Preying on churches? There is no sanctuary from theft
By Kelly Ettenborough / Arizona Republic
Is nothing sacred? Thieves and vandals will target churches, mosques and synagogues the same as any business or home, police say, and many houses of worship have installed security systems and are educating worshipers about crime prevention. "Most crime is when someone sees an opportunity. It's not like all the bad guys are asleep on Sunday mornings," says Sgt. Randy Fougner of the Tempe (Ariz.) Police Department. Congregations are perceived as easy targets, police say, because people feel safer in a house of worship and are more lax about personal property than they would be at, say, the mall. About 19 months ago, Erin Weland of Scottsdale found that his car had been stolen during a church service. She was performing at a church in Phoenix with the sacred dance group, Ballet Sanctus, when her 1991 Dodge Dynasty disappeared. It was found about three weeks later, totaled. "On a Sunday morning in a church parking lot, who's going to expect to get their car stolen?" says Weland, a 20-year-old college student. "You'd think that people would have some ethics." At some churches, employees will immediately deposit collections after services, sometimes with the aid of armed guards. Computers and video equipment are not easily accessible even when buildings are open for use. And security cameras monitor almost everything. Synagogues and mosques often have had more security concerns than churches over the years because of so-called "hate crimes." Wisconsin-based Church Mutual Insurance insures more congregations nationwide than any other, about 73,000. Last year, it had 31,000 claims. The average claim is $4,400, with the range going from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of dollars. http://detnews.com/
Electric Problem Cited in Museum Fire
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - The FBI said a blaze that caused extensive damage to a Holocaust museum probably resulted from an electrical problem. No one was injured in Monday's fire at El Paso Holocaust Museum & Study Center, said David Marcus, past president of the museum board. ``It appears the great majority of the exhibits, which were one of a kind in most instances, were destroyed,'' Marcus said. ``It's hard to put a number on how much the exhibits were worth, because most of these exhibits, they were all original and all real.'' FBI officials initially said there was reason to believe the fire was set, but they later released a statement saying that investigators were 90 percent certain that an electrical problem was to blame. The fire will not prevent former President Clinton from speaking at the annual benefit gala Wednesday, which is being held at a nearby location. Among the exhibits was a nearly life-sized model of a rail car bound for a death camp. On a soundtrack, muffled cries were interrupted by the crack of a rifle shot - a summary execution. Another exhibit was a store front depicting Kristallnacht, the ``Night of Broken Glass'' in November 1938 when synagogues and Jewish businesses across Germany were attacked. Among the artifacts in the museum were a striped camp uniform, a pile of abandoned children's shoes, and teeth extracted for gold fillings. Marble tiles were placed on a wall to commemorate victims, many relatives of El Paso residents.
On the Net: http://htg-is.vianet.net/~ht2/holocst.html from ConsDisList
From: Vanessa Marshall vanessa.marshall@bl.uk Subject: Questionnaire on disaster planning
How well prepared are you for a disaster?
The United Kingdom and Ireland Blue Shield Organisation (UKIRB) is seeking to assess the level of disaster preparedness in the cultural heritage institutions of the UK and Ireland. In order to gather information, it has mounted a Disaster Contingency Plan questionnaire on its web site, for completion by museums, libraries, archives, galleries and institutions from the built heritage. The results of the questionnaire will enable the UKIRB to target its work over the next three years, ensuring that the disaster planning needs of the cultural heritage sector are met. If you would like to take part, please go to http://www.bl.uk/blueshield/ and fill in the Disaster Contingency Plan questionnaire. The questionnaire will be available from 3 October. The deadline for completion is 31 December 2001.
The Blue Shield is the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross. It is the symbol specified in the 1954 Hague Convention for marking cultural sites to give them protection from attack in the event of armed conflict. The International Committee of the Blue Shield exists to work to protect the world's cultural heritage threatened by wars and natural disasters. The UKIRB has been set up to support the international initiative and to raise national awareness of threats, both man-made and natural, to the cultural heritage. It is a cross-sectoral body covering archives, libraries, museums, galleries and the built heritage in the UK and Ireland. It brings together the knowledge, experience and networks of the UK and Ireland representatives of the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), and is administered by the National Preservation Office.
Further information is available at URL: http://www.bl.uk/blueshield/ and from
The National Preservation Office The British Library, 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB +44 207 412 7048, Fax: +44 207 412 7796 npo@bl.uk
Museum attendance drops in nation's capital after terrorist attacks
The Associated Press 10/4/01 8:11 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of visitors to the Smithsonian Institution museums, among the nation's most popular, dropped 39 percent last month compared to last year. Attendance was 1.1 million in September among facilities operated by the Smithsonian including the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History. It was 1.8 million the same time a year ago. An even bigger drop in attendance during the month of the twin terrorist attacks in New York and Washington -- 45 percent -- was seen at the gift shops, cafeterias and IMAX theaters, Smithsonian officials said.
All Smithsonian museums shut down on Sept. 11 but reopened the day after the four hijackings. Officials said they are hopeful to draw back visitors with Thursday's reopening of Reagan National Airport and a weekend of special weekend events in mid-October, when the city is offering two days of free bus and subway rides. http://www.nj.com/