4.3. Engaging local businesses

Another aspect that came out as crucial through PACTESUR is the need to involve local businesses in preventive measures to better protect public spaces. Indeed, they can play an important role in alerting authorities in case of an incident, and also in protecting or sheltering citizens. Local and regional authorities can raise awareness among local businesses and give them training and tools to help them stay alert to any suspicious event, or to directly help citizens in case of an attack (for example by offering shelter).

In the UK, the Home Office, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Pool Reinsurance Company Ltd, and Counter Terrorism Policing have jointly set up a digital platform titled Protect UK that provides businesses and members of the public with guidance, advice and online learning to tackle threats of terrorism. It encourages private businesses to strengthen their security systems and to embed security features throughout their organisation in order to better detect, prevent and counter terrorist threats. The fact that the platform was set up by the government illustrates a growing tendency, in the UK as in other European countries, to associate the whole of society, including private businesses, in preventing terrorism.

> More information on Protect UK here.

Another interesting initiative from the UK is the brochure published by the Association of Chief Police Officers, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, and the business membership organisation London First to raise awareness among local businesses on the need to prepare themselves for a terrorist attack or other major incident. Titled Expecting the unexpected, the publication mentions the fact that following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, 40% of the businesses affected by the attack went out of business and didn’t return.

> Download the publication here.

In practice: the London SHIELD App, Metropolitan Police Service’s Protective Security Operations Command, England

The London Metropolitan Police created a mobile app for local businesses, inspired by a practice from the New York Police Department (NYPD).

The London Met app was created in 2018, a year after the London Bridge attack where terrorists rammed into passers-by with a van on London Bridge and stabbed people in the streets in nearby Borough Market, in central London, causing eight dead and 48 injured. During the attack, many passers-by took refuge in cafés and restaurants.

According to the Met, the app seeks to “provide security professionals with a single source that enables and empowers their business to strengthen their crisis management plans, physical security and personnel counter-terrorism awareness and knowledge.” Since the launch of the app, more than 2,000 London businesses have registered.

In practice: Police Scotland and the management of the United Nations climate summit (COP26), Glasgow, November 2021

Through close cooperation and dialogue with local businesses, but also local communities and protest groups according to an approach based on three main principles – engaging with the public and protesters, facilitating peaceful protests (even if unlawful), and using enforcement as a last resort –Operation Urram delivered a peaceful COP26 without any serious incident.

This is quite an achievement knowing that COP26 was, according to Police Scotland, the most complex policing operation ever staged in Scotland and one of the largest policing operations ever organised in the UK as a whole, involving as many as 10,000 officers on some days. The 13-day conference attracted 40,000 delegates and some 100,000 protesters.

As Police Scotland emphasised, this success was in large part due to the intense consultations they carried out with the public and protesters before and during the event to explain the security challenges and the policing measures put in place. The fact that “facilitating peaceful protests” was one of their priorities ensured that protests were, well, peaceful rather than violent as had happened in previous United Nations COP conferences in other countries.

> More information here.

When a crisis happens, whatever its type, local authorities have a major role to play in communicating with citizens in order to inform, reassure, prevent the escalation of the incident, keep the public safe, and ensure they do not interfere with the police and emergency responders. An important aspect of a local authority’s sound communication with the public in case of a crisis consists of coordinating the messaging with police and emergency responders so as to speak with one voice and not confuse the public. Furthermore, as we’ve seen in the previous chapter, communication in itself is part of the key preventive measures local authorities can take to ensure the security of a public space.

To do so, it is necessary to take into account the main aspects of a public communication strategy before, during and after a crisis. A crisis can be defined as an event, a perception, a consequence, a threat or a situation whose trigger usually has three characteristics: it is unexpected, unforeseen and improbable. This trigger will impact the organisation by creating ambiguity and uncertainty due to the fact that there is an acceleration of time and the emergence of new actors. Crisis management plans are important both at the horizontal (between local key stakeholders) and vertical levels (among local, regional or national actors). Clear, consistent and effective communication is essential to reassure citizens, not only to inform them of the decisions being taken to tackle the crisis, but also to reduce its social impact and, importantly, prevent the spread of fake news.

5.1. Roles and responsibilities in crisis communication

One of the first steps for effective communication is to have a skilled, competent team where everyone has clear responsibilities, which include gathering information, defining the communication strategy, operationalising it, liaising with all the other actors involved in solving the crisis (police, emergency responders, other authorities…), and coordinating the whole operation.

Knowing the different communication channels available, notably mainstream and social media, their respective characteristics and audience, and how they operate is key to delivering messages that actually reach their target and are clearly understood and followed. In this respect, it is important that local authorities have one single spokesperson that is able to communicate with all the relevant actors and with the public in a reassuring, credible, “audible” and timely manner.

Another important aspect that should not be neglected is communicating after the crisis to help the public recover from the incident, for example by sharing their feelings and contributing to some sort of ritualisation that helps processing the event, which can be gathering with flowers and candles in the place where the event happened, signing an online book of condolence, making donations, etc. More generally, post-crisis communication seeks to gather the local communities together in a healing process, and crucially prevent a backlash in the form of increased polarisation, hate or ethnic tensions.

In practice: the Strong Cities Network’s detailed toolkit

There is a wealth of information available out there on crisis communication in general, a major aspect of communications and PR, with useful guidelines for local authorities that can be applicable in all kinds of crises. Regarding more specifically communication in case of a crisis affecting an urban public space, such as a terrorist attack, a good resource is the comprehensive toolkit designed by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and its parent Strong Cities Network (SCN), both long-standing partners of Efus.

Their 50-page toolkit is divided into four chapters: 1) community engagement, setting out how authorities can leverage existing networks to determine the impact of an attack and identify the most appropriate victim support mechanisms;

2) public communications and how local authorities can develop outreach plans that de-escalate any rising tensions and strengthen a city’s sense of identity, morale and cohesion;

3) ensuring local communities benefit from appropriate psychosocial support;

4) summary of key considerations to guide city leaders in the immediate aftermath of an attack, when tensions are at their highest. Finally, two annexes feature worksheets and further tools that can be used to support this work and monitor social media platforms, which can be a powerful tool to inform all aspects of the city’s response.

In practice: the Run, Hide, Tell campaign

Effective crisis communication is an integral part of responding to any type of threat. The UK campaign Run, Hide, Tell provides a three-step guidance for citizens in the unlikely event of an attack.

1. Run to a place of safety.

2. Hide considering exit and escape routes.

3. Tell the police only once it is safe.

> You can check the Met Police’s information leaflet or watch the Stay Safe film.

It is interesting to note that when in London, the Met police recommends to Run, Hide and Tell; in other European cities, public authorities’ recommendations are different. For example, in Liège and Oslo, official guidance in case of an attack recommends the public Run and Hide but also, if cornered, just Fight.

Such discrepancies appeared during a simulation exercise in the Liège Police Academy organised by PACTESUR. They point to the importance of having consistent messages from all the stakeholders involved in protecting the public in case of a terrorist attack. As we’ve seen earlier, consistency and clarity in messaging are key and can be life-saving.

In practice: the Police in your Pocket app, Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Police’s mobile app includes a function called Citizen Cop through which members of the public can report suspicious activities or behaviour in a timely, simple and unfiltered manner. Free of charge, it can be used in four languages: Luxembourgish, French, German and English. Registration is needed (name, e-mail and telephone number). The app also allows the police to inform users directly and quickly in the event of a crisis thanks to the push notifications, and also to solicit the support of the population, for example in case of a missing person or to track a suspected offender. The app also provides information on where to find the nearest police station, as well as traffic information and access to the e-Police Station.

> More information here.

In practice: the Secu4All project’s podcasts

Another useful resource is the series of four podcasts produced by the Secu4All European project (December 2020–November 2022), which sought to empower local and regional authorities with theoretical knowledge and practical tools to ensure the security of public spaces and the protection of soft targets (i.e. sports venues, shopping centres, schools…) against potential threats.

The podcasts cover four topics: assessing the vulnerability of a public space; urban planning, design and management for urban security; communication in crisis management; and technology for security in public spaces.

The episode on communication addresses questions such as: what should a crisis communication team look like? How should a crisis communication team prepare for a crisis? What are the key elements of communication during and after a crisis? How to make sure communication is consistent, backed by verified facts, and coordinated?

The programme quotes the Strong Cities Network’s Responding to a Terror Attack toolkit, as well as the Driver+ (Driving Innovation in Crisis Management for European Resilience) European project on the operational needs of practitioners in case of a crisis such as a climate disaster or a terrorist attack.