A three-day training session was held at St James Church in Kenilworth. The intervention was made all the more significant by the historical context. The church was targeted in a deadly terror attack in July 1993
The City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre is mandated to facilitate emergency planning and awareness across a range of public assembly venues.
In 2019, the Centre launched a specific programme for religious institutions – the Safer places of Worship Programme – in response to a fatal attack at a mosque in Kwazulu-Natal.
Since then, safety at these institutions has come into even sharper focus, with more reported incidents around the country.
In August 2024, the DRMC facilitated emergency preparedness training for the Muslim Judicial Council, following a shooting incident at a mosque in Brooklyn.
DRMC has since noted increased demand for this particular intervention.
The importance of emergency planning is a key element of the sessions and includes aspects like establishing health and safety committees, and assigning specific tasks, in case of an emergency.
The latest training session concluded today, 23 September, at the St. James Church in Kenilworth.
The three-day programme included the following aspects:
- Emergency Planning, Fire Safety (compliance, signage, evacuation principles); Responding to a bomb threat and fundamentals of crime scene preservation
- Emergency First Aid Responders Training (EFAR Training)
- Emergency Exercise testing all aspects of emergency response, first aid, incident command
‘We are incredibly grateful to the church leadership and congregation of St. James for participating in this training programme. In doing so, we highlight the very real safety concerns that places of worship in our country have had to confront in recent years. But, we also highlight what is possible when we work together in the interests of public safety. Since the launch of this programme, the City has forged closer working relationships with numerous faith organisations who understand the importance of, and have become champions for preparedness, resilience, and safety,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
The DRMC has developed a Safer Places of Worship booklet, that will be made available to the public as part of this initiative. The booklet is available on the City’s website: DRM-Booklet-Safer-Places-of-Worship.pdf (capetown.gov.za)
Any places of worship wishing to participate in the programme, can contact Nolitha.qaku@capetown.gov.za
