Church seeks to establish it's own police force.

[Genivaria]

Briarwood Presbyterian Church seeks lawmakers’ approval to establish police force

Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Vestavia Hills is trying to establish its own police force.
The move requires approval from state lawmakers. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Shelby County) cleared its first major hurdle Wednesday. The House Public Safety Committee gave its OK.

Briarwood Presbyterian Church calls this a way to create a safer campus in a fallen world.
Some lawmakers argue allowing a private church to have its own police force could begin a slippery slope.

“What do we do when other church affiliates come and ask for the same thing?” questioned Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham). “They're not a college. They're a church and they're a church asking for police jurisdiction.”

Many questions were posed during Wednesday’s committee meeting.
“Who do the officers answer to?” asked Rep. Chris England (D- Tuscaloosa).
“They would answer to the leadership of the section of the church,” a representative from the church answered.

Rep. Connie Rowe (R- Jasper) is a former police chief. She supports allowing Briarwood to create its own force.

“They will conduct their own investigations,” explained Rowe. “They will conduct their own security. They will make their own arrests and instead of calling on the local law enforcement agency to take over the particular situation they're trying to control, they will do that themselves. All they will utilize from their other law enforcement agencies is their lock up facilities.”
Rowe says she would also consider requests from other churches to do the same.
England is concerned about transparency.

“Situations and arrests you would think normally need to be made, they can make their own determinations and decisions about whether that needs to happen,” said England.
Now that the proposal is out of committee, it moves to the full House for consideration.

http://abc3340.com/news/local/briarwood ... lice-force

Oh HELL no, and there are lawmakers actually going along with this illegal crap!?
Shut this crap down now!

[Washington Resistance Army]

Can I be my own police force? I'd love to get in on civil forfeiture.

[The Portland Territory]

Would this police force have the powers of the actual police? I'm a practicing Catholic myself but this seems fishy

[Ifreann]

And they will be called the Swiss Guard. They will wear silly clothes and carry halberds.

[The Liberated Territories]

So long as the police force doesn't extend outside the Church's influence, I don't see a problem. Many private organizations have their own security, like malls.

[The Holy Empire of the Spaghetti Monster]

Oh HELLS naw. No. JUST NO. This is bullshit.

[Xelsis]

It is just the equivalent of a college campus's "police force", calm down. They explicitly say that the force is only for on the church campus, nowhere else.

It would not involve a jail or other facilities - basically an officer and an official car, he said. "I couldn't imagine it would be something more than that," Johnston said. "If there is an arrest on campus, the local jurisdiction would be called and they would come pick the person up."

Nothing more than security.

[Nigrum Oculus]

Stupid.
Churches should never have their own police force.

Do not bring Arabian-Styled law into the West. Religious police forces are a thing of the past.

[Petrolheadia]

Well, if it is going to be like college police, a security agency with a fancy name, and they would not break any federal or state laws, then I have no problem with it.

[Xelsis]

Here's a further link.

http://www.officer.com/news/12307200/al ... department


Key quotes

Briarwood Presbyterian Church Administrator Matt Moore released a statement on behalf of the church saying that Code 16-22-1 of Alabama law provides for the employment of one or more persons to act as police officers at colleges and other private educational institutions. "The church seeks to mirror that provision," it says.

It would not involve a jail or other facilities - basically an officer and an official car, he said. "I couldn't imagine it would be something more than that," Johnston said. "If there is an arrest on campus, the local jurisdiction would be called and they would come pick the person up."

Briarwood has two large campuses, with the church and Birmingham Theological Seminary off Acton Road at Interstate 459, and at the affiliated Briarwood Christian School on Cahaba Valley Road.

"It would only be for patrolling the campuses, north and south," Johnston said. "There wouldn't be any patrolling of neighborhoods."

The church currently hires off-duty officers from area police departments, but there aren't always enough officers available, Johnston said. "They get short-handed," he said. "We have one guy that we have to have almost full-time supervising security," he said.

The police department would essentially be that officer in a full-time position working for the church, he said.

This is a massive overreaction to a harmless measure.

[Vassenor]

NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION

[The Blaatschapen]

Goddammit!

Seperation of church and state. We've been over this in Europe several centuries ago. Bishoprics and monasteries are not to be wordly. In fact, is this not going against the nature of Christianity itself? Religion is after all, spiritual, not worldly. Sad.

[Ifreann]

Can I be my own police force? I'd love to get in on civil forfeiture.

Can I be my own IA department? Imagine the civil forfeitures I could get from the real police.

---

So long as the police force doesn't extend outside the Church's influence, I don't see a problem. Many private organizations have their own security, like malls.

If they wanted their own security guards surely they would just hire some without asking state lawmakers for anything.

[Lautrec-]

So a gang but with religious connotations

[The Blaatschapen]

So a gang but with religious connotations

They should do some baptizing to get in the gang. And then one becomes the Godfather.

[Carartia]

This is something Poland would do, seeing as Law & Justice is in power…

[Dytarma]

Sure, I see how this can work.

[Genivaria]

It is just the equivalent of a college campus's "police force", calm down. They explicitly say that the force is only for on the church campus, nowhere else.

It would not involve a jail or other facilities - basically an officer and an official car, he said. "I couldn't imagine it would be something more than that," Johnston said. "If there is an arrest on campus, the local jurisdiction would be called and they would come pick the person up."

Nothing more than security.

Yes I'm sure we can trust the theocrats at their word.

[Impireacht]

Deus vult ave maria non nobis domine
We must use this new police force to remove kebabs across the nation

In all seriousness this should be prevented, though, since our nation was kind of founded on the idea of separation of the church and state.

[Xelsis]

Goddammit!

Seperation of church and state. We've been over this in Europe several centuries ago. Bishoprics and monasteries are not to be wordly. In fact, is this not going against the nature of Christianity itself? Religion is after all, spiritual, not worldly. Sad.

A church cannot police it's own grounds?

If a church is to be set apart, does it not make sense that they would handle their own internal security on their own property?

This is the separation of church and state. It is a private entity, seeking a private security force to police its own property.

It is just the equivalent of a college campus's "police force", calm down. They explicitly say that the force is only for on the church campus, nowhere else.



Nothing more than security.

Yes I'm sure we can trust the theocrats at their word.

Pointless name-calling. They are a church that wants to hire a full-time officer rather than dealing with part-time work.

The church currently hires off-duty officers from area police departments, but there aren't always enough officers available, Johnston said. "They get short-handed," he said. "We have one guy that we have to have almost full-time supervising security," he said.

The police department would essentially be that officer in a full-time position working for the church, he said.

That is not a theocracy.

[Novo Trevisio]

Goddammit!

Seperation of church and state. We've been over this in Europe several centuries ago. Bishoprics and monasteries are not to be wordly. In fact, is this not going against the nature of Christianity itself? Religion is after all, spiritual, not worldly. Sad.

Sadly, the gift of reading has been lost by many people....

[Ifreann]

Goddammit!

Seperation of church and state. We've been over this in Europe several centuries ago. Bishoprics and monasteries are not to be wordly. In fact, is this not going against the nature of Christianity itself? Religion is after all, spiritual, not worldly. Sad.

A church cannot police it's own grounds?

If a church is to be set apart, does it not make sense that they would handle their own internal security on their own property?

This is the separation of church and state. It is a private entity, seeking a private security force to police its own property.

Yes I'm sure we can trust the theocrats at their word.

Pointless name-calling. They are a church that wants to hire a full-time officer rather than dealing with part-time work.

The church currently hires off-duty officers from area police departments, but there aren't always enough officers available, Johnston said. "They get short-handed," he said. "We have one guy that we have to have almost full-time supervising security," he said.

The police department would essentially be that officer in a full-time position working for the church, he said.

That is not a theocracy.

Why would they need legislative approval for hiring someone to drive around their property in a uniform with a radio and whistle?

[Xelsis]

A church cannot police it's own grounds?

If a church is to be set apart, does it not make sense that they would handle their own internal security on their own property?

This is the separation of church and state. It is a private entity, seeking a private security force to police its own property.



Pointless name-calling. They are a church that wants to hire a full-time officer rather than dealing with part-time work.



That is not a theocracy.

Why would they need legislative approval for hiring someone to drive around their property in a uniform with a radio and whistle?

The same reason that colleges require that legislative authority-we live in an over-regulated society. You would have to find an Alabama lawmaker to find out the specific reason why.

[Alvecia]

I wouldn't trust them to stick to the actual law, not their religious law

[Xelsis]

I wouldn't trust them to stick to the actual law, not their religious law

And what exactly are they going to do? They don't have a jail. All they can do is catch them and give them to the police, as quoted.

If you think that they are going to violate the law, and inflict corporal punishment or something-then there is still no reason to oppose this. If they were going to illegally enforce "religious law" on church grounds, then they would already be doing it.

If you think they are going to stay within the law, there is no problem-all they are looking for is essentially an officer with a car, and they'll hand perpetrators over to the police.

If you think they are going to violate the law, then there is no reason to oppose this-they'd violate it with or without.

It would not involve a jail or other facilities - basically an officer and an official car, he said. "I couldn't imagine it would be something more than that," Johnston said. "If there is an arrest on campus, the local jurisdiction would be called and they would come pick the person up."

They are mimicking the law that allows private police at colleges and universities. Unless you have a problem with that, you should not have a problem with this.