Published on:
17
March 2008
Clackmannanshire Council hosted an event for local businesses - Project ARGUS - on Wednesday 12th March at Dunmar House, Alloa.
The aim of the workshop was to increase awareness within the local business community of counter terrorism issues and to assist businesses to be better prepared to deal with the consequences of such an attack.
The event - which forms part of the national counter terrorism strategy - was facilitated by specially trained Counter Terrorism Security Advisor (CTSA) officers from within Central Scotland Police Crime Management Services. Using a multi media simulation, 30 representative's from local businesses explored ways to prevent, handle and recover from a terrorist attack.
The event highlighted the need for businesses, large and small, to ensure they have adequate plans in place, enabling them to respond to and recover from such any large-scale event where disruption to business continuity is experienced. Any emergency could be potentially devastating for businesses.
Support and advice is available to assist businesses with their planning and response procedures if required, from both the Central Scotland Police CTSA office and Clackmannanshire Council's Emergency Planning Unit.
Project ARGUS is part of the national counter terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST. This has four strands - Protect, Prepare, Prevent and Pursue. More information is available from the National Counter Terrorism Security Office at www.nactso.gov.uk
The tabletop exercise scenario is based upon experiences of individuals and organisations who have been involved in live incidents. A number of such events have taken place elsewhere throughout the UK and further sessions are planned elsewhere in Central Scotland.
Supt Andrew Price, Clackmannanshire Area Commander, said: "Whilst there is no intelligence which points to a threat to this specific area, it serves us well to be as informed and ready as we can be. Project Argus is a key part of ensuring a strong level of preparedness."
Richard O'Grady, Clackmannanshire's Emergency Planning Officer, stressed the importance for businesses to prepare and plan for the recovery from any potential disruption. He added: "Business Continuity planning provides a means of recovery of a business which has been affected by a crisis or business interruption and reduces the impact on employees, customers and the businesses reputation."