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Clearly over the last few months the Protect Duty consultation has been conducted and our own
Counter Terrorism Special Interest Group (CT SIG), co-chaired by Steve McGrath MSyI and Andy
Donaldson MSyI with some 269 members haven taken a leading role in membership engagement.
This has of course included other SIGs with aligned interests such as the Built Environment SIG
(BESIG) making a valuable contribution. I want to thank Steve and Andy for their work and Jonathan
Schulten FSyI who has been the Board of Directors lead on the issue and making the submission on
our behalf.

Of course, we have also recently seen Volume 1 from the Manchester inquiry published with a close
look at the Manchester Arena security, four years since the attack. The report makes numerous
recommendations which know doubt will form a significant contribution to the Protect Duty
consultation, not least of which is support for Martyn’s Law, which the Security Institute also supports.
As the report highlights, we must ‘guard against complacency’ and pay greater attention to the threat
level, even over extended periods of alert. I will not dwell on the report or the recommendations here,
I am sure we will all reflect upon them and consider what it means for us as security professionals
and the work we undertake. As we slowly emerge from lockdown restrictions and see the a gradual
reoccupation and return to the office with the potential for a hybrid way of working we must remain
alert to the risks we still face.

Whilst changes to the SIA licence have seen the introduction of first aid as a mandatory subject for
new and relicensing frontline security officers, I was recently introduced to a relatively new ‘not for
profit’ organisation called ‘RAPAID’ which has introduced an ‘emergency bandage’ which can be used
by even untrained individuals prior to the arrival of the Ambulance service. Their aim is to:

“Our mission is to save lives by prepositioning easy-to-find, simple-to-use, life-saving emergency
bandages across the public space throughout the UK, enabling members of the public to stop blood
loss in the crucial minutes after knife crime, terrorist attack, or accident.”
As an example, these ‘emergency bandages’ are carried in all Manchester Black Cabs (easily
identifiable to members of public) and in venues like the British Museum to bolster their duty of care
and are integrated into the security protocol. Wouldn’t it be great to see such devices more widely
carried and available in more high streets, shops and venue’s highlighted with the sticker, it’s here and
available for use?

Lastly, this edition has several articles providing updates on the relaunch of the Young Members
Group (YMG), the launch of our Frontline Operators SIG and our Protest and Activism SIG which I have
no doubt will prove to be popular. There are also articles from our Security Education and Training
Standards (SEATS) SIG and an update on the UK Cyber Security Council.

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