For Churches, Beefed-Up Security Is a Mixed Blessing

That was six years ago. The church, which draws about 450 parishioners on an average Sunday, built a fence around its 11-acre (4.5 hectare) property and installed an electronic access gate to the parking lot. For concerts and other big events, the church hires off-duty police officers. There have been no car thefts and only one burglary in the church's new security era. Berean also uses a check-in system for its nursery and Sunday schools that once averted an attempted kidnapping by an estranged parent.

Violent crimes at churches often share similarities with attacks that happen at workplaces: battered spouses may find somewhere else to sleep at night, but their abusers can count on finding them at work or church. "One of the biggest vulnerabilities of churches is that they're very predictable," explains Hawkins. "You can go on most websites and find out when services begin and end or find a floor plan of the whole church."

Knowing exactly where Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller would be on a Sunday morning undoubtedly simplified his killer's plans. And that's not a new problem. Charles Guiteau, the man who assassinated James Garfield, first planned to shoot the President coming out of church. He backed off only when he saw that Garfield was with his mother. Some things, after all, are sacred.