Draft27-12

Weapons Awareness
➬
Above: Anyone can tell
these are Swiss Army
pen knives; but not all
potential weapons are
as helpfully obvious.
Below: Looking at the
British Library entrance
from inside, where
security officers with
torch-sticks check bags
Photos by Mark Rowe
HAPPY
‘From security workers
to mixologists, nurses to
tube drivers – London
really comes alive at
night.’
The Mayor of London’s
‘Night Czar’, Amy Lamé.
continued ...
from page 36
police officers alike have little to
no knowledge or understanding of
weapons, even though these are the
people we employ to protect us from
them. If an object looks like a gun,
it’s a gun; if it looks like a knife,
it’s a knife; but the fact that it may
look like a totally innocent everyday
object doesn’t necessarily mean that
it isn’t a weapon. And through lack
of training, many security personnel
are blissfully unaware of just how
sophisticated the concealment of
some of these weapons can be.
Current security equipment is no
match for the disguised, improvised
and clandestine weapons that are
practically impossible to detect and
are unrecognisable to the untrained
eye.
In a bag
An x-ray screener might detect
a weapon in a bag, but only if it
looks like a weapon and a metal
detector will not be activated by
a non-metallic weapon. If a deep
concealment method of carriage were
employed, only a strip search would
reveal such weapons, and not always
then if concealment were internal.
Body scanning
at landmark
The British Library is carrying out
body scanning of visitors at its main
entrance. This is besides the bag
searches by security officers since the
urban terror attacks first in Paris in
November 2015. A notice at the door
informs the queue that CCTV and
body scanning is in operation. Before
the bag search at one of two desks,
visitors are asked to place their feet
on two footprints on the floor for the
scanning by a device mounted on a
column, pictured right. p
We cannot rely on technology alone
when it comes to safeguarding
people’s lives. It makes absolutely no
difference how much money is spent
on sophisticated detection equipment,
if personnel are not trained to
understand what kind of weapons
they are looking for, what they could
be made from or even what they look
like. The vast majority of concealable
weapons come from eastern Europe
and the Far East, especially China.
Prices can range from just a few
dollars to several hundred. Disguised
and concealed weapons are carried for
one reason; to compromise people’s
safety without being detected until the
moment of deployment.
Look more closely
Types of people that carry such
weapons range from international
terrorists to schoolchildren. It is
actually the very ordinariness of some
of these weapons that make them
so lethal. Disguised, improvised,
adapted, converted, commerciallyor
home-made; they pose a deadly
threat to us all, and all too often look
nothing like weapons. In fact, the
design and concealment of a weapon
is only limited by an imagination. If
screeners are trained to only look for
the obvious, those are the only things
they will ever find. In my opinion it is
imperative that all security personnel
are trained to look more closely at
Alcohol call
An urgent re-think about the way
alcohol is sold in pubs and clubs in the
UK has been called for by the national
lead for alcohol and substance misuse
for the APCC (Association of Police
and Crime Commissioners). Hardyal
Dhindsa, PCC for Derbyshire, was
speaking before Alcohol Awareness
Week last month. He said: “The
financial cost of alcohol-related crime
to society is immense and estimates
point to cost of £0.7bn to the police
alone – every year. There needs to be
greater cooperation between police
and the licensed industry to support
the work taking place to promote
responsible drinking across our towns
and cities – otherwise we’re fighting
a losing battle.” He complained also
of a ‘strong sales culture’ of cheap
promotions, and bar staff motivated
the innocuous-looking items: pens,
mobile phones, cigarettes, e-cigs,
lighters, rings, matchboxes, combs
and brushes, belts, credit cards etc. In
fact, all the things that definitely don’t
look like weapons are just the things
that should be scrutinised, if there
is anything about the passenger’s
behaviour that causes concern. In
other words, don’t trust anything
- they could all be weapons and it
should always be assumed that they
are; guilty until proven innocent
should be the golden rule.
Objective of training
Hundreds of thousands of weapons
have been confiscated by screeners;
the majority were only detected
because they were instantly
recognisable. The aim of training is
to give personnel a more in-depth
knowledge and understanding
of disguised, improvised and
clandestine weapons, and the
methods of concealing and carrying.
It is important that they understand
how all weapons fall into generic
categories and how they can be made,
improvised, adapted, disguised,
carried, concealed and deployed.
Once these principles are understood,
airport security personnel, and anyone
else whose role might bring them into
contact with weapons, can be taught
to ‘think differently’ about weapons
and the dangers posed to us all. p
by bonuses to sell more alcohol. He’s
calling for a meeting with pub and
club chains. p
Manchester review
A review into how the 999 services
and others responded to the
Manchester Arena bombing in May,
and work in the days after, was last
month taking public contributions.
Lord Bob Kerslake, made chair of the
review by city mayor Andy Burnham,
said: “We also want to be able to
highlight where things went well. We
want to hear about the heroes who
helped people and share that too.”
His panel of four includes former
Derbyshire Deputy Chief Constable
Alan Goodwin. The group aims to
submit initial findings in January, and
a full report in March p
38 DECEMBER 2017 PROFESSIONAL SECURITY www.professionalsecurity.co.uk
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