Published On: September 19, 2022Categories: BlogBy
Our previous blog had Chris Phillips, a noted Counter Terrorism and Security expert, introduce the Protect Duty and what can be expected to come for those responsible for the safety and security of smaller venues and stadiums. An understanding of what it is may not help in understanding what you need to do to get ready for its introduction, to help we have outlined the practical steps you can take, as a small venue, to de-mystify the Duty and ensure you are compliant in future.

What practical measures can be taken to prepare for Protect Duty’s introduction?

  • Planning
    Like most jobs, the starting place is planning. Create and run through various scenarios with your team on how you feel a terrorist may look to attack your venue or stadium. Then map out what you believe is the best response to each.
  • People
    Once you have your plans in place, run regular sessions to remind staff of their obligations during an incident, and what the right responses are. This ensures everyone is on the same page and understands what they need to do should the unfortunate happen.
  • ACT Training
    Ensure staff carry out the ACT training, a free course created by the National Counter Terrorism Security Office that is free to use and only takes 45 minutes to complete. You can access the course here.
  • Ensure your people are not a threat
    Conduct a thorough review of the people involved in match days, to confirm their identity and ensure they don’t pose a threat.
  • Divide your venue into zones
    Create zones and then set access rights based on the roles people do. This will ensure that only those with roles applicable to each zone can gain access.
  • Physical security
    Have good physical security measures in place to stop attackers from forcing entry to your venue. Ensure best practice is followed like keeping vehicles away from crowds as much as possible.
  • Ensure CCTV is working
    Have operational CCTV across the venue so you can keep track of what’s going on in real-time.
  • Entry searches
    Ensure that a person’s search upon entry is correctly carried out to stop any potential threats from entering the venue. Have a set list of items that should be barred from being brought onsite and have this communicated to all visitors ahead of time.
  • Develop and Island Site Search Plan
    Have an Island Site Search Plan which allows you to carry out a thorough search of your site.
  • Strong accreditation around your event
    This is crucial as it will allow you to know exactly who is in your venue and what access they will have. We will go into more detail on this in our third and final blog.

Developing a Counter Terrorism Plan

All the above measures will help you to adhere to the Protect Duty, it will also be the starting point in developing an Event Counter Terrorism Plan by helping you to think through the possible incidents that could happen.

The main underlying theme of the new legislation is awareness, the importance of being up to date with the Terrorist Threat, understanding the potential attack methods and what mitigation methods you can use. It is also about understanding what to do if the unfortunate happens, the middle of an emergency is not the place to learn.

Our third blog, which you can find here, we will look at accreditation and how it can help in complying with the Protect Duty.

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