Although many people at Shir Tikvah—staff, the housing committee, the technology committee, and others—have been quietly working to improve security for years, growing anti-Semitic events and recent violence as close as Arlington have raised questions in the Shir Tikvah community about what we're doing to protect ourselves.
A new community safety committee had its first meeting on Wednesday, May 22. We drew people from a wide range of leadership groups and with substantial backgrounds in various areas of security. In addition, Jerilyn is interviewing people for a board-level trustee position in charge of safety and security.
The committee will be reaching out to the community on many issues. Our first concrete change will be the installation of outdoor cameras, which is strongly advised by the Winchester police chief and desired by many in our community.
Our staff and a member of our committee also met with the Winchester police chief and the president of a risk management firm. We will follow up with the firm to get suggestions for cameras and their locations, and will investigate vendors, technical issues, and policies and choose a course of action. The board has approved installation and the financing is in place.
Among the policy issues we're discussing are:
● Where should cameras go and what areas should they cover?
● Can people talk outside without fear that the camera's audio component will record them?
● Who has access to the footage?
● Where will the monitor be?
The technology committee is planning to install cameras inside to capture services and board meetings for online streaming, but we don’t plan to use the cameras for security. We will respect privacy in the sanctuary for those who want to be off-camera.
A new software system is also in place on our doors, allowing more control over who has entry and making it easier to monitor the doors so that they can be kept locked. Software for synagogue members is being rolled out gradually.
Jerilyn Heinold, President
Andy Oram, Safety Committee Chair
Temple Shir Tikvah
34 Vine Street
Winchester, MA 01890
