CASE STUDY

MOCK TERRORIST ATTACK

Situation

The Police Authority planned a joint counter-terrorism exercise to enhance cross border co-operation in the fight against terror.

Task

Purvis Marquees were asked to provide event structures and ensure that the simulation would be as realistic as possible for everyone involved in the exercise.

Action

A small marquee was installed in the grounds of the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters and set up to simulate the public attending an event. The marquee was adapted with the effect that a truck had been driven through the side of the marquee with many serious casualties.

Result

A highly realistic terrorist attack on an event wich allowed counter-terrorism officers and emergency services to practice working together under pressure and with many casulties.

The SPA aims to increase public trust and confidence in the policing of Scotland in the way it carries out its functions and through the quality of its governance arrangements. The SPA’s Governance Framework sets out the values which we aim to follow in the public interest:

• fairness – acting in an independent way with integrity and free from bias, real or perceived;
• openness – acting in an open and transparent way, promoting and sharing good practice;
• accountability – being fully accountable for decisions it makes, the performance of its functions and how it uses public funds.

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The Police Authority planned a joint counter-terrorism exercise to enhance cross border co-operation in the fight against terror, named Exercise Border Reiver.

With a heightened threat level of a terrorist attack and the vulnerability of an event scenario the police authority needed to carry out a realistic exercise that would allow police and emergency agencies to cooperate in responding to an attack in the UK.

Purvis Marquees were asked to provide and adapt event structures in the ground of the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters to simulate a realistic attack on an event.

A small event structure was erected and then partially ‘demolished’ to look like a truck had been driven through the side and into guests attending the event. Torn roof sheets, walls and broken furniture all added to the realism. Other small pagoda marquees were erected as stands at an event.

The exercise was extremely realistic with police actors firing blank automatic rounds and smoke grenades being set off by responding armed police. Members of the public were drafted in to act as casualties with some horrific injuries. The terrorists were eventually holed up in one of the banks buildings where they were cleared room by room.

Purvis Marquee supported the exercise and were every proud to be a part of something so important to the safety and security of the UK.

CLIENT FEEDBACK

Large scale exercises like this one take many months of planning and have many interconnected moving parts. The use of appropriate buildings and venues, properly dressed, helps to bring reality to players and provide an environment into which they can become immersed. Your support over a number of days building and ‘demolishing’ the marquees you provided brought an unusual dimension to exercise play.

I also understand that your flexibility assisted greatly in enabling us to provide the platform we did to test issues of UK national importance. On top of which you made no charge to us which displays extraordinary public-spirited engagement and your part.

Again, on behalf of my team, thank you to you and your team for the exceptional support you provided.

Yours sincerely

Assistant Chief Constable