The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is leading a safety training Wednesday for local places of worship.
The sheriff said the seminar’s purpose is threefold—to help places of worship prevent crimes, put together plans on how to respond during an emergency, and to strengthen their connections with law enforcement. Sheriff Jerry Demings said they’ll cover everything from preventing burglaries to active shooter incidents.
“We will review several of the active shooter situations that have occurred from places like South Carolina, as well as in Texas most recently, and then we will assist them in coming up with plans of actions to protect themselves and respond on behalf of their parishioners,” said Demings.
He said they will address the pros and cons of having armed or private security on site and push the “see something, say something” initiative.
Demings said while local places of worship have been targeted for hate crimes this is mostly a proactive seminar in light of tragedies across the nation.