PSISeptember2017a

PERIMETER SECURITY
Improving security
for public safety
PSI caught up with Iain Moran, high security consultant at ATG Access to
find out how to deal with the problem of keeping people safe without
impacting on everyday life
cross the world, the number of terror
Aincidents has risen by 25% between 2015
and 2016, with vehicle attacks, in
particular, happening more frequently. We’ve
already seen a sharp rise in vehicle-ramming
attacks on our streets, such as the attack on
soldiers in Paris, the Christmas market attack in
Berlin and the attack on protestors in
Charlottesville.
With vehicles increasingly becoming the new
weapon of choice for terrorists, protecting the
public and the perimeter of buildings and public
spaces is becoming ever more difficult with
these incidents hard to predict and intercept.
Serious consideration must now be given to
protecting crowded places as well as securing
assets to keep critical national infrastructure
and the general public safe from targeted
attacks. But of course, these locations must still
be as accessible as possible to pedestrians and
visitors, and security measures must not create
a ‘fortress’ mentality or disrupt our way of life.
So, to keep it ‘business as usual’, how can
security professionals achieve a balance where
the public feel comfortable to carry on life as
normal, but know there are robust perimeter
security measures in place to mitigate against
potential vehicle attacks and make them feel
safe?
Why perimeter security?
Vehicles are being used more often as weapons
or in conjunction with an improvised explosive
device. Individuals are being encouraged to act
alone or in terrorist cells to create as much
destruction as possible and to increase the
number of attacks.
As we’ve seen, the attacks are often at tourist
attractions where there is a large crowd of
people concentrated within one area, such as
Christmas markets or near public buildings, like
hotels or train stations.
Therefore, it’s becoming incredibly important
to protect both the perimeter of these high
profile, fixed locations to deter and prevent
hostile vehicles from trying to make contact with
potential targets, as well as providing an
additional layer of security to protect people
within crowded places.
How can security be invisible?
Nowadays, more and more citizens are
becoming more aware of their own safety and
security when out in public given how sporadic
these attacks tend to be. This reaction from the
public is understandable but also means the
pressure is on to increase security to prevent
these types of incidents, whilst also allowing
people to carry on their everyday activities.
To avoid creating a 'fortress mentality',
security systems can be designed to fit in with
operational requirements to avoid disruption to
the general public and employees.
For buildings that have visitor car parks or
goods and service yards, such as hotels,
(continued over)
With vehicles
increasingly becoming
the new weapon of
choice for terrorists,
protecting the public
and the perimeter of
buildings and public
spaces is becoming
ever more difficult
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