We all have safe practices we follow when going out and about in our daily routines and in places that aren’t safest, like stores, parking lots and garages, malls and crowded venues. As part of our normal routines, we lock the doors and set the security systems on our vehicles and residences. We make sure our keys, cash, credit cards, check books and wallets are secured. We hold our children’s hands when crossing the street and walking in parking lots or crowded places and we remind them not to talk to, go anywhere with or take anything from strangers. We generally try to free ourselves from distractions so we can remain alert and focused on our surroundings.
So, how do we behave differently when we are in a place that we consider “safe” (places like the workplace, school, daycare, church or a community center)? Do we assume the volunteers and employees at these places are automatically good eggs because of their association with these “safe” places? Or do we make sure that these safe places have policies in place to ensure all employees are screened and any volunteer who works with children, youth, vulnerable adults, money, keys, or drives the organizations’ vehicles should be screened?
Here are some interesting points that may help you decide what type of safety and security policies you want to implement:
– 7% of annual revenue is lost due to theft.
– 75% of employees steal from work and most do so repeatedly.
– More than 90% of juvenile abuse victims know their abuser in some way.
– More than four children die every day as a result of child abuse.
– No group is immune to being a victim of abuse or theft. These violations occur at all socioeconomic levels, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
– You can take steps to reduce the risk of this occurring within your ministries and organizations.
One of the greatest tools we have for eliminating and reducing these numbers and creating safer “safe” places is knowledge. Our partnership with SecureSearch, a leading provider of Background checks, provides you with the tools needed to equip your ministries and organizations with this knowledge. SecureSearch offers an extensive list of background services and have partnered with SafeGuard from Abuse to provide child abuse awareness and safety training. For more information on the services they offer, click here or contact your Sales Rep.
If you have found some safety practices that work well for your organization or ministry, please feel free to share them below.