Faith-Based Daily Awareness Post 6 August 2025

Faith-Based Security Headlines

These updates are shared to help raise the situational awareness of Faith-Based organizations to best defend against and mitigate the impacts from all-hazards threats including physical security, cybersecurity, and natural disasters.

Crime down in every category in 2024, FBI report says

In 2024, violent crimes across the U.S. fell by 4.5 percent, making the second straight year of decline. Significant drops included a 14.9 percent decrease in murders and non-negligent manslaughter and a 5.2 percent fall in rapes. Property crime also declined sharply by 8.1 percent with burglaries down 8.6 percent and motor vehicle theft plummeting 18.6 percent. Reported hate crimes decreased slightly by 1.5 percent though they remained among the highest totals in over 30 years of tracking. Notably, the number of assaults on law enforcement officers climbed to a 10-year high in 2024, with 85,730 officers assaulted, and 64 felonious officer deaths, 46 involving firearms. The report, which is based on voluntary submissions from approximately 16,000+ law enforcement agencies covering around 86 percent of U.S. jurisdictions and protecting over 325 million people. The report also indicated that Jews were targeted in 69% of religion hate crimes in 2024 making Jewish the most targeted religious group in America in 2024.

Analyst Comments: The 2024 FBI crime report reveals a downward trend in both violent and property crime, signaling progress in national public safety efforts. In May 2025, FB-ISAO briefed members on the key findings from its 2024 Threat Data Review, reveling that there were 841 documented attacks on HOW during the year. The upcoming fall report will dive deeper into monthly trends, geography breakdowns, attack methodology by faith affiliation, and implications for resilience planning.

Back-to-School Safety Preparedness: Training and Drills for K-12 Schools

The community is invited to join CISA for a webinar on Thursday, August 28 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT for a virtual training on back-to-school safety and emergency preparedness actions for kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools.

Attendees will gain insight into updating and sustaining crisis response and reunification plans with an emphasis on ensuring plans are well understood and practiced by staff and students. The session will also provide actionable tools and guidance to support the implementation of developmentally appropriate preparedness efforts throughout the school year.

Event Details

When: August 28, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
Where: Microsoft Teams Live(access link to be provided to registrants one day in advance of the event)
Registration:eventbrite.com

OSCE: Understanding Anti-Christian Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Christian Communities — A Practical Guide

Across the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) region, anti-Christian hate crimes target individuals, communities, and institutions, impacting religious practice, community life, and safety. Victims often face fear, isolation, and financial strain from increased security needs. Such crimes not only harm individuals but also threaten social cohesion and peace. Participating states have committed to combating intolerance against Christians by recognizing and addressing these crimes. Governments are urged to respond swiftly and comprehensively by condemning hate crimes, improving data collection, supporting victims, promoting interfaith dialogue, and working closely with Christian communities to ensure safety, resilience, and mutual understanding.

Analyst Comments: The OSCE’s findings on anti-Christian hate crimes highlight a growing security and societal challenge not only in Europe and Central Asia, but one with increasing relevance to the United States. While the U.S. is not a member of the European Union, it is a full participating state in the OSCE. In recent years, the U.S. has seen a rise in hate incidents targeting Christians, including vandalism of churches, arson, disruption of services, and harassment. Attacks undermine not only individual safety but also community cohesion, trust in public institutions, and the freedom to practice religion openly.

To align with OSCE commitments U.S. HOW can consider: