Be prepared...
Published: 28 August, 2008
The bomb explosion at Princesshay in Exeter this May was another reminder to the shopping centre industry that retail businesses are at risk from terrorism.
While the message has been strongly delivered to the retail sector that shopping centres are at risk of being targeted by extremists, the explosion on May 22 in the Giraffe restaurant, within the city centre mixed-use development, highlighted that this risk is very much a reality.
A recent survey Reliance Security conducted with Shopping Centre shows that for 66 per cent of respondents, a terrorist attack is at the very top of their list of concerns.
"Protecting against this threat is a complex task that requires a thorough understanding of the vulnerabilities of each individual centre," points out Peter Jones, chief operating officer of Reliance Security Services.
"It's important for us to work closely with our customers, as well as the police service, to identify risks and the crucial role that our security teams can play."
The company has organised a number of events across the UK for shopping centre managers and other businesses in urban centres that might be targets for terrorist activity. From a commercial perspective, Jones says business continuity planning in the aftermath of any incident is an important area for shopping centre managers to think carefully about.
"Balancing high standards of customer service with the need for increased vigilance and stringent security measures continues to create one of the biggest challenges for our security teams. Many centres are stepping up their physical security arrangements to counter threats such as vehicle-borne devices, however the strongest defence against terrorism is preparedness, which means training and awareness."
Communications are also vital. At Princesshay, the Tenant Active System (TAS), which has a virtually instantaneous broadcast channel, was in place to assist with the evacuation. TAS managing director Wayne Connors says: "In emergency situations time is of the essence. We designed TAS to assist in managing precisely the sort of emergency that occurred at Princesshay recently."
Deborah Jones, retail operations director at Land Securities, which owns Princesshay, explains: "We place great importance on the individual security arrangements at each of our shopping centres across the UK.
"We employ a team of security personnel to be present on site 24 hours a day in addition to CCTV systems. We also always encourage the public to be vigilant and report anything suspicious to our security officers.
"The recent incident was an exceptional case and we worked closely with the local police authorities to ensure that everyone was safely evacuated from the shopping quarter. We have security systems in place to deal with emergencies and regularly meet with our retailers to discuss evacuation arrangements, so everyone is confident with the procedure."
