New Jersey Homeland Security and Preparedness for Houses of Worship

Faith Based Security Strategy (Follow link to NJOHSP Website and Report)

Pastors, priests, parish staff and liturgical ministers from around the diocese were invited to participate in a recent session hosted by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness on a Faith-Based Security strategy for houses of worship. 

Holy Cross had a healthy representation of parishioners and staff at the meeting. Attendees were alerted to suspicious activity around churches and took home suggestions for maximizing security at churches. Since Holy Cross has a school, the children are already trained in emergency response routines. These recommendations are for the church. 

We'll be reviewing the strategy and implementing recommendations. One important suggestion is the installation of security cameras; we had postponed purchase of a system to afford the construction budget. The infrastructure is in place; we will bid the purchase and installation of cameras and monitors to see if we can go forward at this time.