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Acknowledging excellence in the fight against terrorism
Acknowledging excellence in the fight against terrorism
The winners of the second Counter Terror Awards were announced on 5 March at a ceremony in London.
The Awards, organised by Counter Terror Business magazine and supported by Security and Counter Terror Expo (SCTX), acknowledge excellence in the global fight against terrorism. For the second year in succession, organisations and individuals from the UK and overseas were recognised in 20 categories for their contributions to reducing the threat of global terrorism.
Acts of terrorism are designed to influence an audience beyond the immediate victims, and have been used throughout history to strike fear into the population. The tragic and despicable events of the early 21st century have forced the international community to act, with increasingly sophisticated strategies and technologies now employed by organisations throughout the world.
Simon Broadhurst, from Police Scotland, said: “The 2019 Counter Terror Awards was an excellent evening bringing together law enforcement agencies and key partners from across the UK, all with the one intention, keeping people safe. A huge thank you from Police Scotland to all those involved in the events organisation, flawless from start to finish. To win an award on the night was the icing on the cake as simply to be nominated alongside such worthy nominees was a privilege in itself.”
Contributions to countering terrorism
Recognising an organisation or individual in the private sector whose efforts have furthered the understanding of terrorist activities and assisted in developing effective prevention strategies, the 2019 Private Sector Contribution to Counter Terrorism Award was presented to SecuriGroup’s Allan Burnett. Burnett joined SecuriGroup as operations director in 2010 following a distinguished 30-year policing career, having held positions as Assistant Chief Constable and ACPOS Coordinator of Counter-terrorism. He has made notable contributions in counter terrorism, shaping discussion surrounding the UK’s CONTEST strategy and improving communication links between the police and the private sector.
A regular commentator in the national media, he was invited to inform the discussion immediately following recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.
The Public Sector Contribution to Counter Terrorism Award, sponsored by Townscape, was handed to Chief Superintendent Keith Gilert, senior police adviser at the Defence Science and Research Laboratory (Dstl). After more than 30 years of distinguished service in the police service, Gilert joined Dstl when it was integrated with the Home Office’s Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST). His current role is centred on bringing a strategic perspective on science and technology to the police service and representing police service interests across a range of programmes and projects, helping to steer both policy and the effective use of resources. He is heavily involved in meetings held by the National Police Chiefs Council, the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Police Superintendents Association and has considerable experience in delivering public safety operations and of the command of firearms incidents.
Education and forming research
The use of commercial vehicles by terrorists poses a specific risk due to their size, weight and relative ease of acquisition compared to more sophisticated weapons. Presented to an organisation or partnership which has developed and implemented measures to help combat the threat of radicalisation in educational or religious institutions, the Counter Terrorism Education Project Award was won this year by Transport for London (TfL), for its Counter Terrorism’ eLearning module. TfL collaborated with a range of stakeholders to develop training, toolkits and standards for its Counter Terrorism’ eLearning module. The outputs are embedded and mandated within Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), resulting in over 5,100 fleet operators developing security and counter terrorism policies and over 36,000 drivers undertaking training to date. Sonia Hayward, FORS Operations Manager, said: “Unfortunately, the threat of terrorism is present in our everyday lives, with the potential use of commercial vehicles by terrorists posing a specific risk. We are therefore very keen to raise awareness among FORS members to help them minimise the risk of their vehicle being used as a weapon.
“The success of this training is in no small part due to the collaborative approach with which it was designed. FORS worked closely with TfL, the Met Police, the DfT and many other major transport stakeholders to ensure our members have access to the most relevant information, and we are grateful for the support of all agencies involved.” Sponsored by Patriot One Technologies, the Terrorism Research Award was won by the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right. Presented to an academic institution or individual whose work has contributed to a better understanding of terrorist operations and ideologies. Engagement with Nazi phraseology and symbology has been a notable element of fringe music movements in Europe since at least the 1980s, with a considerably active scene in Great Britain, Sweden and Norway. Research Fellow Bethan Johnson’s doctoral research, Tracking Neo Nazism through Music, examines the intellectual underpinnings of violent sub-state nationalisms, and was worthy of the award.
Combatting domestic terrorism
Birmingham Airport is one location where counter terrorism officers are based 24/7, monitoring the 13 million passengers who use it every year. Front-line teams are often tasked with stopping suspected terrorists leaving or intercepting extremists arriving in the UK. In 2018, six sentences are the culmination of two years of work across the country to recognise and understand the threat of far-right organisation National Action. British Transport Police also opened its first regional counter terrorism unit at Birmingham New Street station last year, enabling police to respond more quickly to incidents and provide additional reassurance to passengers and rail staff.
This contributed to West Midlands Counter Terror Unit winning the Counter Terror Policing Award, sponsored by Safetell, which recognises the efforts of the police sector in combatting domestic terrorism through prevention strategies and operational excellence.
Dacha sponsored the UK/Ireland strand of the Counter Terrorism Project Award, which was awarded to the Security Industry Safer Scotland (CT) Group from Police Scotland. The Security Industry Safer Scotland (CT) Group aims to enhance the capacity and capability of the security industry to counter terrorism. A key success for the group has been the support given to Police Scotland in developing ‘You Can ACT’ - a bespoke CT training product aimed at the Security Industry. The product has been presented at UK conferences and fully supported by NaCTSO.
While that award is presented to a governmental organisation or public/ private partnership which has developed and implemented an effective counter terrorism strategy or awareness campaign, the international banner of the Counter Terrorism Project Award was taken home by the Flemish Peace Institute for Project SAFTE. ‘Studying the Acquisition of illicit Firearms by Terrorists in Europe’ was conducted by an international network of firearms experts. In-depth country studies were conducted in eight EU member states by research teams. The in-depth qualitative research methodology involved desk research and semi-structured interviews with key international actors and stakeholders such as Europol, EMPACT Firearms, Interpol, SEESAC and the Office of the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator. The volume sheds light on how illegal firearms markets are structured in the EU and shows how terrorists access these.
Presented to an emergency service which has implemented and tested a strategy to cope with terrorist attack, the 2019 Emergency Services Award was awarded to Northumbria Police, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue and North East Ambulance Service for their emergency training exercise, which tested how the area’s services would respond to an attack.
Alan Robson, ACO for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue, commented: “It is great that Exercise Stephenson has been recognised at the Counter Terror Awards. Testing and challenging ourselves, our procedures and equipment are an essential part of our role. Participation in multi-agency exercises of this scale not only provide reassurance to our communities but deliver excellent learning opportunities for all emergency services involved.”
A sense of physical security
The Physical Security Award recognises a product which, as part of an overall design, provides effective physical security to protect against and mitigate the effects of a terrorist attack. This year, following a rise in vehicular attacks across Europe in the last two years, ATG Access celebrated winning the award for their Surface Guard system. The City of London approached ATG Access for advice on a temporary, pedestrian permeable solution for the Lord Mayor’s Show, which attracts over 50,000 visitors. Working alongside the Highways team, the Police and also the event organiser, the Surface Guard modular system was proposed as the most appropriate security measure and approved amongst stakeholders involved with the project. The system is easy to deploy, remove and can cope with existing street furniture items. An entire roadway can be secured in just over 30 minutes.
Gavin Hepburn, managing director at ATG Access, commented: “Our Surface Guard system was born out of the desire to provide a practical, discrete and above all reliable method of protecting public events. When it comes to pedestrianpermeable, temporary event security, no other solution can match Surface Guard’s effectiveness or ease of installation. The response since its launch has been incredible, and highlights that there truly was a gap in the market for a product like this. Innovation is crucial in the face of an ever-evolving range of terror threats, so we’re absolutely thrilled that our commitment to product development has been recognised with such a prestigious industry award.”
In the Perimeter Protection category, Navtech Radar were victorious, beating Frontier Pitts and Heald to the award. The sensors on Navtech Radar’s AdvanceGuard perimeter surveillance system can detect movement up to 2km outside the site’s perimeter, identifying threats before the perimeter is breached or reporting suspicious behaviour, which then allows the security team to prevent breaches before they occur. It typically takes just two hours of training for a user to be able to operate the system effectively, which is being used in over 30 airports throughout the world as well as other complex compounds, such as the Litla-Hraun Prison in Iceland and the Medupi Power station, South Africa.
Recognising the efforts of private and public sector organisations and the technology which assists in increasing security at airports, ports and borders, the Transport Security Award, sponsored by the Transported Asset Protection Association, was won by L3 Security & Detection for their CV 2 platform. CV 2 integrates inspection technologies and security systems to transform customs enforcement and revenue collection operations. CV 2 allows integration of existing technologies and databases, regardless of manufacturer, into a seamless common operating picture. It is available across multiple industries, including ports and borders, aviation and rail.
Using technology effectively
In conjunction with the Home Office, Faculty, formerly ASI Data Science, has developed a tool aimed at tackling extremist content on smaller platforms like Vimeo, Telegraph and pCloud, which have seen a large rise in Isis propaganda. Unlike previous algorithms that relied on a database of detected content, the classifier detects both old and previously unseen propaganda, and has been trained by analysing more than 1,000 Isis videos. It can automatically detect 94 per cent of propaganda with a 99.99 per cent success rate. If the platform were to process one million randomly selected videos, only 50 would require additional human review, according to the Home Office. Such stats impressed the Counter Terror Award judges enough that the tool was awarded the Information Technology in Counter Terrorism Award.
Presented to an organisation which has developed effective technologies to protect against the threat of cyber terrorism, the Cyber Security Award was collected by Visual Management Systems for their Titan Secure product. Titan Secure has been specifically developed to reduce or remove the risk of hacking and cyber attacks on surveillance networks. Developed to CPNI standards, it offers a fully encrypted system that secures all digital communication between Titan Vision devices and components, maintaining the integrity of the surveillance system from the control device to the recorded data and all system communication pathways.
Also related to technology, the Best Use of UAV Technology Award is given to the most innovative use of technology designed and developed for the purpose of protection against UAVs/ hostile drones. Having been developing surveillance systems since 2003, DeTect Inc for Dronewatcher consists of three technologies that can operate together to provide multi-layer security. DroneWatcherRF is able to detect out to up to two miles providing detailed information including drone type and ID. Fully mobile, it can be placed in a police vehicle. DroneWatcherWeb includes a database which records drone ID to support prosecution, while the DroneWatcherAPP turns an Android smartphone into a detector for consumer drones.
During a crisis, a view from above is key for emergency response across a wide range of operational scenarios. However, during a complex and evolving incident, real-time footage isn’t always accessible beyond the pilot. Acknowledging communication systems and their potential to assist organisations in both threat detection and postterrorism communication between governmental and emergency service organisations, the Communication Systems Award was won by Excelerate Group.
Portable and compact, Excelerate’s UAV Streamer resolves this problem by making real-time footage more accessible. By plugging into an existing UAV system, the solution streams live footage over public or private networks securely via Excelerate’s ExSteam Video Application, which brings multiple feeds together into one application. The server is capable of simultaneously displaying, recording, reviewing and exporting images, meaning that recording will not stop if the content needs to be reviewed at an incident. Footage can then be accessed securely at other viewing stations in the field, on smartphones, tablets, onboard a command and control unit or back at headquarters.
Nicola Savage, marketing director at Excelerate, said: “I am delighted to announce that Excelerate have won the Communications Systems Award at the Counter Terror Awards for our UAV Streamer/ExStream Video Streaming Service. It’s a fantastic recognition of the hard work and innovation of our team and we are so grateful to the customers who gave us the references. Through our new and developing IP products, we continue to build our presence in the critical communications space, with our range of flexible solutions being widely used throughout the emergency services, government and commercial sectors.”
Recognising an organisation which has developed and introduced an effective information sharing strategy, the Information Sharing Award was awarded to Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre for the JTIC 2018 World Attack Index. A structured, consistent and comprehensive database of opensource events related to non-state armed groups, it provides insight and analysis on global topics, going beyond events to explain the context and driving forces behind global unrest, insurgency, and terrorist activities. Data is gathered from multiple sources and double source verified, with each event ranked for significance. Significant effort is made by JTIC analysts to verify the accuracy of reported events through detailed examining and cross-referencing of all available sources.
Other award winners were: Blücher, for their SARATOGA Protective Coverall which won the CBRNe Product Award; Counter Terrorism Policing UK for the Communities Defeat Terrorism film, which was successful in bagging the Awareness Campaign Award; and FLIR Systems, who won in the Threat Detection Award, which recognises products which assist in the detection and disruption of terrorist threats to the UK and its interests.
Awards host
The winners were announced by former Defence and Home Secretary Lord John Reid, who held seven cabinet positions between 1997 and 2010 under Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Upon replacing Geoff Hoon as Defence Secretary, Reid said that ‘the body of relevant international rules and conventions should, where beneficial, be strengthened’, particularly ‘to cope with conflict against non-state actors such as the international terrorist’. Reid retired from frontline politics in 2007 following Gordon Brown’s appointment as Prime Minister, stepped down as an MP in the 2010 general election and was elevated to the House of Lords.
Further information
awards.counterterrorbusiness.com
