" means, "I heard your message but please wait."
5) "Affirmative"
or "Yes" means, "Yes."
6) "Negative" or "No"
means, "No."
7) "Do
you copy?" means, "Do you understand?"
"Unreadable" means you can't understand the person who
transmitted the message (i.e. you don't know what was said because the message
was garbled due to a technological problem).
8) "Disregard"
means, "Don't pay any attention to the last message."
9) "Over"
meaning "Message finished."
For Church Safety & Security there are
seven approved codes to use, six colors representing six situations, plus a
request to call emergency services (fire, law, EMT). These are similar to PA codes for retail
stores, though not exactly the same. The
approved codes are:
1) Code Red:
fire emergency.
2) Code Blue:
medical emergency.
3) Code Pink:
missing or lost child.
4) Code Orange
actively disruptive or combative person.
5) Code Yellow
suspicious person.
6) Code Green
cash or offerings escort.
7) 911 (enhancement
code): respond quickly and call local emergency service (law enforcement, fire
department, emergency medical response). First give the other code, then add
"911," for example, "Code Orange, foyer, 911" (Disruptive
person in foyer, call police), "Code Blue, hallway, 911) (Medical
emergency in the corridor, call EMTs), or "Code Red, kitchen, 911"
(Fire in the kitchen, call fire department).
While we use two-way radios for communication within the church,
there are some situations where local emergency services need to be contacted. For this reason, each security team member
should have a cell phone. This can be
used to call out.
If your mobile phone number is based in an area other than where
the church is located, calling 911 may delay contacting the right agency. It is better to enter the emergency phone
numbers of local law enforcement, fire department, and EMT service in your
phone so you can contact them directly.
If you are the one calling emergency services, there is important
information they need to know:
1) Location. Tell them the name and address of the church.
Use the name which is outside on the sign. Give them your phone number and/or
the office number of the church (if someone is in there).
2) Tell them
exactly what the situations is generally, such as, "There is an
altercation with injuries." Give them the details when they ask for more
information, such as whether firearms are involved.
3) When asked,
tell them where the incident is in the church and which entry to use.
4) Stay on
the phone until they dismiss you or they arrive.
Be ready to answer the phone if they call back. Identify yourself.
Be Safe!
Russ Sharrock
Be Safe!
Russ Sharrock
[1] Wikipedia, "Radiotelephony procedure," no
date, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotelephony_procedure].
[2] Anon,
"Two-Way Radio Protocol," California State University, Dominguez
Hills, March 29, 2017
[4] Wikipedia, "Etiquette," no date [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette].
If you have any questions or you are
interested in a consultation on safety & security for your church you can
contact me at:
Integrity
Security Consulting
Russ
Sharrock
405-762-2471 | integrityseccon@hotmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment