I was searching the Internet the other day and just happened to Google the term “anti terrorism perimeter security control.” The top result brought me to a British site named Counter Terror Business that is published by PSi Ltd. This is a specialty publication launched in 2010.
According to the site, information gathered is “distributed to heads of security, intelligence officers, procurement officials for central government, Intelligence Services, Police, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Border Control, Customs, Aviation and Port Authorities.” Sounds quite impressive!
An article entitled “Have I got a problem at my location?” caught my eye. It focused on perimeter security and assessing the problem of defending against hostile vehicles, solutions, product testing and standards as well as products. The approach is not much different than here in the U.S.
The article reminded me a bit of the blog article I wrote “Anti-Terrorist Tactical Advice On Attacks Using Vehicles” and the quaint term they use in the United Kingdom ‘Hostile Vehicle Mitigation’. This translates into reducing the severity of attacks using unfriendly vehicles such as trucks and cars.
Although I still can’t imagine how a car can be hostile or unfriendly, can you? Perhaps the driver and the payload are hostile or unfriendly, but the vehicle itself?
Moving on from my rant…
The feature article noted that since the 2016 Nice lorry (There they go again! Can’t they just say a big, heavy motor vehicle or truck used to transport goods or troops.) attack there has been a dramatic increase in the use of vehicles as terrorist weapons. No one is left unscathed in this targeting of attacks and a variety of vehicles have been used as weapons (VAW = vehicles used as weapons). Since that attack there have been 130 deaths and over 700 injuries.
There has been a significant increase in calls from people and organizations they represent in an attempt to assess whether or not they have a potential problem with VAW. The concern is where can they get help in solving this problem and assessing their risk? Help is readily available from many government agencies as well as private sector security consultants, as it is in the United States.
The article does focus on some considerations with regard to counter terrorism concerns.
When considering a solution it is extremely important to determine if it is a temporary or permanent need. Is the need for coverage for only a single event and thus temporary? Then using products that are transportable and surface mounted is a better alternative than those requiring expensive foundation installations. Permanent solutions require ground excavations, electrical installations and an understanding of drainage. This adds to the complexity of the solution.
There is a wide selection of powered or manually operated active barriers as well as static or fixed passive barriers. Many are available as either temporary or permanent solutions and can be foundation or surface mounted. When installed properly, these provide the end user proven performance against vehicles according to K-ratings here in the states.
There are a variety of products available that provide a wide range of options to tackle potential hostile vehicle issues specific to any situation not only existing but also future threats linked to vehicles in terrorist attacks. The main products available to counter hostile vehicles are bollards, fences, gates, street furniture, rising arm barriers, road blockers, longitudinal barriers as well as pedestrian portals.
ECI provides and installs crash rated bollards; all types of perimeter barrier gates, their controls and access control systems; guard booths for critical access points; traffic control spikes; exterior lighting; signage and more. Importantly, we also offer turn key installations to aid in streamlining your overall planning efforts as well as to minimize your time and investment costs.
Learn more abut Vehicle Access Control Systems. Contact ECI at 847.949.0134 or click below for direct contact information.
