Events in the USA at the weekend provide a reminder that we live in uncertain times and that the violent actions of disaffected or mentally ill individuals, so-called ‘lone wolves’ with grudges, and violent terrorist groups present a very real risk to society.
Indeed, my most recent blog considered the upturn in hate speech and physical attacks that many politicians – both from the left and right, and in the USA and here in the UK – have had to contend with over recent years, and I remarked that it is unacceptable in a democracy.
I appreciate the situation in the USA cannot be directly compared to the UK, where gun ownership is highly restricted, but I have also written at length in the past about the terrible impact of terrorist events such as 7/7 or the Manchester Arena bombings.
I am therefore heartened by the promise from new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to pass Martyn’s Law, legislation first proposed five years ago to ensure public spaces are better prepared for terrorist events and help make sure horrors like the Manchester Arena bombing do not happen again.
Figen Murray OBE, the driving force behind the legislation, lost her son Martyn in the Manchester Arena bombing on 22 May 2017. Martyn was one of 22 people to die in that awful event. Having recently received a letter from the Prime Minster confirming that passing the legislation into law is “a manifesto commitment and a personal pledge”, Figen now believes that: “After five long years of campaigning and seven years after Martyn’s death, I am convinced that Martyn’s Law will very soon become a reality.”
As I outlined before, the campaign for Martyn’s Law prompted the ‘Protect Duty’ legislation outlined in the Queen’s Speech of May 2022, which was designed to “keep people safe by introducing new security requirements for certain public locations and venues to ensure preparedness for and protection from terrorist attacks.”
This requires ‘publicly accessible locations’ (PALs) – both ‘standard’ tier spaces and ‘enhanced’ tier locations with over 800 users or occupants, to better assess security risks and undertake measures to protect staff and customers. Managers at these PALs, which range from stadiums and concert venues to university campuses, must put processes and effective communications in place to ensure any security situation is managed efficiently.
Alongside processes, preparedness and training, I firmly believe that technology has a firm role to play here. I have written in the past about the great potential of analytics to support security staff on university campuses, for example, to identify, manage and respond to risks. The potential for technology to support core security management was echoed in no less than the Harris Report, established to assess London’s preparedness for a terrorist incident.
Given the complexity of the security risk faced in the further education sector alone, for example, it will be important for users to work with the security industry to meet the new legislation, a requirement recognised by Paul Tarne, a partner at Weightmans, who represented Greater Manchester Combined Authority during the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena attack.
As Tarne says, “The specialised knowledge required to assess risks accurately, devise appropriate security measures, and train personnel is not typically found within educational institutions. Consequently, universities will likely need to engage with security consultants and experts in counterterrorism to meet the legislative requirements.”
As an organisation that already works with many university campus security teams across the UK, as well as many other public spaces, we recognise the challenge that Tarne outlines, and Reliance High-Tech and the wider industry stand ready to play its part in ensuring that Martyn’s Law is acted on and the public sphere kept safer.
