The Control Room — Issue 8

Two angles on hostile reconnaissance this week. Compliance Corner takes it to the courtroom, the Operational Tip takes it to the shift floor. And the SIA whistleblowing route I flagged when PIDA started? It is now in force. Workers in private security can report wrongdoing to the SIA with legal protection. Routes and protections here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/whistleblowing-to-the-sia

Up to 1,000 people ran Exercise Firebird at Canary Wharf on Sunday, the largest counter-terror training exercise the UK has staged. Every blue-light service, CT investigation teams, and the estate’s own private security worked a simulated marauding attack together. The lesson for control rooms: private security operating inside blue-light command is exactly what Martyn’s Law expects. When did your site last test its comms route to the police?

Also this week, a new guilty plea in the wider Heaton Park investigation. Operational read in Compliance Corner below.

Bottom line: recon detection is not specialist work. It is front-line CCTV and patrol work.

Hostile reconnaissance went to court last Friday. Mohammad Bashir pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to preparation for acts of terrorism, after conducting hostile recon of a UK defence facility alongside the Heaton Park attacker. NPSA guidance flags four indicators worth drilling into your team: loitering near control points, photographing entry and exit at unusual angles, asking specific operational questions, returning at different times.

Bottom line: if your operators can’t name three indicators specific to their site, they’re guessing.

If you’re on shift this week, give the first ten minutes to the baseline. What does normal look like today? Foot traffic, the regulars at the gate, weather, contractor presence. Anomalies only stand out against a baseline you’ve actually built. Skip that and you spend the shift reacting to noise.

Fix: baseline first, anomaly second. Most operators reverse it.

Martyn’s Law section 12 consultation

The SIA’s consultation on its section 12 guidance for Martyn’s Law closes 11:59pm this Friday, 12 June. Last call if you operate qualifying venues.

Documents I use on shift: the Site Security Survey for mapping hostile recon vulnerabilities, and the Daily Occurrence Book for logging the behavioural calls in real time. BS 7499 aligned, edit and ship same day. Both from SecureDocUK.

Thanks for reading. If you found this useful, forward it to one colleague who’d benefit. That’s how this grows.

Until next Tuesday.

Andras

Control Room Supervisor & Deputy Security Operations Manager

The Control Room