Some 60 percent of companies have made no alterations at all to their security procedures following the July suicide bombing attacks.
That’s according to new research conducted for contract guarding firm Securiplan.
Conducted with heads of security at FTSE Top 100 companies, the research also found that 60pc of respondents acknowledge that their current security provider or in house team has little or no experience of dealing with this type of terrorist attack while another 30pc of respondents openly admit that they don’t know what their current security team’s experience is in this field.
What they say
Securiplan director Caroline Demoulpied said: "The type of terrorist threat we are now facing is very different to that of the 1980s when the removal of litter bins, for example, would have prevented an attack. We’re now dealing with people who are prepared to die for their cause and do not issue warnings to evacuate. Clearly the way security is conducted needs to reflect this if maximum protection is to be provided for customers, employees and members of the public. So it’s worrying that so many high profile companies are failing to review the security procedures they’ve traditionally had in place and to take measures that will reduce the likelihood of them being a terrorist target."
The research among an unnamed number of respondents found that the most common measures taken by companies to prevent a suicide bomber attack were the recruitment of extra officers (quoted by 13pc of respondents), better awareness of the whereabouts of staff (7pc) and an increase in CCTV monitoring (6pc). A total of 11 preventative measures were quoted by companies including the removal of litter bins, restricted reception access and, in one case, use of an electronic nose.
When asked to name the three preventative measures that companies should take to prevent a suicide bombing attack, the most common preventative measures quoted were improved access control (quoted by 23pc of respondents), greater vigilance (20pc) and more patrols (16pc).
Caroline added: "It’s shocking that only 20pc of people recognise that increasing vigilance for suspicious behaviour is a vital part of counter-terrorism activity. As worrying is that just 13pc recognise that training about the mindset of today’s terrorist is key. The nature of the terrorist threat has changed greatly in recent years and we all have a duty to ensure we are up-to-date with best practice in this area."
The research also found that 70pc of companies have not altered their definitions of what constitutes suspicious behaviour even though this is one of the most important measures they can take to prevent an attack.
About Securiplan PLC
The north London-based corporate and retail guarding firm reported an annual turnover of £80m last year and employs more than 4,000 officers.
