URBAN SECURITY
Pilar de la Torre, project manager for the European Forum for Urban Security, discusses the forum’s PRoTECT project and the role of municipal authorities in protecting public spaces
SECURITY AND PROTECTION OF PUBLIC SPACES O ver the years, strategies to protect public space against terrorism have strengthened and evolved, mainly focusing on protecting critical infrastructures. However, terrorist attacks are evolving as well. As a result of new contexts and opportunities, public space has recently become an attractive target for terrorist attacks. To illustrate, the latest terrorist attacks in European cities such as London, Paris, Manchester, Stockholm, Berlin, Brussels, Barcelona all targeted public areas. These areas are considered as ‘soft targets’; crowded public spaces as metro, shopping centres, sports stadiums, bars, restaurants, clubs and commercial sidewalks, that are easily accessible to the public and an easy target for terrorists with high negative societal impact. Soft targets are targets because attacking them can aid terrorist organisations to obtain their goals, such as threatening the safety and quality of life of the public. Following the resolution of the European Commission, in the Action Plan to support the protection of public spaces, which states
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COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE | ISSUE 42
that ‘local and regional authorities are also important stakeholders in the protection of public space’, PRoTECT project aims to raise the awareness of municipal authorities on their role in protecting public spaces and provide them with tools, good practices, access to technology concepts, and the knowledge to tailor them to their needs to better prevent this kind of threat and to act more effectively in case of attacks. A VISION FOR URBAN SECURITY The European Forum for Urban Security (Efus) has more than 30 years’ experience, working with 250 local and regional member authorities from more than 16 European countries, in the promotion of a balanced vision of urban security, combining prevention, sanctions and social cohesion, to obtain recognition of the role of local and regional authorities in drafting and implementing national and European security policies. It has the capability to foster the exchange of experiences between authorities for the benefit of long-term security and to support local and
