Among the many wise words in Philip Grindell’s new book, Personal Threat Management, is this paragraph on page 135, from the chapter on personal safety.
‘Alcohol and drugs are key drivers in personal safety for two reasons. First, where you find alcohol and drugs are being consumed, the greater the likelihood you will encounter aggressive and violent behaviour. Second, your ability to make rational decisions and choices is diminished should you choose to consume either.’
To that we can add (as Philip does four chapters before, on ‘safer events and functions’) that an event or function, whether an industry conference or a corporate’s AGM, or an invite-only shindig after office hours, adds risks, whether because liquor flows – all the more so, if corporate buildings are dry – and because the controls, physical and procedural, of the office or campus are left behind. No place or gathering is sacred; Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in London in 2023 was the scene of clashes by the extreme right with police.
To give a couple of historical examples; the Miss World competition at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1970 got entered by feminist protesters who let off stink-bombs, threw flour and the like. In January 2012, the prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, marked Australia Day at a restaurant in the capital Canberra. Pro-aboriginal protesters outside became so loud that her protective security officers got her and her entourage to exit in a hurry, pursued by demonstrators – so hurried, that the PM lost a shoe. This gave the protest movement further publicity when they gave the shoe back, and added to the PM’s embarrassment.
No matter how glamorous the event or prestigious the host, if free alcohol is on offer, people can behave badly, and it’s Security that gets called to mop up, so to speak. One event in London by a tech firm had one of those attending flat-out drunk on the pavement and refusing to get up. When Security came to speak to him, to try to help, the man said to leave him alone. Did the man need medical attention, though? Luckily an employee who was a trained medic was to hand and advised Security to leave him for a minute; and he duly got up. One more anecdote for corporate security, on what can be a long day if the business is global and ‘chases the sunrise’ (or is it sunset?) and operates 24-hours, and somewhere it’s always evening or having a local crisis.
In his chapter on threats to events, Philip Grindell covers snipers (for an event including members of the royal family or senior government officials, plan for the threat ‘as far as you can see’, he advises), a vehicle-based attack, a human ‘lone actor’ (as at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in May 2017, which has led to Figen Murray’s campaign for a legal responsibility on premises to take measures to counter terrorism), an improvised explosive device (IED), publicity-seeking activists or protesters, technical attacks (to take control of alarms, lifts, to disrupt a building or force an evacuation), ‘airborne attack’, including by a drone, and criminals (pick-pockets, ticket touts, sellers of counterfeit merchandise).
Philip sums up that the Terrorism (Prevention of Premises) Bill going through the Houses of Parliament, better known as Martyn’s Law is necessary. He writes: “The training of security risk managers involved in events planning is at best mixed, and greater professionalism is welcome. It is critical that those involved in planning the security for such events understand the attack methodologies, and the importance of having a proper threat assessment to work to. Without that, it becomes little more than guesswork.”
Philip’s book is recent enough to include the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at Butler, in July: “If the US Secret Service can fail, then so can we all.”
Photo by Mark Rowe: Outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, during a speech there by King Charles III in September; a police sniper was in position overlooking the round-about.
For our review of Philip’s book visit the reviews section of the website.
