The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008 - (Page 12)

SECURITY Continued from page 11 in the process. Angels do not carry weapons but do make citizen’s arrests. After thousands of arrests over the years,he stressed,the organization has never been sued.“A lot of that is due to the extensive training,” Sliwa said, adding that training continues after the initial three-month program. “Obviously, we don’t want to be perceived as vigilantes, or being excessive. Society entrusts citizens, as long as they don’t think they will be overbearing, as long as you’re not crossing that line of excessive force or violating civil rights,” Sliwa said. “Citizens have to be empowered and the people you have to empower most are people in those situations. People have to have some degree of training of what to do and not to do rather than be paralyzed with fear, helpless, and incapable of doing anything.” Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) in Washington, D.C., deals with security issues every day. NAF uses paid professional security at its meetings and conferences. Some clinics have paid security while others sometimes use clinic escorts, who are not security but volunteers who help women navigate “the gauntlet of protestors and threats and harassment so they can safely enter clinics,” Saporta said. Long before the anthrax mail scares during late 2001, NAF had publications and protocols to help their member facilities to deal with things like suspicious mail or even butyric acid attacks, Saporta said. Today, NAF often is asked by other nonprofits and women’s organizations to do security training and review security and help develop protocols for dealing with mail threats and other kinds of threats. NPT NPT staff writer Marla E. Nobles contributed to this report. Volunteer Put Others Before Self As Bullets Flew Jeanne Assam, center, is the only female on the volunteer security force at New Life Church. She was in the middle of a three-day religious fast the day of the shootings, which was the first time in her law enforcement career that she shot someone. Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation “Relationships with law enforcement and law enforcement’s response are particularly critical to a decrease in extreme forms of violence,” said Saporta. “It’s important that clinics themselves are taking appropriate precautions so they make them less of a target and more difficult to attack.” NAF has been keeping statistics of violent incidents and threats at its 400 member facilities for 30 years. “It helps us look at trends in violence,” Saporta said,“and be able to alert and work with clinics on appropriate security protocols and measures, as well as with law enforcement so they can help us prevent crimes and help us capture the perpetrators of violence and bring them to justice.” NAF works with member clinics daily to ensure they have security protocols in place and know how to respond to threats of violence and actual violent incidents. “At the same time, we work with law enforcement because we’ve found that when they in fact enforce the laws that are available, we see a decrease in extreme forms of violence,” Saporta said. 12 S By Marla E. Nobles She isn’t an active cop. She isn’t military. Jeanne Assam is just a volunteer with a handgun permit. The shooting last month by Assam of a gunman who targeted a Colorado Springs church has brought to the forefront the issue of using volunteers for security. The point of contention: an armed volunteer shot the gunman who killed himself after being wounded. Assam, 42, is a former Minneapolis, Minn., police officer who joined the church some three years ago and is the lone female on its volunteer security force. She was in the middle of a three-day,religious fast the day of the shootings. According to ABC News, Assam was fired from the Minn.force in the late ‘90s over a “truthfulness”issue stemming from an incident “in which she cursed out a city bus driver.” There are some basic principles of volunteer management, but nowhere in those principles does it state guidelines specific to the issue of volunteers and security.“It’s hard to create generic principles for this,” said Susan J. Ellis, president of Philadelphia-based Energize Inc., which specializes in volunteerism.“Clearly volunteers are used in security-type situations a lot… Security is an entire area of special event planning. So there are clearly examples of ways to involve volunteers in crowd control.” What there aren’t many examples of, said Ellis, are cases where the volunteers are armed. “If you bring in a volunteer, then you are totally responsible for ensuring that they’re trained to use the gun, and you’re liable for whatever happens,” said Ellis.“But it seems THE NONPROFIT TIMES to me that that’s an example of a paid position…and it’s an example of something that isn’t diverted to volunteers.” In the case of the Colorado Springs incident,“there’s no question (New Life Church security officer Jeanne Assam) did everything according to the law,” said Ellis.“But it sure would be overkill if every church now in the country began to get an armed guard.That would be crazy.” Ellis, along with John Patterson, senior program director at Nonprofit Risk Management Center in Washington, D.C., provided the following tips for security planning and management: •Have a Risk Management Plan. What is dangerous? What’s the best way to mitigate the danger(s)? •Mitigate Potential Trouble. Review the supervision requirements for the various activities of your organization, identify participants who may be solitary, and reach out and provide services. •Control Access. Limit entry into the venue by using a public area that keeps the event separate and out of sight. •Consider Road Rage. If you’re going to have a large number of vehicles, consider traffic control. •Know Your Boundaries. Volunteers should not be asked to get involved in violence.If it relates to violence,use police or hire private security. •Use the Power of Numbers. The situation is safer simply by having 20 people marked “Security.” •Coordinate Effort with Police. The head of the volunteer security team should be in touch with the police. •Work with the VIPs Attending Your Event. They may have their own security. JANUARY 1, 2008 www.nptimes.com Photo courtesy of The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008 Expenses Continue To Put Stress On Nonprofit Budgets Insuring Donors’ Goodwill Volunteers On Firing Line Contents Who...When...Where...How...What? Red Cross Audit Comes Up Clean Exit Doors Rear And Aft Calendar A Fresh Look Special Report: Accounting APIs Opportunity Is Knocking Middle Management Barrier Memorial NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008

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