The UK official Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) has launched a course for security control room operators. The course and associated guidance is based around research undertaken since 2017.
Offered are immersive exercises that simulate multiple terrorist incident scenarios, enabling control room operators and other security personnel to practice decision-making in real-time, as if they were in a real control room. The course is informed by the recently updated guidance, developed through analysis of previous terrorist incidents, and live simulations of attacks (as part of CPNI’s ASCEND trials) and surveys of command and control products. CPNI have found that most casualties in a terrorist incident occur within the first few minutes.
In the initial period before emergency services have arrived on scene, the security control room is the front line of defence, leading and organising the initial response to the terrorist incident. Every second counts during an attack and every second that passes is an opportunity to keep the threat as far away from people as possible, assist those who need urgent help. and assist the emergency services. Effective command and control is critical to mitigating the impact of terrorist incidents. Sites are unlikely to provide an effective response to a terrorist incident unless control rooms are provided with the appropriate equipment, policies, and procedures; and operators are given the necessary training and time to practice and exercise the response, CPNI says.
CPNI says that its research has shown that UK businesses and organisations are not sufficiently prepared for terrorist incidents. Control room operators are often unclear on what tasks need to be completed and whose responsibility each task is, resulting in duplication of effort and essential tasks.
As terrorist attacks are (thankfully) rare, training and rehearsal are often the only ways for operators to gain and practise the necessary skills, CPNI adds. The course is aimed at operators who work in control rooms within National Infrastructure sites and crowded places; and those directly responsible for the SCR operators.
Over 120 have attended pilot courses in 2022, including operators from transport, retail, sports stadiums and arenas, major events, office buildings, government buildings and other UK Publicly Accessible Locations (PALs). A CPNI spokesperson has said: “Our goal is to make Security Control Room operators across the country feel as ready as possible to respond to a terrorist incident, as this is crucial to ensuring the safety of the British public. Understanding responsibilities, and a quick response can only be achieved by being well prepared.
“Existing training courses tend to consist of “tabletop exercises”, but our new course is the first to be informed by comprehensive research and offers delegates realistic immersive exercises to give them practical, hands-on experience of operating under the pressure of simulated terrorist incidents. We have received fantastic feedback from recent attendees and look forward to working with many more security control operators over the coming months and years to enact our belief that acting fast saves lives.”
The five-day course only hosts a small number of delegates at a time (maximum 24). Spaces are available from January 2023 onwards at locations across the UK. For details, use the QR code, visit www.SCRcourse.co.uk or email [email protected].
