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read moreNSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has today spoken of the significance of the recently released Disrupting Hostile Reconnaissance Guidelines for Crowded Places, released in April by the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC).
Speaking at the inaugural VSX Venue Safety and Security Exchange conference in Sydney, Commissioner Webb, advised that managers of major venues, visitor attractions and places of mass gathering need to be aware of their responsibilities for protecting their sites.
The Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism notes that all owners and operators of crowded places have a duty of care to take steps to protect people that work, use or visit their site from a range of foreseeable threats, including the threat of terrorism.
Crowded places are a preferred terrorist target because of the high volume and concentration of people making them attractive to attack. Crowded places pose a broad range of security challenges for owners, operators and those responsible for protecting the location.
The Guidelines advise that “a number of terrorists worldwide have been detected by bystanders who acted on their initial suspicion that something was ‘not quite right’ about an individual’s activity and reported this to authorities.”
It adds “persons working in crowded places and members of the public are often best placed to detect suspicious behaviour.
“Owners and operators of crowded places should do everything they can to raise awareness of possible suspicious behaviour among those using their sites. Owners and operators are also expected to report any security incidents or suspicious activity to law enforcement at the earliest opportunity.”
The document also explains that “it is the responsibility of both Government and private sector stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure that integrated and effective plans and arrangements are in place to prevent or reduce the impact of terrorism.”
What is Hostile Reconnaissance?
Hostile reconnaissance is the purposeful observation of people, vehicles, buildings, places, and spaces to collect information that informs the planning of an attack against a specific target by people with hostile intent. It may be conducted onsite, online and may also include rehearsals, where one or more elements of the plan are practised.
Hostiles have a fear of failure - they want to be confident their attack will be successful. To build that confidence hostiles need to gather information on their target and may be anxious when collecting that information, aware that what they are planning is illegal.
The primary objectives of hostile reconnaissance are for hostiles to collect information that will help them to:
Analysis of previous incidents indicates that some form of reconnaissance and/or rehearsal will likely occur prior to an attack. Detection and intervention of hostile reconnaissance may lead to an attack plan being abandoned and may produce valuable intelligence leads.
The Guidelines have been developed by the Crowded Places Sub Committee (CPSC) on behalf of the ANZCTC.
It is recommended that they be read in conjunction with Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism and supplementary materials available at www.nationalsecurity.gov.au
Click here to view the new Guidelines.
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6th July 2023 - Consumer group expresses concern about use of facial recognition technology at major Australian stadia
26th May 2023 - VMA launches Venue Safety and Security education program
6th March 2023 - Inaugural Venue Safety and Security Exchange conference to be staged in Sydney
20th December 2022 - Questions over security at AAMI Park during A-League pitch invasion
16th August 2022 - Biosecurity measures to be heightened across 2022 Perth Royal Show
5th August 2022 - AV Integration and Security events come together in Sydney
1st June 2022 - Security staff licences checked at Gold Coast bars, hotels and nightclubs
10th April 2022 - Pitch invasions at weekend NRL games raise questions about venue security
31st January 2022 - New Zealand tourism businesses facing cybersecurity challenges
20th December 2021 - Standards Australia publishes terrorist risk management handbook
7th July 2021 - NSW Police offer $1 million reward in appeal for evidence over Luna Park Sydney Ghost Train fire
22nd December 2020 - Eddie Idik named Chair of NSW Chapter of leading global security association
18th December 2020 - Resumption of events at Perth Motorplex to see enhanced security measures
16th October 2020 - NSW police conduct Operation Bathurst during Bathurst 1000 to ensure event and patron safety and security
23rd July 2020 - Watchdog finds NSW Police conducted unlawful strip searches at music festivals
19th May 2020 - New thermal imaging technology to enhance event security
25th July 2019 - Bendigo City Council defends anti-terrorism measures despite event cancellation
10th July 2019 - TDC releases new live signage innovation for events and mass gatherings
14th June 2019 - Queensland Coroner recommends statewide safety reforms for mass gatherings and public events
3rd May 2019 - UK Counter Terrorism expert to address 2019 Asia Pacific Venue Industry Congress
6th October 2017 - Queensland Government announces counter-terrorism and stadium security enhancements
18th August 2017 - Federal Government to announce plans to protect crowded places from terrorist incidents
24th May 2017 - Venues assess security in wake of Manchester Arena terrorist attrocity
23rd August 2016 - Global tourism resilient to terrorism and further macroeconomic challenges
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