FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
By Iain Murphy, Director of Major Bids – Kingdom Services Group
Businesses around the country are counting the costs from activist groups and their evolving techniques to disrupt national infrastructure and businesses. The threats can be physical – like the current M25 protests and recent incidents at galleries and museums – or the risks can be in the digital space. But what they all have in common is that they can cause serious financial and reputational harm, disruption and even pose a risk to safety to members of the public and your own staff.
One growing threat to businesses comes from campaigning groups. Environmental activists such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion are using direct action to spread their climate change warnings. Climate change or the protests against it aren’t issues that are going away, so your firm needs to know how to respond if a protest or demonstration occurs on property, land, or infrastructure you are responsible for.
If you haven’t already got robust security arrangements in place or don’t know where to start, Kingdom Security recommend starting with the following simple three security considerations:
1) How you keep everyone safe – including demonstrators and protestors. If they are on your property, they are your responsibility too.
2) Making sure people know what the plan is – and make sure you keep records of any incidents so you can learn from them as well as report them appropriately.
3) Keep plans up to date, including on new, emerging threats.
1) Safety first – including of demonstrators and protestors
The safety and security of everyone in a building should be your number one concern. It’s a legal duty as well as an issue of health and safety. If a protest or demonstration takes place in your premises, there should be sufficient planning in place to ensure that these are kept to a minimum and come to a swift conclusion without any harm.
Businesses should configure their processes in line with advice from the police and security experts to ensure they have considered all risks and have the right systems and infrastructure in place to respond.
2) Communicate and keep records
Make sure everyone in the building knows what the procedures are and how they respond to a protest or demonstration. This includes reporting suspicious behaviour to the on-site security team and/or the police, and not intervening if a protest does take place.
Employees should be fully briefed with a fully visible management presence. They should understand the importance of the protocols being put in place and be able to confidently respond should a demonstration happen.
After the event, businesses should keep records of what happened. This includes keeping records of those involved, the date, time and location, the nature of the behaviour that occurred, the impact of the event including what disruption happened and if there were any injuries, and if any warnings were issued and what measures were brought in to end the situation.
3) Make sure your plans are up to date and include how to deal with emerging threats
Businesses must look at their overall site security. This means minimising the number of entry points to the building, making sure outside areas are clear of debris and other residue, and checking that equipment is working and freely available.
It should also look at ensuring you test building security and the emergency protocols, checking the site’s CCTV is fully operational and that all staff know about any hazards, such as scaffolding.
The risk from activist groups is changing all the time, so make sure you’re always getting the latest advice and information on how to protect your business.
These points should help but of course they are not the only things you need to consider. Your security arrangements are bespoke to your business needs. As new threats emerge, your plans need to change too. The methods used by activist groups are evolving and so must your intelligence.
