Pubs and clubs join fight against terrorism
The Federal Government’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism has to involve pubs and clubs.
For a very good reason.
They are public spaces and the strategy involves providing businesses with advice on protecting Australians in those spaces from terrorism.
The aim is to give owners and operators of those spaces greater training in defending against attack and ensuring they are protecting the lives of people working in, using and visiting those spaces.
In effect, the strategy aims to make those spaces more resilient to terrorism.
According to the Federal Government, these are spaces that are accessible to large numbers of people who come there on a predictable basis.
“Crowded places include, but are not limited to, sports stadia, transport infrastructure, shopping centres, pubs, clubs, hotels, places of worship, tourist attractions, movie theatres, and civic spaces. Crowded places do not have to be buildings and can include open spaces such as parks and pedestrian malls,” the Federal Government says.
“Owners and operators of crowded places have the primary responsibility for protecting their sites, including a duty of care to take steps to protect people that work, use, or visit their site from a range of foreseeable threats, including terrorism.”
The plan is to create a Crowded Places Partnership.
This will give owners and operators access to better information about threat and protective security.
It will also see police in each state and territory introducing “Crowded Places Forums”
These forums will enable them to share information and advice with owners and operators.
“By accessing this information, owners and operators will be in a better position to protect their crowded places against terrorism,” the government says.
“Protective security measures can be used to deter, detect, delay, respond to, and recover from a terrorist attack. Implementing them can be a complex process which, if done incorrectly, can be costly and ineffective.
“This Strategy includes a suite of supplementary materials that will assist owners and operators to understand and implement protective security measures.”
by Leon Gettler, August 21st 2017
