Police Hosts 1st House Of Worship Security Seminar In South Brunswick

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Last week, the South Brunswick Police Department held its first House of Worship Security Seminar.

During the seminar, officers from the police department and the Office of Emergency Management went over the planning and preparation needed to handle incidents like an active shooter situation.

The seminar was attended by 18 representatives from 11 houses of worship across town.

“We all hope that disaster does not strike our community, but hope is not a plan,” Chief Raymond Hayducka said.

“Today’s training was only the start of our engagement with our faith leaders. We will support our houses of worship and help them navigate a process that was unthinkable years ago.”

The seminar was created and planned to assist in the development of Emergency Operation Plans (EOP) to be used in the event of an emergency.

Attendees learned about appropriate response strategies to various types of critical incidents and were trained in South Brunswick Police Department’s Active Shooter Awareness Program (ASAP), which is a highly successful program designed to educate attendees on actions they may take if faced with an active shooter.

Office of Emergency Management Lieutenant Gene Rickle guided the attendees through a two-hour discussion on preparing an organization’s staff and building to support their EOP.