New laws are being implemented to help keep people safe in the event of a terrorist attack. Martyn’s Law is a proposed piece of legislation that aims to improve public safety and prevent terrorism by requiring venues and public spaces to put in place effective security measures. Protect Duty, to be known as Martyn’s Law, will scale up preparedness for, and protection from, terrorist attacks. The name Martyn’s Law is a tribute to 29-year-old Martyn Hett, who was killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017.

There have been 14 terror attacks in the UK since then. The plans have been developed following public consultation and extensive engagement across industry, charities, local authorities, security experts and survivors – as well as Martyn’s mother Figen Murray and the Martyn’s Law Campaign Team, and Survivors Against Terror – to draw up the new legislation.¹ Seventy per cent of the thousands who responded to the consultation agreed that those responsible for publicly accessible locations should take measures to protect the public from potential attacks. If the draft legislation due this spring is passed, Martyn’s Law will require venues to take steps to improve public safety. Premises will fall under the scope of Martyn’s Law where ‘qualifying activities’ take place – which includes locations for entertainment and leisure, retail, food and drink, museums and galleries, sports grounds, public areas of local and central Government buildings, visitor attractions, places of worship, health, and education.

There are five requirements to Martyn’s Law: that spaces and places to which the public have access engage with freely available counter-terrorism advice and training; places must conduct vulnerability assessments; they must mitigate the risks created by the vulnerabilities; they must have a terrorism plan; local authorities must plan for the threat of terrorism.² Steps to be taken depend on the size of the venue and the activity taking place. Martyn’s Law will follow a tiered model linked to activity that takes place at a location and its capacity aimed to prevent undue burden on businesses. A standard tier will apply to locations with a maximum capacity of more than 100 which can undertake low-cost, simple – yet effective – activities to improve preparedness.

This will include training, information sharing and completion of a preparedness plan to embed practices such as locking doors to delay attackers’ progress, or knowledge on life-saving treatments that can be administered by staff whilst waiting for emergency services. An enhanced tier will focus on locations with a capacity of more than 800 people. High-capacity locations will also be required to undertake a risk assessment to inform the development and implementation of a thorough security plan. Subsequent measures could include developing a vigilance and security culture, implementation of physical measures like CCTV, and processes to enable better consideration of security. The government will establish an inspection and enforcement regime, promoting compliance and positive cultural change and issuing credible and fair sanctions for serious breaches.

Support, guidance and training will help embed best practice and drive up standards across the UK. With 205 years of experience delivering fire safety and security solutions designed to help businesses protect their most valued assets, Chubb understands the challenges employers face in keeping their people safe. Chubb’s SafeZone app, launched in the UK in 2022, is an innovative cloud-based safety and security app which can raise alerts and communicate critical information in the event of a terrorist incident.

The app provides real-time co-ordination and response, wearable tech and mass communication of emergency messaging – such as flagging up threats, how to mitigate a potential threatening situation and information about how to escape. Users – for example people on a campus, healthcare facility or building site – can tap ‘first aid’ if in need of medical assistance, tap ‘emergency’ if they feel threatened or in need of urgent assistance or tap ‘help’ for general help and information. When any alert is raised, the user’s location is shared with the operators at Chubb’s 24/7/365 remote monitoring centre.

The operators can then connect directly to emergency services to provide the most appropriate assistance – allowing for a faster response time and potentially saving lives. Safety alerts can also be sent directly to a device, with the notifications tailored to the user’s location and respecting the phone’s volume settings. If it’s not possible to speak, a chat facility can communicate information and flag up the user’s geographical location. This can help to ensure that emergency resources are directed to areas where they are needed most.

The app also includes a check-in feature that allows lone workers to let others know they are safe and accounted for, which would ease the concerns of loved ones and reduce the workload for emergency services. Lone working is defined by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) as work carried out by people who work by themselves without close or direct supervision. The app can send an alert as an encoded SMS if there is no Wi-Fi or mobile data. If the user in a different part of town, or even travelling abroad, the app can flag up any important safety and security alerts to help keep the user safe. 

Sources

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/martyns-law-to-ensure-stronger-protections-against-terrorism-in-public-places
2. Martyn’s Law Factsheet  – Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk)