The Understanding Terrorism Conference, which brings together all the major organisations in the UK, including the retail industry, is being held this month at the Oxford Belfry.

Delegates will hear presentations from a variety of expert speakers and analysts who will reflect the views of the law enforcement authorities, economic institutions, business sectors, academia and the Muslim community, among others.

Chaired by respected broadcaster and news journalist, Michael Buerk, speakers will include Dominic Grieve MP, Shadow Attorney General; Muhammad Abdul Bari MBE, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain; Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, the government's independent reviewer of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; Tufyal Choudhury, lecturer at Durham University and a leading international expert on human rights, integration and public policy issues relating to Muslim communities; Rachel North, writer and 7/7 bombing survivor; and the BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner OBE.

Conference organiser John Casson explains how the event is extremely relevant to the retail industry. "Some retailers have stores in multi-ethnic areas; supply chains may be disrupted; and supermarkets may be affected by the fear factor," he says. "It's the first conference in the UK to bring together different organisations to listen to a wide range of speakers with the hope they can understand what's behind all this, which may go some way towards understanding Muslim concerns and how we should be planning for the future."

Casson explains that the threat of terrorism can have an impact on people's movements. "If you have the threat of terrorism, whether successful or not, it puts people off going to the high street to shop.

"I hope the conference will give retailers an idea of what they can be doing to help public confidence and show respect to the different ethnic groups in the UK."

Despite it being two years since the July 7 bombings, Casson says it is interesting to note how relatively little has been learned since then. "The spread of this kind of terrorism since 9/11 is very worrying, especially as the recent incidents in Scotland demonstrate that the whole of the UK is now a prime target. It's my personal belief as a citizen that we need to talk about this subject and understand more if we are to stand any chance," Casson continues.

Conference speaker Rachel North adds: "The new attacks in London and Glasgow reinforce the seriousness of the situation we face today. This conference will provide those present with an even better understanding of terrorism in the UK, and we hope that they will then share this with those organisations they represent and the sectors they work within."

The management team at Glasgow's St Enoch Centre has reaffirmed its commitment to providing a safe and secure environment for staff, retailers and customers by sending members of its security team on a series of specialist training and awareness days organised by Strathclyde Police.

In June of this year the Scottish centre participated in the inaugural event of the Home Office's ARGUS project (Area Reinforcement Gained Under Simulation). Over 30 retailers in the vicinity of the St Enoch Centre and centre management staff attended the event, which was held at the SECC in Glasgow.

The aim of the day was to allow those involved in the retail sector an opportunity to explore ways that could assist them in preventing, handling and recovering from a terrorist attack.

Also last month, over 30 members of the centre management team took part in Project Griffin, Strathclyde Police's anti-terrorist initiative which aims to promote and maintain community safety.

During the course of the event, participants were trained in how to react to issues such as suspect packages and identifying suspicious activity.

Susan Nicol, general manager of the St Enoch Centre, says: "The St Enoch Centre, like every major city centre attraction or public building across the UK, is affected by security issues and we're fully committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment by ensuring the highest level of awareness of any potential threat. The safety of our customers, retailers and staff is our top priority and the centre management team has always taken a proactive approach to ensuring the security of all those visiting or working at the centre.

"Project Griffin and Project ARGUS are just the latest in a series of training exercises for our security staff and we will continue to work closely with the police, the Home Office, MI5 and all relevant agencies to maintain a high level of awareness and training among our security team."

OCS Security's operations director Steve Greenaway sits on the steering group of Project Griffin and all OCS staff in London, Manchester and Scotland have been involved in the training.

"Our staff go on a day's course and the police talk to them about hostile reconnaissance and how to deal with it," says Greenaway. "That's now moving out to the provinces."

At the beginning of September a phase two refresher update on Project Griffin was launched. "We have everyone through the first level and so it's now about how we can make it better and increase the learning," Greenaway says. "It brings the security guys and girls into the police fold more and more. They talk about explosives and low-level assaults. It's all really worthwhile because they love going on the course, but they also understand why, for example, they should be suspicious of someone taking photographs of a loading bay. In the end, it all comes down to awareness.

"It's similar with our staff. It's about equipping them to deal with potential situations without scaring them. They're the front line but they're also low level front line. It's about awareness and information, and about passing information on."

Greenaway explains that OCS Security's teams are very covert in their security operations. "The bottom line from a shopping centre's point of view is to attract footfall and avoid scaring people off with what appears to be a heavy-handed security presence, so most of what we do is covert as opposed to overt. You want people to feel safe, so the centre teams are well versed in evacuation techniques, identification and how to deal with an escalation if there's a threat, and it's a really seamless operation. It's also extremely important that shopping centre security teams liaise with the local police. In some places, where it's appropriate, there's a hotline between us and the local police station."

Thankfully, to date no threat has been made against a shopping centre, but like all public places shopping centres are very much at risk. As such it is vital that all malls are as well prepared as possible.

Greenaway explains: "The shopping centres we deal with are very, very aware of the threat and we're in constant negotiations with them, and we do evacuations and exercises. No one minds sharing best practice when it's for the common good so shopping centres in the same location should always be exchanging information with one another."

Following incidents such as the terrorist threat at Glasgow Airport earlier this year, Greenaway says there tends to be a knee-jerk reaction. "As a security supplier we try to be as practical and pragmatic about it as we can and we will enhance security for a period of time afterwards in case it's copy cat, but they all go up a gear anyway because it's real. There's a thin line between the scare factor and being practical."

Gunwharf Quays recognised with a special award from the BSIA

Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth has recently been awarded a special Chairman's Award for its contribution to the community by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA).

The BSIA Awards recognise the very best of the security industry. Saving lives, excelling at customer service and preventing crime through the use of the latest technology are just some of the areas recognised by the BSIA's Annual Security Officer Awards.

The Chairman's Award for contribution to the community recognises the effort of the security team in creating and maintaining a safe environment for all visitors. Other award nominations included Outstanding Act, Best Newcomer, Best Use of Technology and Best Team.

Peter Emery, operations manager at Gunwharf Quays, received the award on behalf of the whole of the security operations team. He says: "We are thrilled that our hard work has been recognised in this way by the BSIA. Gunwharf Quays is a very safe place to shop, eat, drink, work and live, but this would not be possible without the dedication and expertise of our professional security operations team.

"This really is a fantastic achievement for all involved and naturally reinforces the value and importance that we continually place on customer service, innovation and excellence in the way we operate."

Contacts

Understanding Terrorism Conference: http://www.understandingterrorism.co.uk

St Enoch Centre: http://www.stenoch.com

OCS Security: 08702 200 914

Gunwharf Quays: http://www.gunwharf-quays.com

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