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Terrorism
Whilst the number of terrorist-related deaths in the UK since the late 1960s remains comparatively low, some locations and organizations remain at greater risk.
If you believe that your company may be a potential target you should take steps to minimise that risk.
Most terrorist devices are improvised and known as IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).
They may be categorized under Vehicle (car, lorry); Letter (or parcel or package); Hand-Carried (suitcase, briefcase, handbag, rucksack); Suicide; Air or Sea-borne (Aircraft, rocket, parachute, ship, boat or mine).
Bomb Threat Procedures
Most bomb threats are made over the phone. The overwhelming majority are hoaxes, often the work of malicious pranksters, although terrorists also make hoax calls.
During the Irish republican terrorist campaign, there were approximately 10,000 bomb threat calls reported in the Greater London area in one year. Of these, 70 were made by terrorists, 10 of which resulted in the actual discovery of a device.
Any such hoax is a crime and, no matter how ridiculous or unconvincing, should be reported to the police.
Calls from terrorists fall into two kinds:
- bomb threats when none has actually been planted. These hoaxes may not be merely malicious but designed to disrupt, to test reactions or to divert attention;
- bomb threats warning of a genuine device. These may be attempts to avoid casualties, but they also enable the terrorist to blame others if there are casualties.
- Even genuine threats are frequently inaccurate with regard to where and when a bomb might explode. Also, staff receiving a bomb threat may not always be those trained and prepared for it. Whilst it is not reasonable to expect them authoritatively to assess a threat's accuracy, truth or origin, listen to their impressions of the caller.
Be prepared for your staff to be temporarily in a state of shock at the threat, which will be the closest that many people ever come to acts of terrorism. Take account of this when establishing your procedures and base your preparation on enabling any member of staff to pass on a threat promptly, in as much detail as possible, to those tasked with deciding what action to take. Remember to distinguish between calls referring to your own building and those warning of a bomb elsewhere.
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Incidents
This information is aimed at those responsible for the safety of others in businesses and other public / private sector organisations.
Since the early 1990s, concern that terrorists might use CBRN materials as weapons has increased steadily.
In reality, much of the activity seen to date has either been criminal (extortion, murder) or hoaxes and false alarms. The nerve gas attacks in Japan in 1994 and 1995 which killed 19, and the anthrax letters in the US in autumn 2001 which killed five, have become well known examples of this form of incident. In addition to the deaths, these attacks caused widespread concern, disruption and expense.
"CBRN" is a catch-all term that covers quite distinct hazards:
- Chemical. Poisoning or injury caused by chemical substances including classical chemical warfare agents or misuse of legitimate but harmful household or industrial chemicals.
- Biological. Illnesses caused by the deliberate release of dangerous bacteria, viruses or fungi, or biological toxins (e.g. the plant toxin ricin).
- Radiological (radioactive). Illness caused by exposure to harmful radioactive materials contaminating the environment, inhaled, or ingested in food or drink.
- Nuclear. A more complex case where the explosion of a nuclear device causes widespread effects due to blast, heat and radiological contamination, as well as large amounts of harmful radiation.
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