NPSA has developed guidance and courses to enhance the readiness of organisations to respond to and manage terrorist incidents.
The Security Control Room courses have been designed to help Managers plan and prepare their site and SCR Operators to respond effectively during a terrorist incident.
NPSA research has identified that in a terrorist incident most deaths and injuries occur within the first few minutes. During that time the Security Control Room (SCR) is responsible for managing the incident and plays a vital role in saving lives. The research has also shown that the performance of the SCR and its Operators can be significantly enhanced by following the guidance and the Operators exercising their roles.
The courses are applicable to all organisations and venues and have been attended by delegates from transport, retail, education, stadiums and arenas, major events and festivals, offices, government buildings, national infrastructure and other public spaces across the UK.
To assist you and your senior management in evaluating the benefits, value and cost-effectiveness of attending the SCR Operators and Managers course, we've compiled information that may be useful to your decision making.
Operators Course
The SCR Operators course has been designed by NPSA to focus specifically on the roles and responsibilities of Operators working within a SCR to enhance their knowledge and readiness to deal with a terrorist incident.
This high impact learning experience will provide the practical skills required to effectively respond to a terrorist incident.
The course offers world-first immersive exercises that simulate multiple terrorist incident scenarios, enabling delegates to practise decision-making in real-time, as if in a real control room and covers:
- Attack timelines
- Preparedness
- Detecting an Attack
- Command and Control
The five-day course hosts a small number of delegates at a time (maximum 24) to enable delegates to get the most out of the experience, supported by expert trainers.
Delegates also report that their Business As Usual performance and readiness is enhanced.
Managers Course
The one-day Managers Course is for managers or individuals with overall responsibility for Security Control Rooms and incident management.
The course will inform Managers of the ways in which they can develop effective command & control within the SCR and plan and prepare their site to respond effectively during a terrorist incident.
Course Experience Videos
NPSA has released a series of videos which shows the experiences of some who have attended the course.
We have a duty of care to look after anybody that comes to Blackpool. A major seaside tourist destination, we attract a vast amount of visitors.
Obligations and responsibilities are that we must be as prepared as possible if there is an unfortunate incident. We've got to get things right.
I was an observer and I saw our staff and I saw them at the beginning and I saw them at the end, and they were totally transformed. It hooks them in a position where they have to make decisions.
They're fantastic learning experience.
The best way to learn it's actually do it. It is about close as you're ever going get to that scenario, in preparedness for the worst day you're going have in your life.
So many different environments would benefit from staff being a part of this process.
These situations have the potential to happen. This can benefit enormously in understanding how you would actually deal with it.
You learn things you probably didn't even know that you needed to learn.
Your guys will come back so much better prepared for the worst day and better prepared for every day.
We have a duty of care to look after anybody that comes to Blackpool. A major seaside tourist destination, we attract a vast amount of visitors.
Obligations and responsibilities are that we must be as prepared as possible if there is an unfortunate incident. We've got to get things right.
I was an observer and I saw our staff and I saw them at the beginning and I saw them at the end, and they were totally transformed. It hooks them in a position where they have to make decisions.
They're fantastic learning experience.
The best way to learn it's actually do it. It is about close as you're ever going get to that scenario, in preparedness for the worst day you're going have in your life.
So many different environments would benefit from staff being a part of this process.
These situations have the potential to happen. This can benefit enormously in understanding how you would actually deal with it.
You learn things you probably didn't even know that you needed to learn.
Your guys will come back so much better prepared for the worst day and better prepared for every day.
We are the busiest interchange in London. We have approximately 130 million people come through each year.
Network Rail has a duty of care to all the passengers, staff anyone who uses the facilities to look after them and make sure they’re safe.
We are a category A station which means we are a target to anyone wanting to do harm to the infrastructure.
It's easy to talk about it about, its easy to watch a power point presentation, but to actually be immersed in that event there is nothing like it. You have to manage that event until the emergency services arrive.
It’s like you are in a real-life scenario, CCTV reacts to your decisions, you call on the radio and people actually answer and then it’s what actions can you take to actually save lives in a time between when the incident actually commences and when the emergency services arrives.
It’s really shocking, and it is that moment of right now I have got to make a decision. This has happened it’s the worst thing to possibly happen.
We have certainly highlighted our shortfalls and how vulnerable we are. We have put measures in place to prevent a terrorist event.
The biggest thing you take away from the course is sort of like a mindset. If a terrorist attack happened, I would be much better prepared, much more confident to deal with the situation I would consider things I wouldn’t have necessarily considered before and I would be able to set out the key objectives of the incident which is saving lives.
We are the busiest interchange in London. We have approximately 130 million people come through each year.
Network Rail has a duty of care to all the passengers, staff anyone who uses the facilities to look after them and make sure they’re safe.
We are a category A station which means we are a target to anyone wanting to do harm to the infrastructure.
It's easy to talk about it about, its easy to watch a power point presentation, but to actually be immersed in that event there is nothing like it. You have to manage that event until the emergency services arrive.
It’s like you are in a real-life scenario, CCTV reacts to your decisions, you call on the radio and people actually answer and then it’s what actions can you take to actually save lives in a time between when the incident actually commences and when the emergency services arrives.
It’s really shocking, and it is that moment of right now I have got to make a decision. This has happened it’s the worst thing to possibly happen.
We have certainly highlighted our shortfalls and how vulnerable we are. We have put measures in place to prevent a terrorist event.
The biggest thing you take away from the course is sort of like a mindset. If a terrorist attack happened, I would be much better prepared, much more confident to deal with the situation I would consider things I wouldn’t have necessarily considered before and I would be able to set out the key objectives of the incident which is saving lives.
The estate is comprised of approximately of 120 acres, we’ve got office space, retail, residential, four transport hubs.We are an iconic site, financial centre of Europe.
If there was a major incident, then we would be the ones responsible for tasking the emergency services, informing senior management, getting security officers coordinated to respond to that incident.
I don’t think anyone is as prepared as they perhaps think they are. The only thing that is going to prepare you for that is, ultimately, is training.
There are control room courses out there, but they don’t go into all of the areas needed for staff to be able to get that knowledge of what goes in on an operational incident that enables them to deal with it swiftly and effectively.
It’s an opportunity for operators to experience what it might be like to react to terrorist events.
Each incident became better communicated, better executed over the five incidents.
This is not just another training provider. The people delivering it have such a depth and breadth of knowledge.
They brought their own experience.
The ability to do something of an immediate impact, the outcome of that attack is the really important part, that is what is going to save lives.
I definitely feel better equipped to responded to any incident of this type.
The estate is comprised of approximately of 120 acres, we’ve got office space, retail, residential, four transport hubs.We are an iconic site, financial centre of Europe.
If there was a major incident, then we would be the ones responsible for tasking the emergency services, informing senior management, getting security officers coordinated to respond to that incident.
I don’t think anyone is as prepared as they perhaps think they are. The only thing that is going to prepare you for that is, ultimately, is training.
There are control room courses out there, but they don’t go into all of the areas needed for staff to be able to get that knowledge of what goes in on an operational incident that enables them to deal with it swiftly and effectively.
It’s an opportunity for operators to experience what it might be like to react to terrorist events.
Each incident became better communicated, better executed over the five incidents.
This is not just another training provider. The people delivering it have such a depth and breadth of knowledge.
They brought their own experience.
The ability to do something of an immediate impact, the outcome of that attack is the really important part, that is what is going to save lives.
I definitely feel better equipped to responded to any incident of this type.
The sort of threats that would figure high on our security risk assessment will be vehicle as a weapon, bladed knife attacks, it would be that sort of thing that we would be looking to prevent.
Security control room is the glue that holds every aspect of our security focus together.
I want to make my teams as ready as I can so that if anything did happen they are prepared.
They setup a control room, they setup the environment, they make it as real as they can.
There are little nuances that come through the training that they can quickly correct it really was about gaining that confidence.
The guys looking at things differently after doing this course, they genuinely do.
The benefits are really seen there when you go into the control room now the people that have gone through that course now are just far more confident.
Every venue could be a target nothing, prepares you for a terrorist attack as much as that course did.
The sort of threats that would figure high on our security risk assessment will be vehicle as a weapon, bladed knife attacks, it would be that sort of thing that we would be looking to prevent.
Security control room is the glue that holds every aspect of our security focus together.
I want to make my teams as ready as I can so that if anything did happen they are prepared.
They setup a control room, they setup the environment, they make it as real as they can.
There are little nuances that come through the training that they can quickly correct it really was about gaining that confidence.
The guys looking at things differently after doing this course, they genuinely do.
The benefits are really seen there when you go into the control room now the people that have gone through that course now are just far more confident.
Every venue could be a target nothing, prepares you for a terrorist attack as much as that course did.
I work in one of the biggest shopping mall in Europe. We have a thousand plus cameras.
We’re a crowded place, we’re a prime target for marauding terrorist attacks, bomb threats.
It’s our responsibility to ensure that when they come to West London, they feel safe, it’s down to us to ensure that we identify the threats and risk as they come through our doors.
My team that attended all were blown away by the content of the course, they sort of came away with, wow, hang on a minute.
We need to rethink maybe how do we do things and how we operate, how we work.
The course has given them the opportunity to be better prepared should the worst happen.
From the layout of the control room to the expectations of what they do when they call the police how they liaise, how they talk terminology, being able to share experiences with the other people that are on the course share experiences with the trainers.
Our communication is much better, manager to controllers, and controllers back to the manager.
We focus on finding things rather than receiving things from the officers on the ground.
This training will only enhance the security capability of any building.
My team learnt so much from the five days that they were there and the most valuable course I think I’ve sent my staff on.
I work in one of the biggest shopping mall in Europe. We have a thousand plus cameras.
We’re a crowded place, we’re a prime target for marauding terrorist attacks, bomb threats.
It’s our responsibility to ensure that when they come to West London, they feel safe, it’s down to us to ensure that we identify the threats and risk as they come through our doors.
My team that attended all were blown away by the content of the course, they sort of came away with, wow, hang on a minute.
We need to rethink maybe how do we do things and how we operate, how we work.
The course has given them the opportunity to be better prepared should the worst happen.
From the layout of the control room to the expectations of what they do when they call the police how they liaise, how they talk terminology, being able to share experiences with the other people that are on the course share experiences with the trainers.
Our communication is much better, manager to controllers, and controllers back to the manager.
We focus on finding things rather than receiving things from the officers on the ground.
This training will only enhance the security capability of any building.
My team learnt so much from the five days that they were there and the most valuable course I think I’ve sent my staff on.
Further information
All courses will be run from a venue in the Bedfordshire area. Please continue to check out our LinkedIn page and YouTube channel for updates on the course.
For more information about the course and to enquire about attending please use the QR code or website link below.
