Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator has taken a lead role in insuring the safety of citizens at local churches. 

Prator said the Sheriff’s Office has developed a program to assess the safety of local churches and train church employees in emergency procedures for incidents involving fires, medical emergencies, active shooters, or other incidents that could cause a building evacuation.

Capt. Kenny Sanders, director of the Sheriff’s Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy, described the program as “necessary in today’s society.”Sanders developed the program at Prator’s request so local church leaders could pre-plan before emergencies occur.

Prator said in some cases a church may only need to re-visit their existing building alarm system.However, others may wish to train a team of volunteers to handle everything from parking lot details to security in the church nursery. 

“We seldom think of churches as places that should pre-plan for disturbances,” Prator said. “Let’s hope and pray that no one ever needs to use these techniques, but awareness is always wise”. 

To schedule a program or receive more information call Sanders at 681-0735.