Key Issues in Crisis Response

Introduction

The ever evolving face of terrorism makes it very difficult for law enforcement to keep up with the rapidly changing threats posed by terrorist groups: from the hijacking and hostage-taking incidents of the 1970s – 1990s to the multiple and frequent bombings, shootings and Fedayeen style attacks since 2001. As the graphic below shows, numerous tactics have been used by terrorist groups over the years; making it all the more important that authorities are ready and able to respond to an extremely wide range of incident and scenarios.

With the emergence of Islamic State (IS) in the last few years and the increase of so called “lone-wolf” individuals or groups supporting IS, the threat has increased significantly and it has become harder for law enforcement to anticipate and interdict their activities, particularly as many of the perpetrators are now home-grown radicalized IS sympathizers.

The Global Terrorism Index Report for 2015 prepared by the Institute of Economics and Peace notes that “lone-wolf” terrorist attacks account for 70% of all terrorist-related deaths in the west since 2006. The prevalence of attacks on civilian targets has also made it very difficult for authorities to respond without unduly affecting the rights and freedoms of the general population.

It has therefore become more important than ever for authorities to have an effective and comprehensive approach to maintaining public safety and security. By adopting the “2-Ps and 2-Rs” (Prevention, Preparation, Response and Recovery), authorities can develop and implement a systematic approach that will help them better prepare and respond to the escalating terrorist threat around the world.

This article will therefore consider how the authorities can better enhance their prevention, preparation, response and recovery measures needed both from a public as well as private sector perspective.

Peter R. Morgan is the Director of Crisis Avert Ltd and spent over 33 years in law enforcement. He was closely involved in CT-response as Commander of the Police Crisis Negotiation Unit for 12 years, responsible for counter-terrorist incidents, public order negotiations, serious criminal and domestic crisis incidents as well as suicide intervention and barricaded situations. He is also the author of “Critical Issues in Crisis Negotiations”, available on Amazon. This article is adapted from a presentation given at the Asia Emergency Management Conference in May 2016. For more information, please contact Peter at prmorgan@crisisavert.com or visit www.CrisisAvert.com.