Security at the crossroads - Technology alone is not enough


he Times They Are A- Changin…’ was a powerful Bob Dylan song back in the 1960s, written as an anthem of change for the time, influenced by Irish and Scottish ballads. Less than a month after Dylan recorded the song, President Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963.


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For all of us now, immersed as we are in the world of security, we find ourselves facing new and emerging changes in the global threat landscape, many of which present a multitude of challenges that have to be addressed, and all against the backdrop of meeting, if not exceeding, clients’ expectations.


The UK, and with it our own sector, today faces a blurring of the previously


recognised distinctions between terrorism, protest, and criminality. We now face a myriad of threats emanating from criminals who are increasingly low-level operatives directed by the proxies of hostile state actors. Intimidating and often inciteful ‘protest’ groups who have also adopted terror tactics and are themselves sponsored or encouraged by those very same state actors.


One such ‘protest’ group, Palestine Action, was of course proscribed last year by HM Government following the Brize Norton incident when activists breached the perimeter of the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Oxfordshire.


The group spray-painted military aircraft, resulting in an estimated £7 million-worth of damages, and had previously committed other major incidents, such as the 2022 disruption at a Thales defence factory in Glasgow, which caused over £1 million


in damages and forced staff to evacuate due to pyrotechnics.


More recently, we have witnessed a combination of ‘low-tech’ arson attacks,


Leaders in protective security and counter terrorism preparedness.


ACT online learning Threat analysis Risk management Response planning Tactical security measures Hostile vehicle mitigation


For free advice and guidance you can trust, visit protectuk.police.uk


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