Despite appeals from major opinion formers, most recently CBI director general Sir Digby Jones, there is little indication that UK businesses have lifted their heads out of the sand following the terrorist attacks on London.
Shopping malls are prime targets for terrorism due to their high concentration of people and profile, yet the concern is that operators are not considering, or are aware of, the full range of threats and the practical measures needed to provide protection.
The impact and effects of a biological or chemical attack are not often taken into account by those in vulnerable industries and locations.
If anything, the July 7 attacks should have acted as a wake-up call to operators to test continuity plans against the effects of an incident.
This opportunity to amend protocols must, if they are to provide comprehensive protection to their business, tenants and customers, include the preparation for the threat of large scale bio-terror attacks.
It is the natural instinct of safety and security managers to evacuate people when a shopping mall is threatened. Depending upon wind spread and direction, in the event of a bio-terror attack the worst possible scenario could be to leave the site.
Further contamination could be spread by already-infected individuals trying to reach loved ones. By providing on-site protection, even for large numbers of people, the immediate threat of airborne chemicals can be averted.
As retail site operators consider how to protect their premises it’s important to remember that security doesn’t need to be a constant reminder of the threat from which it is there to offer protection. There are creative ways of providing protection without building a fortress so, in effect, employees and visitors can forget that the provision is there until needed.
Practical and manageable retrofit protection solutions, including the type Union Industries provide, such as Rapid Deployment Staff Protection enclosures, are designed to be unobtrusive, yet easily deployed in an emergency. Cost will always be an issue, but until the need for on-site protection arises will employers always err on the side of financial prudence and keep their money in the bank?
It seems so, as even the events of 7/7 seem to have failed to remove the ‘it’ll never happen to us’ mindset. Ultimately, how much are lives worth, the lives of one’s staff and the lives of one’s customers?
Paul Schofield, Chairman, Union Industries
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