Donato offers free worship security training for county faith communities

Cumberland County Sheriff Michael Donato is offering free security training for churches, temples and other faith communities across the county, and the message is simple: no congregation should assume it is too small, too rural or too routine to need a plan.

The sessions, which continue through May, are open to clergy, church leadership and designated security team members. The sheriff’s office says the curriculum is built around practical steps faith communities can use to prepare for, prevent and respond to threats while preserving the open, welcoming atmosphere many congregations want to protect.

The training goes well beyond theory. According to the sheriff’s office, it uses actual incident videos and covers national and regional statistics, recent attacks on faith-based institutions and the day-to-day realities congregations face. Topics include whether house-of-worship security is needed, how to organize and implement a security program, interaction with local law enforcement, situational awareness, characteristics and behaviors of armed individuals, intervening and detaining individuals, training considerations for security teams, equipment recommendations, Run-Hide-Fight principles for an active shooter and an overview of applying for a New Jersey Permit to Carry.

Retired New Jersey State Police Lt. Mark Rowe is leading the sessions. The sheriff’s office says Rowe has 34 years of law-enforcement experience, including service with the New Jersey State Police and the Vineland Police Department, along with work as a detective, crisis negotiator and Federal Fugitive Task Force commander. Donato said the office has already conducted several of the trainings and the feedback has been “nothing but positive.”

The program arrives as national guidance continues to warn that houses of worship can be vulnerable targets. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency says targeted violence against houses of worship is real and potentially growing, and its guidance draws on 10 years of analyzed attacks. The FBI’s 2024 hate-crime data, released in 2025, reported 11,679 hate crime incidents and 14,243 victims nationwide, with religion accounting for 23.5% of single-bias hate-crime victims.

For Cumberland County’s churches, mosques and synagogues, the stakes are local as well as national. The training reaches congregations in Bridgeton, Vineland, Millville, Commercial Township and rural communities that may not have dedicated security staff. Cumberland County says Donato was elected in 2023 and took office in 2024, and the sheriff’s office says its history dates back to 1748, a reminder that protecting life and property has long been part of the county’s public-safety mission.