The challenge faced in countering terrorism is most effectively managed when planning, event management, incident response safety, security, and service are reviewed together.

Event organisers have an obligation under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to provide a safe place for their employees to work, and for the visitors to their attractions and events.

Consideration of the risk posed by terrorists must form part of the considerations under this act. It is essential, for corporate governance, to ensure that all threats have been considered, and appropriate measures implemented to manage the exposure to risk. It must be recognised and understood that assessing general event risk is different to assessing security risk. It is essential that the person carrying out this task is competent.

When developing a proportionate plan for an event, it is essential to understand the principles of protective security. The measures should cover the deterring, detecting, delaying, mitigating and responding to an attack. It is not always appropriate to consider all of these aspects, but an understanding of how these work together is essential.

Deter involves discouraging adversaries from conducting an attack by making each element appear too physically or technically difficult to achieve. An example of this could be highly visible security patrols around the outside of the event.

Detect involves being alert to potential attack behaviours at every stage, from planning and reconnaissance to deployment. The deployment of behavioural detection operatives or encouraging staff to be aware of hostile reconnaissance behaviour are examples of detection methods.

Delay involves implementing measures that increase the time it takes for attackers to get to the location of vulnerability once the attack starts. This could be ensuring that the right type of perimeter fencing is used to ensure it is harder to penetrate.

Mitigate involves the use of measures to minimise the impact of an attack. The use of a hostile vehicle mitigation system to prevent vehicular access and provide appropriate stand-off is an example of this.

Respond involves ensuring that measures are in place to respond to an incident. This is crucial in ensuring that harm is kept to a minimum. Appropriate training of response staff and a credible response plan are key to ensuring that any incident is dealt with professionally.