THE UK PROTECT DUTY
Taking appropriate measures to secure publicly accessible locations Steve Kenny, Axis Communications, looks at how physical security technology can be used to better protect the public realm in line with the proposed UK Protect Duty. The UK Protect Duty*, also known to many as ‘Martyn’s Law’, refers to a new piece of proposed legislation which concerns the protective measures that should be considered to make the public safer at publicly accessible locations. Currently, owners of such spaces, including stadiums, gyms, music venues and multi-use buildings with public realm areas, have no obligation to act on advice from specialist counter-terrorism officers or on how to reduce the risk of a terror attack. The proposed new legislation follows the tireless campaigning by the mother of Martyn Hett as a direct response to the UK Manchester Arena bombing of 2017. The new duty will require owners and operators to carefully consider the range of potential threats, relative to their business, and to take reasonable
16
practical security measures, including the implementation of relevant technologies, to mitigate these threats. This looks set to spark a change in the culture around such events and will most certainly lead to a significant change in how they are secured. When considering physical security requirements, many existing security provisions are uncoordinated and unregulated. Clearly this needs to change, with greater clarity around the responsibility of businesses to protect their spaces, and a drive towards the implementation of security technologies that meet the highest standards of protection. A 3-phase approach for better protection of public spaces It is imperative that everyone involved knows their responsibilities in guarding against a potential attack. And it is
here that technology can help operators before an attack, to detect anomalous behaviours leading up to an event; during an attack, to monitor and control, by watching people and managing their movements such as guiding the public to safe zones; and post attack, to review, through incident analysis after the event. Thorough training is crucial to ensure that staff know how to spot the warning signs and are fully aware of the importance of acting on any report of suspicious or unusual activity at, or near, the site. Behavioural analytics integrated within network cameras can support teams in the build-up, or detect phase, delivering an alert via mobile device to security teams the moment anomalous activity is detected. In such cases, seconds saves lives and earlier detection enables preventative measures to be taken sooner.
