Protecting places of worship
While there are attacks on sanctuaries around the world regardless of religion, protecting places of religious worship is a priority for security services.
The specific nature of places of worship, namely their openness, makes them an ideal target for a potential attack striking at both worshippers, their beliefs and their dignity. It is important to develop a single identical security system, which could be the model used in this type of institution. Due to the diversity of communities and different approaches to their protection, this is not an easy task - each temple is characterised by a different historical context, individual architectural layout and location.
TPcoE delegates took part in working workshops within the framework of the EU ProSPeReS project, during which they made a study visit to the Reform Synagogue belonging to the Jewish Community and the Nozyk Synagogue in Warsaw. At the site, the participants were familiarised with the characteristics of the threat to the religious site and its security system.
The meeting was to serve the purpose of learning about the tools being prepared for assessing the vulnerability of religious places to terrorist incidents, and to establish interpersonal contacts between practitioners professionally involved in the protection of public places.