HVM - A VITAL PART OF PROTECT DUTY

Seven in ten respondents to the Protect Duty consultation agreed that those responsible for publicly accessible locations should take appropriate action proportionate measures to protect the public from attacks. How does Hostile Vehicle Mitigation fit into this? CTB talks to Debbie Heald MBE, managing director of Heald, which has high-security products in some of the world’s most high-profile locations

“HVM is a critical part of the overall protection of a site or location/venue. It is important to have a full view and take a multi-pronged approach with HVM being a vital part. Venues are responsible so training of staff and education is critical to ensure lives are protected.

It’s also important to consider that HVM extends beyond the threat of terror attacks. They can be a result of a driver under the influence of drink or drugs, being distracted or as a result of a traffic collision which spills into pedestrianised areas.”

The Protect Duty will see venues needing to consider how HVM can protect the full perimeter of a location while ensuring a controlled entry point for authorised vehicles.

Products such as Heald’s Matador can provide a quick easily deployable solution which offers crash protection against unauthorised/rouge vehicles and is tested to stop a HGV truck travelling at 50mph, installing equipment that has been proven is extremely important.

Another key factor often forgotten is; will the barrier work again after impact? This is essential to prevent secondary attack situations and also to allow emergency services to gain access in the event of an Incident.

CTB: As Figen Murray notes, a lot of organisations are not waiting for the outcome of the Protect Duty - they are already implementing measures as best as they can to comply with the law when it comes in. What, in your opinion, are the first steps that responsible persons should take to get ready?

The first step an organisation or venue should undertake is a full site survey including a vehicle dynamic assessment of the location by an expert in this field.

There are many different types of perimeter protection products available which a qualified professional should be able to advise on. It is however refreshing that people are taking this seriously and beginning this process before the Protect Duty becomes law.

CTB: Access control - how does the access control element of barriers / HVM tech work? How does the system ensure swift deployment in the event of an attack?

Within HVM there are many types of protection available, however, sometimes access control is overlooked and insecure access methods are chosen that can be easily bypassed. With HVM in particular it is so important to consider the security of the product in conjunction with a robust and secure tamper-free access control system.

Ensuring the barrier is in its secure position and operated for individual drivers would be my advice, too many times I have seen barriers open and the operator relying on Emergency fast buttons to raise/close the barrier when there is a threat detected, these EFO access controls are helpful to secure the barrier, however, they should not be used as a standard method of operation, in reality, human reactions do not happen as quickly as we think, an EFO (Emergency Fast Operation) maybe 1 or 2 seconds however it may take the operator much longer to act.

It’s quite difficult to pinpoint terrorist attacks that have been thwarted as a result of having HVM measures in place. Ultimately, bollards are generally installed as a visible deterrent that prevents such attacks from happening.

What is worth noting, is that of all the attacks that have occurred in recent years, they have been in locations where no or poor deterrents are in place.

However, you will often see videos doing the rounds on social media and in the news of cars driven by the general population falling foul of such measures which demonstrates they really do stand up to the threat of vehicle attacks while protecting pedestrianised areas.

CTB: In your opinion, what are the best ways to encourage a security-minded culture in the workplace generally?

“Education Education Education” is key to ensuring all within an organisation take security seriously. It should be a part of everyday training and consistency is key, unfortunately when everyone is safe complacency tends to creep in. It is critical to make this part of regular workplace training.