Many churches are blessed to have active or retired law enforcement officers in their congregation. It’s natural to ask: “Can we put them on our Safety Team?”
The short answer: yes, but only with care—and with clear boundaries. Here’s why.
The Value They Bring
Active and retired law enforcement officers bring experience in:
- Situational awareness
- De-escalation
- Emergency response
- Familiarity with law enforcement procedures
Their presence can be a tremendous asset when handled correctly.
Risks to Be Aware Of
- Authority Confusion: If officers act in an official capacity while off-duty, your church could unintentionally assume liability for their actions.
- Policy Conflicts: Active officers must follow their department’s policies—even when volunteering at church. This may limit their ability to act under your direction.
- Retired Officers with Firearms: While some retain carry privileges, using that authority as part of a “team” may still be interpreted as providing armed security.
- Paid Law Enforcement Officers: If your church pays an active or retired officer to provide protection, they must be employed and supervised by a licensed PPO (Private Patrol Operator) under California law. Simply putting them on payroll as “security” does not meet SB 1454 requirements.
- Oversight and Training of Armed Volunteers: Law enforcement officers, whether active or retired, cannot legally oversee or train armed volunteers who are acting in a security capacity for your church. Doing so would constitute managing unlicensed security operations—something only a PPO can do under SB 1454. Churches that want structured training should look to programs like Shepherd360’s HALO training, which equips ministries with situational awareness, de-escalation, and safety best practices without crossing into unlicensed security operations.
Best Practices for Churches
If your church includes law enforcement professionals:
- Acknowledge their expertise—but set boundaries. Make it clear they are volunteers serving under church-defined roles, not as police officers on duty.
- Do not place them in supervisory roles over armed volunteers. Even with their background, they cannot manage or train others in a security capacity unless working under a PPO structure.
- Keep their role consistent with Safety Team expectations. Observation, de-escalation, medical response, and communication should be their primary functions unless you have licensed security in place.
- Clarify firearms policies. If an active or retired officer carries a firearm, your church must decide if this is acceptable, and how it aligns with state law and insurance coverage.
- If paying officers, outsource employment to a PPO. For churches that want to compensate law enforcement officers, SB 1454 requires employment through a licensed PPO. Services like Shepherd360 allow churches to outsource both the employment and compliance responsibilities, ensuring legal coverage and reducing liability risk.
- Document and train. Ensure roles are written out and training is consistent for all team members—law enforcement or not.
Walking With You
We love that so many officers want to serve their church families. With clear guidelines, they can be an incredible resource while helping your church stay within legal and insurance boundaries.
