Florida company to talk safety and security in places of worship

Faith-based community events with classes geared to help make places of worship safer are being offered locally.

“Safety and Security in Places of Worship,” provided by Training Force USA, is designed for leaders of all places of worship, people who attend or work in them, police officers and anyone else concerned about safety and security.

Claude Pichard, director of Training Force USA in Tallahassee, Fla., said that in the past, the business only provided training to law enforcement officers. Last year, after the mass shooting that took the lives of nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon sought training for citizens to help keep their places of worship safer. He called Training Force USA, Pichard said, and the business quickly changed. “For the last year, it has just been unbelievable. It has really changed the face of our business,” Pichard said. “I get calls every day from churches.”

Training Force USA already had the Safety and Security for Places of Worship course, but nobody had ever asked for it before Sheriff Cannon did, so it had never been used. The agency now trains about half law enforcement and half citizens, most of whom are in the faith based community.

Pichard said the agency has held classes in Charleston several times and is training across South Carolina and other states. The training is not only helpful for leaders and others involved with churches, synagogues, mosques or any kind of worship site; it is helpful for everyone, Pichard said.

“Everybody is vulnerable,” he said.

A class will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 31 at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 1100 8th Avenue North, North Myrtle Beach. The cost is $125. Other events are also being held in Horry and Georgetown counties. Locations and dates may be found by contacting Training Force USA.

The following information was provided by Pichard:

The instructor for the Aug. 31 class is Tom Gillan, director of The National Institute for Human Trafficking Research and Training. He recently completed a 20-year career as director of the Criminal Justice Office, where he worked directly with 28 victims of human trafficking.

As a certified law enforcement trainer, Gillan was selected by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to provide his expertise on the subject of Human Trafficking to assist with the development of an 8-hour curriculum for new police recruits and a 40-hour curriculum for investigators. He is an instructor with Training Force USA, the Regional Community Policing Institute, the Criminal Justice Department at Saint Leo University, The Florida Sheriff's Association, and the Florida Attorney General's Office.

He has received numerous awards and recognition for his work from The U. S. Department of Justice, The U. S. Attorney's Office, The FBI National Academy, The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, The Florida Department of Corrections, and most recently, The 2012 Trainer of The Year Award from The Florida Network of Victim Witness Services.

For more information or to register, visit www.training forceusa.com, email cpichard@trainingforceusa.com or call 850-251-1223.

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Florida company to talk safety and security in places of worship."