Protect Duty and Winter Safety
By Michael Faber
Having attended a regular local security forum meeting in the City of London recently with speakers from the local police and the associated counter terrorism division, I thought it worth updating progress on Protect Duty and other current initiatives relating to personal safety and counter terrorism.
Protect Duty has come about due to lessons learned from several terrorist attacks in public spaces across the UK, including the Manchester Arena bombing, previously referred to as ‘Martyn’s Law’.
Following the latest public consultation which ran from February to July 2021, the UK Government is due to introduce the new Protect Duty legislation early in 2023, designed to improve the protection of publicly accessible places from terrorist attacks.
The Protect Duty legislation should be applied to any public venue with more than 100 people; large organisations that employ more than 250 people and who operate in publicly accessible locations; and all public spaces.
The legislation will introduce a new legal obligation for both owners and operators of publicly available locations (PAL’s) to take appropriate and proportionate measures to protect the public from terrorist attacks and to increase public safety.
The final detail of this new legislation is still to be published but is likely to include the requirement for organisations to conduct vulnerability assessments, record identified vulnerabilities, mitigate the associated risks, implement a counter-terrorism plan and to prepare for the threat of terrorism.
While, as stated above, the final detail is still to be published, any organisation that this legislation relates to should, if not already, consider the implications in areas such as existing risk assessments, planning, scenario analysis and scenario exercising.
I have also listed below some useful resources associated with counter terrorism and personal security.
Protect UK provide a mobile app including real-time information from Counter Terrorism (CT) Policing, security advice and guidance, documents, publications, videos and other useful information. For further details on the app, see: https://www.protectuk.police.uk/news-views/protectuk-app
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) has published the ‘Blue Book’, which provides a guide offering advice on how to stay safe at home, at work, on-the move and online. Link to the Blue Book: https://safercommunities.wales/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Protect-Yourself-Guide-Blue-Book.pdf
Counter Terrorism Policing is encouraging organisations, venues and events, to play their part in helping to keep everyone safe this winter. An Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) vigilance campaign toolkit is available on the Protect UK website: https://www.protectuk.police.uk/vigilance-campaign
Be safe during the festive season, over the winter and beyond, and if you require any assistance with planning for the new Protect Duty then please get in touch.