Police avert car bomb carnage

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Title – Police avert car bomb carnage
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 29th June 2007

Terrorist attacks have plagued major cities across the UK for decades, the IRA carried out many successful attacks throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s until the ceasefire was finally agreed. Since then there have been several devastating successful attacks and many more failed attacks on the UK’s infrastructure carried out by groups with a suspected links to 'al-Qaeda'.

Many of the IRA’s attacks were directed at areas where the public gathered as well as high profile locations many of which were given verbal warnings prior to the explosions, but there were also attacks without warning that killed and maimed many victims. Suspected 'al-Qaeda' linked attacks seem to take a much more random approach; the targets tend also to be high profile locations but it is conceivable that they consider any target in the UK to be legitimate, areas that are packed with members of the public, targets that will cause the most disruption, targets that will cause the most casualties and devastating injuries and above all targets that will induce fear in as many members of the public and the government as possible; warnings are not given before explosives are detonated.

For people working in the licensed retail sector, transport and high profile tourist areas, this means that the thirty years worrying when the next wave of IRA attacks was going to take place may finally be over, but the stress that accompanies the threat of attacks is back and now they have a new threat to deal with.

In June 2007 the staff and customers at Tiger Tiger in central London had a remarkable escape from what could have been a devastating attack planned for outside their front door, at a time the premises was packed with customers enjoying a night out. Thanks to the vigilance of an ambulance crew who noticed the fumes coming from a vehicle and alerted the authorities, an explosion and certain mass casualties was averted. The emergency services, who acted promptly and decisively at great risk to themselves to make the car bomb safe and evacuate the area, also deserve much credit.

Door Supervisors are once again in the front line of these latest attacks as licensed premises once again become a favoured target for terrorist. Their role in the safety of customers and members of the public is once again paramount and the serious nature of the threat anywhere in the country should not be underestimated. Equally any premises where the public congregate in any numbers under this more random target selection, should be taking measures to reduce the risk to their staff and customers. There is the potential that the more plots the police, emergency services and the public thwart, the softer the target the terrorist will look for; so everyone must remain alert no matter where they work.
Beyond The Blue runs the National Certificate for Door Supervisors course (NCDS) that will qualify successful candidates to works as door supervisors or security guards once they successfully apply for the SIA Door Supervisors Licence. We also run In-house Security Induction Training (IHSI) directed at specific venues usually based on a Consultancy project to develop and reorganise a clients security systems. These courses will examine the role staff play in prevention of any attack, as well as emergency evacuation responses in the case of any threat.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Second man held over warden funeral attack

Title – Second man held over warden funeral attack
Source – London Lite
Date – 28th June 2007

Fortunately attacks of this ferocity are rare, but they are certainly not unheard of and cause constant fear and stress, to those employees placed by their work in these environments, on a daily basis.

Certain jobs in society at large are essential to all of us even if we don’t know it or always appreciate it; the police, fire brigade and ambulance service all seem obvious choices as heroes within our society. They all fight to protect us, our friends and family and our way of life, yet they are all subject to regular violence both verbal and physical, some resulting in serious injury or worse.

So if they are our heroes and still face daily abuse and violence, who are our villains and what sort of dangers do they face because of societies label? Well for many people traffic wardens would fit this category perfectly. None of us really want a ticket or worse to have our vehicles towed when we mistakenly (or hoping that we’ll get away with it) park in the wrong place. But without them to maintain our highways we would simply stop moving in our big cities like London. Chaos would ensue, stress levels would rise and even more aggression and violence would manifest itself on the roads.

However everyone would agree that no matter what the provocation or the situation (which has yet to be clarified) there can be no justification for such a viscous attack, but unfortunately most of us also realise that there are people in society capable of this kind of act.

Employers have a responsibility towards their staff; they have to ensure that staff are trained to a suitable level and are clear of what is expected of them. Staff also have a responsibility and that is to follow this training and not put themselves, their colleagues or members of the general public in any kind of risk during the course of their duties.

We run Conflict Management and Resolution courses (CMR) specifically tailored for our clients. We concentrate on the skills required to work safely in the specific environment in which your employees are working. This is done through extensive research and planning prior to any course being run. We also run Physical Intervention Courses (PI) for any employee who finds themselves in high risk environments, so that they can defend themselves against physical attack and remove themselves from that situation successfully.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Man killed for bump on Dance Floor

Title – Man killed for bump on Dance Floor
Source – The London News
Date – 24th July 2007

The potential consequences of actions that take place in every club, every night across the country are sometimes taken for granted. An action as simple as a bump on the dance floor can escalate very quickly into an uncontrolled situation that can result in serious injury or in this sad case, the death of a customer.

There is not always the time for staff to react to these situations and resolve them and there is no indication, on this occasion, of action that was taken by the staff, but there is no doubt that training is the first step to providing a safer environment.

The important issues to consider are not just the statutory requirements such as the Door Supervisors License, but additional training, mentoring and positive and constructive management that encourages good communication and professionalism. Training to consider, beyond the statutory requirements, could include In-House Security Induction (IHSI), First Aid, Fire Safety (FS) and Physical Intervention Training (PI), amongst others.

But beyond the need for training, is a cohesive approach to running a venue. Training needs to be carried out across the different staff groups working and not restricted to specifically tasked individuals. The days of bar staff filling the customers with alcohol and doormen throwing them out has gone and staff from the cloakroom to the management need to be singing from the same sheet. This ensures that there is communication between bar staff, ticket issuing staff, cloakroom staff, toilet attendants, door supervisors, first aiders, cleaners, glass collectors and the management. Providing training such as Conflict Management & Resolution (CMR) to a wider group of staff provides more staff with the skills to recognise, deescalate and resolve conflict before it gets out of hand and results in aggression and violence.

We provide training in many areas to help those working in the licensed retail sector and beyond, to provide a professional approach to the venues in which they work. Tragedies like the death of Lee Cook must be a reminder to all those people working in the industry that customers expect those working to be professional, well trained and attentive, in order to maintain a safe environment for them to socialise in.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk