Media Solutions Manager, UBM

Author Bio ▼

Brian was appointed Editor of Security Management Today (SMT) in November 2000. In 2005, he received the BSIA Chairman's Award for Promoting The Industry and, a year later, the Skills for Security Special Award for an Outstanding Contribution to the Security Business Sector. In 2008, Brian was nominated for the ASC's Imbert Prize and was a finalist in the 2012 George van Schalkwyk Award. An Honorary Fellow of The Security Institute and a judge for numerous industry awards, Brian became the Editor of SMT Online in late 2008 and was also promoted to Group Content Editor for UBM Live's Security Portfolio (focusing on the IFSEC SELECT end user programme, the Security Excellence Awards, conferences and webinars). Now the Media Solutions Manager for UBM Live's Security and Fire Portfolio, Brian is actively pioneering developments in live events and digital media.
May 1, 2014

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Counter Terror: Response Challenges for the Blue Light Services

Hagai Segal, counter-terrorism lecturer and analyst at New York University, London, will spoke about counter-terror planning by emergency services during IFSEC International 2014

Terrorism threat levels for the UK – as determined by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) and the Security Service (MI5) – fall into one of five categories: Low (meaning that a terrorist attack is unlikely), Moderate (an attack is possible but not likely), Substantial (a terrorist attack of some form is a strong possibility), Severe (an attack is highly likely to occur) and Critical (an attack is expected imminently).

At present, threat levels from international terrorism on mainland Britain are set at Substantial while they are Moderate in terms of Northern Ireland-related terrorism.

Such threat levels were devised as a guidance mechanism for the police service and security professionals across different sectors of the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) when determining appropriate security responses.

At present, the threat of international terrorism arises from a diverse range of sources, among them Al Qaida. Principally emanating from Republican terrorist groups, acts of domestic terrorism related to Northern Ireland also pose a threat.

That threat can take a number of forms. As we’ve witnessed during 9/11, 7/7 and last year’s Boston Marathon bombings, terrorists achieve their aims in a variety of ways, ranging from firearms and explosives to cyber-based attacks.

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Photo: Robert on Flickr

In setting threat levels, officials at the JTAC and MI5 take account of information gathered from intelligence networks both here in the UK and abroad. In parallel, they’ll also examine past behaviour patterns exhibited by terrorist organisations.

In some cases, counter-terrorism officials have to use ‘best judgment’ when deciding how close they believe a given terrorist faction might be to staging an attack.

Importantly, these threat levels are not tagged with a precise expiry date. In truth, they may be revised at any time as the scope and detail of information available to law enforcement agencies alters. That being the case, the emergency services (collectively known as the ‘Blue Light Services’ encompassing the police, fire and ambulance strands) must be absolutely ready, prepared to respond swiftly and able to adapt to circumstances that might change literally in an instant.

Clearly, planning and preparedness – taking into account ongoing training and practising of emergency procedures – must be a major focus.
For the ambulance service, managers need to be thinking about supply/logistics chains for important medical equipment. Is there enough blood available for transfusion procedures in the event of mass casualties, and what procedures have been determined to negate CBRNE-related terrorism?

As part of the Critical National Infrastructure, hospitals themselves may be targeted. What’s the business continuity plan should this scenario transpire?

There’s also the question of pre-employment staff vetting and CRB checks designed to nullify ‘the insider threat’.

Water and power supplies are central to the fire service’s capability for dealing with certain forms of terrorist attack. It follows that there must be a clear focus on utilities security.

In addition, transport nodes and hubs are crucial for the physical delivery of fire engines to site. If main road networks are impassable then alternative routes must be part of the planning process for accessing major landmarks or other areas subject to attack.

From the police service’s perspective, on-the-ground resources are a major consideration. As was the case for private sector security guarding companies engaged with Olympic work for London 2012, it’s a particularly taxing challenge is to maintain resources assigned to standard policing procedures at the necessary levels during times of emergency when mass manpower is needed elsewhere.

Countering the threat from both international and domestic terror groups will be covered in a conference session at the 2014 Safe Cities Academy.

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