Counter Terror Expo (CTX), UK’s networking event for security professionals from industry, infrastructure, government and policing, has released its inaugural Counter Terror Industry Survey report, summarising the conclusions of the counter-terror survey conducted by the CTX team in November 2019.
The report compiles findings obtained from public and private sector security professionals on the current state of counter-terrorism in the UK.
Issues facing the counter-terror industry
Survey respondents from police and law enforcement, ambulance, fire and rescue, military and industry were asked questions across a range of issues facing the counter-terror industry. Issues addressed include how successful respondents feel that UK stakeholders are in countering terrorist threats; levels of concern regarding the threat from state and non-state actors; awareness of government counter-terror strategies and their effectiveness; and preparedness levels for attacks among the UK government, business and industry.
In the UK we face an evolving terror threat which is changing beyond expectations"
The report’s findings provide insight into the views of security professionals, and offer an opportunity for all stakeholders to further understand the current perceptions of counter-terrorism issues, and where partnerships need to focus their efforts.
Evolving terror threat
“In the UK we face an evolving terror threat which, as the tragic events of 2017 illustrated, is changing beyond expectations,” Scott Fyfe Wilson, Director Crisis Management Solutions (Formerly, National Co-ordinator Protect and Prepare, National Counter Terrorism Policing), commented in the report foreword. “It involves more individuals, including the vulnerable and volatile, in less coherent, more atomised structures connected across the world.”
“This larger scale operation utilises ever more simplistic tactics to attack increasingly soft targets. Although the UK threat level has recently been lowered from “Severe” to “Substantial”, the risk of a terrorist attack remains high. We can only keep our communities safe by working together. A change of mindset is underway: protecting our communities is not a task only for the police, it’s one for all to embrace, businesses, security professionals and the general public.”
