Task force will work to enhance safety of religious communities

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretaries Michael Chertoff and Jeh Johnson have been named co-chairmen of the new Community Safety and Security Task Force designed to enhance the safety and resilience of religious communities. 

The task force will make recommendations on how to effectively address hate crime and develop best practices related to incident tracking, information sharing, reporting and addressing threats

“Law enforcement alone cannot protect our communities – communities themselves need to be prepared to work with law enforcement, and to maintain awareness of threats they may face,” Johnson said. “We need to build partnerships and lift up community capabilities before extremists have the opportunity to become threats.”

Creating cross-faith relationships will promote the unity within society and will add critical security resources, Chertoff said.

The task force was convened by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an anti-hate organization, and the Secure Community Network (SCN), the homeland security and safety initiative of The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. It was formed in response to the recent violence against faith-based institutions worldwide.

The task force will include faith and community leaders, ADL and SCN members and local, state and federal law enforcement representatives.