CONCEPT FOR IMPROVING THE SECURITY OF RELIGIOUS SITES

This article presents a concept for improving security at places of worship based on research carried
out as part of the ProSPeReS project, along with a review of the topical literature. It presents the
current state of security at such places and selected threats which such ‘soft’ targets may be exposed
to. Places of worship are considered particularly vulnerable to attacks due to their accessibility and
the fact that limited security measures are usually in place.
The research was aimed at enhancing protection of places of worship by proposing potential
opportunities for organisational changes in preventing, detecting and responding to terrorist
attempts. To this end, a bow-tie analysis of a reference scenario at a hypothetical place of worship
was applied, adapting the Vulnerability Assessment Tool methodology for this purpose. The
background knowledge to the research constituted the results of a literature review, study visits to
places of worship and knowledge of public security experts.
The results of research in the form of the proposed method of threat analysis and vulnerability
of religious sites and religious gatherings, as well as potential solutions to enhance the protection
of these places in the context of the considered reference scenario, which translate into increased
readiness for a potential terrorist event.

