A church in Alabama has applied to have its own police force, arguing it's the best way of protecting its members.
It's the second time Briarwood Presbyterian Church, which has two large campuses including a school and a seminary, has attempted to set up the force, according to AL.com. A previous attempt was passed last year by the state's House Public Safety committee but was not signed into law by the governor.
The church's attorney Eric Johnston said: 'We've got over 30,000 events a year that take place at Briarwood – going on all day, all night, at the school, at the church, at the seminary.
'We have to hire policemen all the time. It would be so much easier to have someone on staff.'
Many US colleges and universities have their own police forces, but there are no others in churches in Alabama. Johnston said the officer would patrol the campuses and that if an arrest needed to be made local police would be called in. Briarwood's move, though apparently driven by practical considerations, may also reflect increasing security consciousness among large churches, where armed security guards are a growing presence.
While church police forces may be rare or non-existent as yet in the US, there is an unexpected parallel in the UK – York Minster has its own police force, the Minster Police. Its eight members provide security, help tourists and are the custodians of more than 380 sets of keys.
