Lexington County churches urged to upgrade security

Churches across Lexington County should increase security in the wake of the killings of nine members of a Charleston congregation, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Major steps suggested for the 330 places of worship countywide include bodyguards during services along with security cameras and alarms in use around the clock.

The look at extra protection comes as police and deputies in some communities around the state patrol churches more often during worship services and other activities as a precaution.

“We’ve really got to pick our game on security in our churches,” Lexington Police Chief Terrence Green told representatives of 23 congregations at a seminar at Town Hall.

The June 17 killings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, as well as suspicious fires at other churches in the Southeast, are building momentum to put steps in place that were under consideration beforehand, some religious leaders said.

“There’s more urgency to assure safety,” said Joseph Melchers, an elder at Lexington Presbyterian Church.

Some ministers agree more can be done to make parishioners secure but said churches can never become fortresses closed to strangers.

“Our churches need to be alert and vigilant,” said the Rev. E. Robert Thomas, pastor at Spring Hill AME Church in Gilbert. “But every time we open our door, we take a chance.”

Police in West Columbia are stationed at some churches during services while officers in Irmo and Lexington drop by more often on patrol, officials said.

In addition, deputies and police are offering to help congregations develop safety plans that specify how to improve protection.

“It’s a sad day when you have to have fear going to church,” Irmo Police Chief Joe Nates said.

Threats of violence against churches across the 758-square-mile county are rare, ministers and law enforcement officials agree.

Problems mostly are vandalism and graffiti at church cemeteries in rural areas, officials said.

But churches no longer can assume they are sanctuaries from danger, officials added.

“We took it for granted everybody was coming for the right reason,” said Capt. Mark Jones, an aide to Sheriff Jay Koon. “Those days are gone.”

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said his department has been doing security outreaches to county churches for years, both in terms of protection and also for offering church security analysis.

“On any given Sunday, we have 60 deputies at churches,” Lott said, adding more than two dozen deputies are out at churches for Wednesday night meetings.

And on request, his department will work with churches to analyze their security and make suggestions, he said.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 7:53 PM.