Houses of worship (HOW) historically have been protected institutions and a safe haven for the community. However, during the past few years, the number of violent crimes directly and indirectly affecting HOW has risen.1 Understanding how to craft messaging after these incidents requires understanding what types of crimes take place toward HOW and why these places are targeted.
The violent crimes against HOW include, but are not limited to, shootings, arson, and explosives incidents, as well as various types of threats. The motives are often linked to hate or bias, individual or group ideology, and profit. As with recent attacks, political and legislative debates about the incidents often take place even prior to processing the crime scene. Often, due to the nature of these incidents, media coverage will continue over several news cycles. In addition to the intense media and political focus, the implementation of the various measures, including permitting the carrying of firearms within HOW, may lead to additional messaging challenges for law enforcement.
HOW incidents may also include associated school and daycare centers that make these incidents particularly sensitive. HOW might use temporary spaces in schools, movie theaters, and other established businesses, which can lead to indirect threats to these facilities. The U.S. Bomb Data Center, operated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is responsible for tracking these types of critical incidents. During the past year, there have been in excess of 200 incidents in HOW across the United States. These numbers represent fire, explosives, and threat-based incidents. The shooting incidents have increased as well. The number, though, is lower than the reality, due to underreporting of such incidents. All law enforcement and fire service departments are encouraged to report these incidents, including threats, as the more data received, the better situated investigators are to develop patterns and trends involving these violent incidents. Several violent crime sprees across HOW in the United States were solved based on the reporting data combined with timely communication.2
Elements of Challenge
The violence directed at HOW, while not isolated in nature, tends to generate an elevated sense of concern and a high profile from the media perspective. The need to restore the confidence to the congregation and community, as well as to develop future ways to mitigate such incidents are crucial elements of related messaging. The role of social media and protest or counterprotest groups lead to a broader audience for this messaging.
Public information officers (PIOs) and their equivalents from numerous disciplines play an important role in the messaging after a critical incident at an HOW. Law enforcement, fire, emergency services, city government, and school systems, as well as the HOW leadership, are just a sampling of those who might disseminate information, and consistent messaging is needed across all stakeholders. The sharing of information during and after the event is paramount.
The other perspective to take into consideration is from the investigative side. Investigative leads often spread outside the original jurisdiction of the case, thus, leading to the need to communicate this information to an agency’s respective counterparts in other jurisdictions. In many previous incidents, the investigation led to another geographical area where the local media made inquiries to the PIO; however, critical information was not always received by the PIO in a timely fashion. The flow of information from the investigative side must run parallel to that in the communications sector.
The messaging from the respective HOW will typically arise from the leadership; congregation; and, in some cases, the parent organization. There are numerous religions and denominations that have HOW; however, the PIOs should be familiar with the ideals and key values of those in their respective jurisdictions. Meeting with the communication directors for the HOW prior to any critical incident is a must. PIOs are encouraged to understand the specific terminology used by the respective participating agencies to include the HOW. Examples of terminology concerns include the definition of an active shooter, origin and cause of a fire, and the connotation of words such as “accidental.” These terms, as well as many others, could potentially have an impact on court cases or litigation. The PIOs should always stay in their respective lanes although having an understanding of their counterparts will prove beneficial. The main questions from the media perspective typically include the demographics of the congregation, previous threats, financial loss, and insurance-related issues. Any conflict in messaging may result in undue panic or legal ramifications. Maintaining the balance between the restriction of sensitive investigative information and providing timely factual details is a priority among the public information group.
Collaborating for Best Practices
The Department of Justice, in conjunction with a consortium of HOW, recently hosted a forum regarding violent incidents involving HOW. The forum focused on not only the safety and security aspects of these violent acts, but the post-incident messaging to ensure timely and factual information to the public. One of the interesting messaging elements, which has been mentioned even in previous forums, is any iconic structure (cross, signage, monikers) associated with HOW. The media may use one of these iconic images that might not even be related to the location of the violent incident simply due to the religious affiliation, which in turn, can cause misinformation and undue panic.
Also noted was that these incidents tend to have a ripple effect on public attention, including memorial services and anniversary dates. PIOs must always be prepared to address queries about next steps and efforts to prevent future incidents, including after forums such as the one referenced here.
One of the challenges in any critical incident including HOW is the personal connection to the PIOs and agency personnel. The respective PIOs may be part of the congregation or indirectly related to the institution. This fact tends to lead to “off-the-record” requests of the status of the case or personal opinions. An internal message to the respective agencies addressing this potential issue needs to be part of the communication plan.
Due to the high profiles of these incidents, the threat of copycat incidents, both in the area and in various other regions, needs to be addressed. Another area of concern is retired agency individuals, political figures, and those whom the media use for commentary. PIOs might be asked to confirm speculative comments from various commentators. Unifying the messaging through social media platforms from one agency provides a consistent, fact-based timeline of events.
Parallel messaging and respect of participating agencies and HOW communication plans are priorities. The ultimate goal is to provide factual information in a timely fashion with consideration to the religious tones of the HOW and their congregations. 🛡
Notes:
1 Jaweed Kaleem, “The New Zealand Mosque Shooting Is Just the Latest in a Trend of Violence against Houses of Worship,” Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2019.
2 United States Bomb Data Center, Explosives Incident Report (2018).
Please cite as
Michael P. Knight, “Messaging Challenges Regarding Violence at Houses of Worship” Police Chief Online, August 14, 2019.
