Articles with church security

2025 Edition of Hostility Against Churches Report Shows 415 US Attacks in 2024

Family Research Council (FRC) has released the newest edition of its report, Hostility Against Churches in the United States: Analyzing Incidents from 2024, which records 415 hostile incidents across 383 churches, including vandalism (284), arson (55), bomb threats (14), armed aggression (28, which is more than double the number (12) identified in 2023), and other crimes (47).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Book Review: Defending the Flock ]

“Religious freedom is seldom handed to the passive,” says Tony Perkins, president, FRC. “It’s claimed by those who exercise it even when a hostile culture says they may not. This report clearly shows religious freedom faces substantial threats here at home.”

[ Use the SemperVerus reference site, CHURCH SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CLIPBOARD ]

Notable findings in this edition include the following:

Self-Defense and Church Security Lessons by John Correia Reviewing an Attempted Carjacking

Active Self Protection‘s mission is to help others develop the Attitude, Skills, and Plan to better protect themselves and their loved ones from harm. Its founder and owner, John Correia, posts online real defensive encounters that are recorded on camera and performs after-action analyses that identify self-defense lessons learned from them.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Active Self Protection Self-Defense Checklists and Acronyms ]

The following video is of an attempted carjacking and the lessons that can be applied to your own self-defense or church security volunteer team best practices:

LaSorsa & Associates Executive Protection Incidents Report

LaSorsa & Associates is a global source for security consulting, private investigations, technical surveillance counter-measures, and executive protection services and training. Its primary focus is on business and political security, but it also offers training for church security teams.

[ Use the SemperVerus reference site, CHURCH SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CLIPBOARD ]

The LaSorsa & Associates Executive Protection Incidents Report (Jan.–Jun. 2025) provides a comprehensive overview of publicly documented security incidents, drawn from open-source information, impacting high-profile individuals in the first half of 2025.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Training: Decision Decks Help You Think Through a Crisis Before It Happens ]

Church security teams can apply implications from the analysis to sharpen your threat awareness and planning as you conduct Executive Protection (EP) practices for church leaders and congregations.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Key Takeaways:

Interview With Lori Morrison, Private Investigator

SemperVerus interviewed Lori Morrison, retired private investigator, author, and host of The Unlovely Truth podcast. She’ll be speaking at the 2025 Church Facilities Expo in Chattanooga, September 22-24, 2025. To register and for more information go to ChurchFacilitiesExpo.com.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of CHURCH SECURITY ]

What prompted you to become a private investigator?
I was following a local case of a missing (and later found murdered) young woman in the news, and it made me wonder who would help me if that happened to MY child. God ignited a passion in me to help find justice for hurting families.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, US Secret Service Threat Assessment Church Case Study Links Domestic Violence with Mass Attacks ]

Describe the work of a private investigator.
It’s not as constantly exciting as it looks on TV. Good investigators spend a lot of time digging into every little detail that could make a difference in a case, because you don’t always know what’s going to be important right away. You have to talk to a lot of people and find ways to make them want to talk to you. It’s important to keep an open mind and be ready to follow the evidence, not a narrative that someone is giving you. You have to be ready to face the darker side of human nature, keeping in mind that the truth is what ultimately matters. We don’t always get justice, but we can support our clients in finding as much of the truth as possible.