If you’re plugged into security matters, you may have already heard the term ‘Protect Duty’ mentioned once or twice in recent years. With the current ACT (Action Counters Terrorism) threat level sitting at substantial, those whispers have only gotten louder, and finally, in 2022, the UK government released the results of their enquiry into Protect Duty legislation.
In this article, we explain exactly what Protect Duty is, and more importantly, what your security obligations maybe when this legislation is enacted.
The new Protect Duty legislation that has been proposed aims to increase public protection against terrorist and violent attacks by instituting a burden of responsibility on those who own or operate venues, organisations and events at publicly accessible venues to take precautionary and preventive measures against these occurrences.
There are few who will be blind to the rising terror attacks that have been witnessed across the UK over the past decade. Perhaps the most frightening of all are those targeting large numbers of people crowded together in public spaces.
Following the attack on the Manchester arena in 2017, it became clear that action needed to be taken. As it stood, businesses and organisations were under no obligation to provide protection against this type of threat to their customers or their workers. Protect Duty legislation is an attempt to amend this blind spot in our defence against terrorism, and protect the public from attack.
This is Protect Duty by another name. Martyn’s Law was created and developed out of campaigning efforts by Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett – a 29-year-old man who lost his life in the 2017 Manchester arena bombing attacks. Her pleas for stronger anti-terror security measures led to the development of the Protect Duty legislation.
As it currently stands, Protect Duty legislation would apply to three main types of public spaces across the UK. These are:
This list is not exhaustive. It is likely that, should Protect Duty come into law, any individuals or organisations who own or operate publicly accessible locations will be affected. Given this, it should be clear that the range of businesses who will suddenly bear security responsibilities for their customers and workers is enormous, so it is important to remain up to date on the latest developments on this topic.
This is any place to which the public or any subset of the public has access, by fee or for free and by right or due to stated or implied permission. The scope of locations that fall into this categorisation is dizzying, so it’s with good reason that we at W4G Security Fire & Security are determined to educate our readers on Protect Duty.
This is a difficult question to answer. In security matters, it is often better to be prepared, but when it comes to Protect Duty there is still much in flux and many of these things could change. To what degree are you required to work with external agencies? How much support will the government provide? Exactly what procedures will be considered adequate? This has all yet to be confirmed.
If you want to take extra precautions and gain further knowledge around the subject, the centre for the protection of National Infrastructure offers free SCaN (See, Check & Notify) training through their website, all delivered by qualified trainers. This course teaches your staff how to identify suspicious activity and what responses to take should the situation occur. It can help protect your organisation from harmful action and prevent staff members from giving away important details about your operations that allow these individuals to plan their attacks.
The government also highlights the latest guidance on events health and safety on their website. With additional information, training and highlights about the government’s ACT campaign. At W4G we regularly reference and head to the ACT campaign website to ensure all of our staff are up to date on all the latest online training. Ensuring that our staff, at any event are more aware of potential security and terrorism threats and issues.
Another very good source of information (particularly with regard to incident management) is the Protect UK app which features live-time information from CT policing, plus all the latest protective security advice – useful for all members of the public as well as security professionals.
Whilst we wait to see what the Protect Duty requirements will be, the above sites and apps will give your organisation a head start before the legislation is enacted and, as should always be the aim, help protect your customers and staff in the meantime. The other action you can take to prepare yourself and your business for Protect Duty is to identify a security services provider that you can trust and know is properly educated about this legislation.
Our highly experienced and skilled team of security professionals are always keeping track of the latest developments on Protect Duty. We provide security services to businesses and individuals all over the UK to a wide range of sectors that operate in publicly accessible locations, from Facilities Management to Commercial areas.
Our team of expert security professionals comprises a range of specialists in manned security, security guards, fire safety and electronic security. There are seldom a few security matters that don’t fall under our skillset. With Protect Duty applying to such a number and variety of organisations, it’s important to find a national security company that is prepared to deal with any situation that may arise. If you’d like to learn more about our team and the expert knowledge they possess, visit our about us page.
If you have questions about how Protect Duty may affect your business or would like to enquire about our range of security services, please contact us at 02080043800 or by email at hello@w4g-security.com. Our team of security experts will be glad to provide a solution for your security needs.
