Page 18 - the SyI Quarterly 11

Know your Institute
Know your Institute

Andy Donaldson CSyP MSyI, Head of Security for REM and Co-Chair of the SyI Counter Terrorism
Special Interest Group, spoke with authority about understanding the terrorist threat, and protecting
complex crowded places environments (Publicly Accessible Locations). Andy was able to use his
Counter-Terrorism: Lessons Learned current workplace at the Shard as an example of this type of environment.
I, David BaMaung CSyP FSyI, Director of Able Security Consultants, then spoke about lessons that
have been learned from the Manchester Arena Inquiry, based on the publication of Volume 1 of the
Public Inquiry report, the challenge of Grey Space, and the potential links and implications to the long
awaited Protect Duty.
Conference held in Glasgow Colin Montgomery was the next speaker and he talked about the challenges of protecting the
public within the Higher Education sector. He also discussed the concept of a Protective Security
Management System, and how he had used this approach as Head of Security for Strathclyde
University.

The importance of partnership working was one of the key themes that ran through the conference
and a joint presentation was given by Russel Kerr MSyI, Managing Director of SecuriGroup, and Emma
Sellar, their Communications Manager, who talked about their role within Cross-sector Safety and
Security Communications (CSSC) within Scotland.
Dr. David BaMaung is a Fellow of the Security Institute CSSC Scotland is a multi-agency body involving both the public and private sector, which played a
and Chartered Security Professional. He has 39 years’ key role during the COP26 event in Glasgow in 2021. It ensured that critical security messages were
experience in law enforcement, and has worked in the disseminated to the wider Scottish businesses and community timeously and effectively. This was
private sector for several years. In 2020 he served as a partly achieved through breakfast briefing delivered by the police and managed by SecuriGroup on
security expert to the Manchester Arena Public Inquiry. behalf of CSSC.
Here he tells us of the recent success of the Security
Institute’s latest event held in Glasgow. The final speaker was Angela Vernon-Lawson CSyP FSyI, COO and Acting CEO of the Security Institute,

“Glasgow is no stranger to terrorism. On 30 June 2007, who talked about the future of the Institute and what it was providing and planning to provide to its
membership.
a terrorist drove a Jeep Cherokee filled with propane
canisters at the glass terminal doors of Glasgow Airport, After an excellent event, delegates were treated to a finger buffet and drinks reception courtesy of
setting the vehicle and part of the building on fire. SecuriGroup. Hopefully this will be the first of several events to be held in Scotland in the future.
Fortunately, no members of the public were killed in the
attack. Special thanks to Becky Bills, Martina Greatrex and Dominic Chandler MSyI from the SyI and Emma

It was therefore fitting that the first Security Institute Sellar and Susanne Parker of SecuriGroup for all their hard work in organising the event.”
event in Scotland for several years, was held in Glasgow
on the 8th June this year. The topic of the conference
was lessons that have been learned from terrorist
attacks in the past, and how these lessons can be used
to protect us all in the future.
The event stemmed from a chance conversation with
the then CEO of the Security Institute last year, that
there was a need to host a members’ event in Scotland.
From this discussion, an events team was set up
involving the Institute staff, and we managed to
persuade an ex-colleague and friend, Allan Burnett to
join the team. Allan is a Fellow of the Security Institute
and Strategy Director of SecuriGroup who kindly agreed
to sponsor the event. This allowed it to be offered free
to members, and future members of the Institute.
Baroness Ruth Henig CSyI, President of the Security
Institute and Chair of SecuriGroup, chaired the event
on the day and had many challenging questions for the
speakers at the question and answer session. The event
was opened by Sir Iain Livingstone, Chief Constable
of Police Scotland who provided the audience with a
Scottish perspective of policing. Unfortunately, Sir Iain’s
presentation was temporarily interrupted when the
venue had to be evacuated due to a suspicious vehicle
parked nearby!

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