Overreaction or Sensible Precautions?

Obviously the horrendous attack in Manchester that destroyed the lives of so many young, innocent people is still at the forefront of our thoughts. People are concerned, worried but also, as the people of Manchester and the rest of the UK have shown determined to continue our lives as normally as possible.

Yesterday whilst in London I saw a team of armed officers patrolling one of our national railway hubs; this was in addition to seeing numerous unarmed police officers and a police Superintendent on foot patrol in the same location. Was that an overreaction? I don't think so!

Whilst proactive security activities would seek to prevent terrorist incidents it is an almost utopic dream. Some will always succeed; with devastating consequences. Where that happens the reaction has to be appropriate, balanced and proportionate to the threats that continue to exist, or are expected.

Nationally we have moved to a 'critical' state of alert, which is telling the public that there is an expectancy of a terrorist act. So the fact that there is an increased armed/unarmed police presence, increased messages of awareness and vigilance; as well as unseen and covert activities that are taking place in the background provides me with the reassurances that the police and security services have not only got it right, but are doing so in an excellent and highly professional manner.

This activity provides reassurances to the public, hopefully a deterrent to all but the most intent of radicals, and an ability to react to life threatening incidents in a more timely manner. It also reinforces the message that this is an opportunity for us all to support and assist in protecting the UK from terrorism.

My thanks go out to all police officers, members of the security services and the military who are helping to protect our way of life and who will be giving up hours and days of their own time (no comments about overtime please) to enable this.

If you see, hear or are aware of anything suspicious, report it to the Anti-Terrorism hotline on: 0800 789 321. Additional advice and guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-counter-terrorism-security-office

If you are a UK based Security manager here is the latest security advice to help and assist you, especially if protecting crowded places or public accessed locations. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-security-managers-following-a-threat-level-change-to-critical.

If you do not have any dedicated security manager, and the links above don't provide you with the answers you need please feel free to message me directly and I will answer as many questions as I can, or redirect you to the most appropriate point, free of charge.