Police, faith communities partner

On a recent Tuesday evening, a handful of people assembled in a training room inside of the Henrico County Division of Police headquarters. Some were in uniform, but most weren’t, wearing clothes that indicated they had just come from work.

They all talked for a few minutes among themselves until Captain Dirk Engels called the Henrico County Faith Community Coalition meeting to order. The topic of the day: What to do during an active shooter threat at a place of worship.

The Faith Community Coalition – an outreach effort that the Henrico Police established with  local faith organizations in May 2015 – seeks to foster and strengthen the relationship between the faith community and the police.

The coalition was Lt. Col. Clarence Hunter’s idea, said Captain Linda Toney, who also spearheaded the project during its inception. The program won an achievement award from the National Association of Counties in 2016 for Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

“We like to joke that he came up with the idea and I ran with it,” Toney said. “We strive to have good relationships with members who might be wary about police. That was our main goal.”

Toney is confident that the police have met that goal in improving communication with faith members, noting that many faith members who went to the first sessions still attend today.

One of those faith members is Barry Green, who attends Congregation Or Atid on Patterson Avenue. Green was at this month's meeting and said that he had been to about seven or eight prior to that.

“Having it as a community thing is good,” Green said. “It helps keep awareness and offers strategy on what to do in events like this.”

The Faith Community Coalition meets quarterly and is open to faith members of all religious backgrounds. The topics of the meetings vary, and gatherings typically include a special guest who is an expert on the topic.

At this month's meeting, police officials brought CCP Vice President of Admiral Security Services  Joe Maslanka to discuss strategies about how attendees should defend themselves in the event a shooter enters their church.

“It’s about being prepared, not paranoid,” Maslanka told the group in the meeting. “We need to confront the reality of active shooter threats.”

Maslanka presented statistics about mass shootings in places of worship and offered strategies to prevent or minimize the impact of such an emergency. Faith members were able to ask questions and get individual advice on how to make emergency plans at their locations.

Lt. Don Lambert also offered some words of advice, pointing out the importance of the Faith Community Coalition meetings.

“The first part of planning is right here,” he said. “Coming and learning.”

The coalition is led by Engels, who took it over late last year. The group's next meeting (May 24) will address what to do during a severe weather emergency, including a focus on hurricane preparedness. The meeting is open to any member of the faith community.