I527-290 ESRIF Final Report (WEB).indd - European Commission

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Although the use of forensic science for the purpose of generating evidence in court will remain an important application
area, the possibilities for its use in the investigation phase is seen as one of the most promising areas in eff ectively and
effi ciently solving crime and enhancing security. At the same time the new possibilities presented by this technology pose
new requirements to the necessary research. Where needed this ranges from fundamental to applied research, last but not
least followed by the development of concrete products, tools and services that can be used in the forensic process.
4. Counteracting explosives
Recent history has shown that most terrorist attacks were performed using stolen and/or home made explosives. The dramatic
eff ect of sometimes multiple and timed explosions on infrastructure and people has made explosives one of the most
widely used terrorist means. Also in many criminal activities (either on national or international scale), the use of explosives is
becoming a dominant means of the criminal activities (forced entry, protection of “illegal” production sites, means to create
mass disturbance, etc). Counteracting explosives is a security task deserving increased attention, due to the size of the threat
and the required thorough and highly specialised expertise.
In order to eff ectively counter the explosives threat, one has to think in terms of: Prepare, Prevent, Protect and Respond. The earlier
intervention occurs, the better (intelligence, regulatory measures, localization of production sites ...), however the last chain of
defence (detection, physical protection) will remain of utmost importance and clear improvements are needed in this context.
Preparation comprises continuous assessment of actual threats concerning explosives and the arising of new threats. Another
point of attention is raising the public awareness of the threat of unattended and man carried explosives. Through education
and information, citizens are able to improve the observation of suspicious human behaviour or unattended goods; instructions
for adequate warning of the public security services have to be communicated.
Prevention should be focussed on reducing the relative “ease of access” to explosives through either criminal activity (theft or
illegal purchases) or the production of explosives using freely available precursors, which make them the “weapon of choice”
for terrorists. The availability of detailed production info through terrorist training groups and/or via easily available internet
data makes the threat even more serious. All types of illicit use of precursors require diff erent countermeasures, some of which
are only partly available in current times or are only available by using very intrusive methods that are unacceptable to the
general public. Nevertheless, extended regulation concerning precursors for so called Home Made Explosives (HME’s) and
improved control during transport and storage of explosives and precursors for explosives have to be realised.
Protection of vulnerable locations, buildings and events has to be further improved by quick and reliable detection and
control systems. These systems should be connected to detailed information on persons and goods without infringing
privacy rules. There is also a need for quickly deployable protective solutions. Furthermore, development of tools supporting
balanced decision making on countermeasures to take, would be needed in order to optimize the protective chain (incl.
impacts to the society).
Responses to incidents involving explosives require the rapid analysis of a whole spectrum of potentially present explosives.
This can only be realised with a thorough understanding of explosives and explosive properties as well as an easy access to this
data for those who need it (police, forensics, etc); furthermore, the full life cycle of explosives should be addressed.
1.2.3.3 Systemic needs
The systemic needs are specifi c for selected security tasks:
1. Civil protection
Alignment of operational procedures and applied information and communication systems should be very benefi cial
for cooperation in the fi eld. There is a need for the development (and sharing) of cross border methodologies for joint
intervention, standardised emergency management multilingual dictionaries and joint innovation for development of
common counteraction methodologies for new threats (e.g. pandemics). In this fi eld it is also very important to consider
the operational use of (new) technology by First Responders, highlighting issues such as suitability and adaptability to
operational context and procedures.
ESRIF FINAL REPORT - PART 2 • Working Group: Security of Citizens