2019 was the year that Project Servator – the cutting-edge policing tactic developed by the City of London Police – went international.

In September, New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF), in Australia, adopted the tactic, which aims to disrupt the information-gathering criminals need to do to help them plan and carry out a range of criminal activity, including terrorism.

NSWPF became the first police force outside UK policing to adopt Project Servator following a successful trial in Sydney city centre earlier in the year. During the four-month trial, Project Servator officers detected various offences, including breaches of Apprehended Violence Orders (orders made to protect victims of domestic violence when they are fearful of future violence or threats), possession of prohibited weapons, knives, and drugs in public places and transport-related offences.

The number of UK police forces adopting Project Servator has continued to grow, with new trials of the tactics under way in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Norfolk, Devon and Cornwall, and Northern Ireland. There are now 22 UK police forces involved in Project Servator.

The approach also continues to disrupt criminal activity in and around airports, with over half of the UK’s major airports working with law enforcement colleagues to enhance existing security measures.

A vital part of Project Servator is encouraging members of the public to be the police’s eyes and ears and report anything that doesn’t feel right. This year, Project Servator officers carrying out highly visible yet unpredictable deployments across the UK spoke with more than 150,000 people to encourage them to be part of the collective effort to keep people safe. Alongside this, businesses have pledged their support and signed up for extra training to provide their staff with the knowledge they need to help keep their sites and communities safe.

Looking ahead to 2020, Project Servator is expected to continue to expand across UK policing and possibly further afield, with a number of overseas police forces expressing interest. Following a busy summer there will continue to be a focus on using Project Servator to enhance security at crowded places and major events. Specially trained officers were deployed at a number of events, including D-Day 75 commemorations; Edinburgh Festivals; Tour de Yorkshire; Open golf championship at Portrush; Netball World Cup in Liverpool; Gibraltar 2019 Natwest International Island Games; Royal Highland Show; Wimbledon and Queen’s Club tennis championships; and many Pride events and music festivals and concerts.

Find out more about Project Servator at www.cityoflondon.police.uk

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Designed to disrupt hostile reconnaissance – the planning individuals need to do to carry out a terror attack or other criminal activity – Project Servator was first used across the Square Mile by the City of London Police in February 2014.

In that time, the force’s Project Servator officers have gathered hundreds of pieces of intelligence related to potential hostile reconnaissance, terrorist activity and serious and organised crime.

Their deployments are highly visible and made up of a range of police resources, including uniformed and plain clothes officers, police dogs and horses, and firearms officers. They are supported by state-of-the-art CCTV monitored in real time and other less visible security measures. The deployments are planned based on intelligence, but are designed to be unpredictable and can turn up anywhere at any time.

Business and community support

Businesses and organisations across the Square Mile have supported the approach, with their security teams and staff playing a vital role as the police’s extra eyes and ears, remaining vigilant for activity that seems unusual or out of place in their day-to-day lives and reporting it to police. Numerous security officers have been trained in how to identify hostile reconnaissance and deploy together with police.

Officers have also spoken to thousands of members of the public to encourage them to be vigilant, and used social media and advertising campaigns to raise awareness of how the public can help keep everyone safe.

Although Project Servator is primarily a counter terrorism measure, it has the added benefit of disrupting a range of other crimes.

Officers have made almost 650 arrests for a variety of offences, including firearms and weapons possession, drug dealing and possession, theft, fraud, money laundering and immigration offences.

Specially trained officers

Using their specialist training, which enables them to pick up on tell-tale signs that an individual may have criminal intent, they have also apprehended a number of individuals wanted on warrant. Almost two thirds of the searches they carry out have a positive outcome, compared with the national average of 17%, which indicates that their specialist skills are being used effectively.

As part of searches carried out during deployments, and as a result of further inquiries following arrests, they have seized £25,000 in cash, over 1,700 wraps of illegal drugs and seized 280 vehicles from suspected criminals.

In one instance, a driver was stopped at a Project Servator vehicle checkpoint and a search of his car by a police dog discovered Class A drugs. A search of the man’s address recovered a stun gun disguised as a torch. During another deployment, an individual was found with drugs, cash and fraudulent documents. Following his arrest, an address was searched and ammunition discovered.

Network of vigilance

Supt Helen Isaac, who oversees Project Servator at the City of London Police, said: “When we pioneered Project Servator five years ago, we knew from our research and testing with the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure that it would be successful, but we could never have predicted what an impact it would have across the Square Mile.

“Whilst it’s difficult to know how many terrorist plots Project Servator has helped to disrupt, we know from tests carried out by specialist teams that we are making it very difficult for criminals to gather the information they need to carry out their plans successfully.

“What’s also pleasing is that the approach has been used across London, including on the transport network, since April 2018 and more and more police forces are adopting Project Servator.

“We are grateful to every organisation and individual that has supported Project Servator, by creating a network of vigilance and acting as our extra eyes and ears. You are playing a pivotal role in making life very difficult for terrorists and other criminals. We believe that together, we’ve got it covered.”

Project Servator is being used by a total of 16 police forces, with more to follow in 2019.

Find out more counterterrorism.police.uk/servator or search #ProjectServator on social media.

See also:

Previous  articles in our Project Servator category.

Project Servator takes off at airports

Project Servator – the power of Partnership

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Passengers and staff at airports across the UK are playing a key role in Project Servator – the policing tactic used to deter, detect and disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism.

Police forces are encouraging them to be their eyes and ears, and report anything that seems unusual or doesn’t feel right. This approach to Project Servator at Airports includes people working in shops and businesses, such as car hire firms, hotels and transport operators, airline and airport staff and aviation enthusiasts.

At the same time, officers are carrying out unpredictable deployments across airports, including terminal buildings, cargo, baggage handling, offices, car parks, perimeter fences, transport hubs and surrounding businesses. The deployments of Project Servator at airports involve officers specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs of criminal intent, including hostile reconnaissance, and a range of other police resources and less visible measures.

Together, and with the support of airport operators and airlines, they are creating a network of vigilance that makes it difficult for terrorists and other criminals to operate effectively.

The collaborative effort is paying off, with reports of suspicious activity going up and criminals being detected, including people wanted on arrest warrants. Airport users are reporting that they are feeling reassured by the police activity and would be more willing to report anything that doesn’t feel right.

Find out more about Project Servator at www.counterterrorism.police.uk/servator

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Project Servator sees police, partners, businesses and the public working together to create a network of vigilance that makes it difficult for criminals and terrorists to operate successfully.

Project Servator at intu Lakeside

One of the strongest examples of this collaborative approach to policing is at intu Lakeside, in Essex, where Project Servator has been operating since July 2016.

With over 20 million visitors a year and 1.44m square feet of retail, catering and leisure space, it is one of the UK’s largest and most popular retail destinations and a top priority for Essex Police when protecting crowded places across the county.

As part of Project Servator, highly visible yet unpredictable police deployments are carried out at the centre. These are designed to deter, detect and disrupt criminal activity whilst providing a reassuring presence for people who work and visit there.

The deployments involve both uniformed and plain-clothed officers, who are specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that someone may have criminal intent. They are supported by other resources, such as armed officers, police dogs, vehicle checkpoints, intu Lakeside’s highly trained security teams and network of state-of-the-art CCTV cameras, and hundreds of retailers.

Together, we’ve got it covered

Insp Sharn Taylor, who leads Project Servator at intu Lakeside for Essex Police, said, “Project Servator’s tagline is “Together, we’ve got it covered” because working with our partners and the community is a vital part of making it a success. At intu Lakeside that really is the case. We work as one team to make sure that customers are safe and secure and that anyone looking to commit crime or cause harm feels very uncomfortable and is unable to do so.

‘Project Servator deployments are unpredictable, which means they can happen at any time and anywhere. And when we’re not carrying out a deployment, we know that, because of the positive relationships we have built, we have hundreds if not thousands of extra eyes and ears looking out for anything that doesn’t feel right – from the centre’s security team to retailers and members of the public who we’ve encouraged to be part of  Project Servator.’

Customer focused strategy

Group head of security for intu, Ian Pugh, is responsible for the security strategy across all of intu’s twenty shopping centres, including three in Spain. He has developed close working relationships with the security services and police at a national and local level and sees Project Servator as an important part of intu’s customer-focused security strategy.

Ian said, “We employ our own security officers and they all put the customer first. They will engage with people as soon as they can – if a customer asks for directions, they won’t just point out where to go; they will take them there.

‘This is completely aligned with the Project Servator approach, where engaging with people is so important. It’s important in reassuring the public and making them feel safe and secure, but also because being engaged by a security officer is the last thing someone with criminal intent wants, so this acts as a huge deterrent.

‘Across all our centres, you will find security teams who are engaged, vigilant, alert and customer focused, working with the police. This is one of the reasons our customers tell us they feel safe and secure.

‘We have a permanent police team at intu Lakeside. They share briefings and intelligence with the security manager, and are an integral part of the team here at the centre. Together, they link in with the Project Servator teams, so that when a deployment happens, the whole team operates as one.

‘In today’s environment and with the security challenges we all face, anything that shows us working in partnership with the police can only be a benefit. I work closely with the heads of security for all of our major retailers and they tell me they like to see the police in the centre. The Project Servator deployments are great because we have smiling customers engaging with the police and our security teams. It aligns incredibly well with our model of ensuring we create a customer-friendly environment.’

Step change

Following terror attacks at home and abroad over the last few years, visitors to the centre will regularly see Essex Police’s armed police officers on patrol. How have customers reacted to this?

Ian said, “It has been a big change to see this type of deployment in a location like ours. If you’d said two and a half years ago that there would be firearms officers on patrol, not many people would have been in agreement with that. But because of the approach we have taken collaboratively with both the police and the public, the response has been very positive. They tell us that they are reassured by it.’

For Insp Taylor, the power of Project Servator really is in the partnership. She said, ‘I’ve been a police officer for twenty years and I’ve noticed that this approach is not only giving our officers new skills, but enabling us to build really positive relationships with all sorts of partners. Importantly, it’s opening up lines of communication with the people we serve. They’re more open to talking to us and telling us about things that don’t seem right or they know are happening locally. This can only benefit everyone, except criminals.’

Find out more about Project Servator.

www.essex.police.uk/about-us/project-servator

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Without the information that terrorists gather during hostile reconnaissance, it is very difficult for a hostile attack to go ahead. Disrupting this activity is therefore a critical part of any counter terror measures.

Project Servator is the police initiative to thwart hostile reconnaissance. Developed jointly by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and City of London Police, it uses the latest research and understanding of hostile reconnaissance methods plus many years of policing experience in making an area as unattractive as possible for the would-be terrorist or criminal.

One of the key contributions to its success has been the involvement of the security industry and the public. This close partnership continues with many opportunities now and in the future for everyone to get involved.

Since its inception in 2014 in the City of London, Project Servator has achieved much success there: officers have carried out nearly 1,000 searches with a 64% positive success rate. The highest number of arrests have been for drug dealing and other offences detected include robbery, international arrest warrants, various offensive weapons and bladed articles, fraud, theft and firearms.

Project Servator is made up of a number of elements; the most noticeable involves unpredictable, highly visible police deployments. Project Servator teams turn up unannounced at various locations to carry out deployments. They could happen at any time, last for different amounts of time and involve varying numbers of officers and assets.

Supporting these deployments, businesses, security guards and retailers play a vital role

Following a powerful training session, security staff understand how to spot and report suspicious activity. Additionally, the training instils confidence in individuals to engage, emphasising how “the power of hello” can have a massive impact on disrupting hostile reconnaissance.

Project Servator aims to bring people together to create one community in an area, with everyone, including police and security personnel, working as one to target harden their location. This constant drum beat of awareness and activity creates a very difficult environment to carry out hostile reconnaissance and crime.

Project Servator for all UK police forces

In 2018, the City of London Police has the task of supporting the national implementation of Project Servator. A number of police forces are already involved, including Police Scotland, who used Servator at the Commonwealth Games 2014, and British Transport Police, who introduced it on the UK’s rail network in December 2015. It is also used by a number of other UK police forces, including North Yorkshire Police, Essex Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Ministry of Defence Police. And now, due to the success of the trial, the Metropolitan Police has a number of teams operating across London.

The Project Servator National Delivery Team will be hosted in the City of London and led by Superintendent Helen Isaac. They will be responsible for the future development of the initiative including training delivery, governance, quality assurance and communications. The aim is for all forces to  deliver Project Servator in the most effective and consistent way. The team’s initial task is to coordinate a handover of governance from CPNI (who will continue to provide research and intelligence support).

QPM for Project Servator’s Matt Hone

Project Servator is a result of a unique partnership between CPNI and the City of London Police, which all began with PC Matt Hone suggesting the City as a pilot area for CPNI’s scientific research. His contribution was recently acknowledged with the award of the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM). Superintendent Helen Isaac, Head of the National Project Servator Delivery Team, says, “Matt has brought in a fundamental change in CT tactics with his enthusiastic, dedicated and passionate approach.”

Matt says, “I could not have done this alone. My background as a CTSA (Counter Terrorism Security Advisor, my exceptional CTSA colleagues with their in-depth understanding of business requirements, senior management that trust and support me and the Project Servator teams that make it happen every day have all contributed to the success of Project Servator.”

City of London Police Commissioner Ian Dyson said, “The effects of his work in disrupting the activity of not just terrorists, but also other criminals, have been clear to see in the City and have contributed to other forces across the UK using similar tactics with their own officers to keep the public safe.”

How can I get involved?

Visit your local police force website and look out for Project Servator deployments in an area near you. Speak to the officers and security guards involved. They are happy to share information with you.

Keep reading City Security magazine for news of other extensions and updates to Project Servator planned for later in 2018.

Andrea Berkoff

Editor, City Security magazine

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Police forces across the UK are continuing to adopt Project Servator – a policing tactic pioneered by the City of London Police and the Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and designed to deter, detect and disrupt a range of criminality, including terrorism.

In early April, it began operating across the entirety of London, including at London City and Heathrow Airports. This followed a successful pilot of two teams in the Metropolitan Police, which led to the force formally adopting the initiative and launching a number of additional teams.

The Met Police teams work in partnership with hundreds of colleagues from the City of London Police, British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police to carry out deployments across the capital, including busy areas such as shopping centres, tourist attractions and transport hubs.

Range of resources

Project Servator sees the deployment of both highly visible and covert police officers, supported by other resources such as dogs, horses, firearms officers, vehicle checkpoints, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and CCTV.

The deployments can happen anywhere and at any time and include police officers specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs of individuals who may have criminal intent.

Superintendent Nick Aldworth, head of the Met Police’s Project Servator teams, said, ‘Every day, Project Servator officers enlist the help of businesses, security staff, community groups and members of the public to be vigilant and make it even harder for criminals, including terrorists, to succeed.’

Greater Manchester Police became the ninth UK police force to adopt Project Servator, with a launch at Manchester Airport at the end of April.

Inspector Alan Kelly, who leads the policing team at the airport, said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for us to engage with passengers, visitors and staff using the airport and to work with them and our airport security partners to keep everyone safe and add another layer of security to our existing policing methods.’

The National Project Servator Team, funded by Counter Terrorism Policing and based at the City of London Police, is supporting several other UK police forces working towards formally adopting Project Servator this year.

Find out more about Project Servator.

www.cityoflondon.police.uk/community-policing/project-servator/Pages/Project-Servator.aspx

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Project Servator is the name for the tactic used by police to help deter a wide range of criminality, from pickpockets through to terrorism, whilst providing a reassuring presence to the public.

The whole premise is based around unpredictable, intelligence-led visible police deployments and utilises the skills of plain clothes, uniformed officers and specially trained officers.

I am the Security Manager at Paternoster Square in the City of London and my security officers work in partnership with the City of London to tackle all levels of criminality, including hostile reconnaissance.

Success

This tactic has been running across the City of London for several years and the figures speak for themselves. Between February 2014 and October 2016 the returns are 790 total searches, 483 positive stop searches and 443 arrests.

The project is successful because the officers are highly skilled and are supported by the full resources of the City of London Police. This includes police horses, dogs and firearms officers. The security team are also highly skilled and very customer service focussed. They use their communication skills when speaking with all users of the square. It is exactly this response which works to keep the environment free of incident and a  pleasure to work or visit. It is very much business as usual for us.

Deployments

What are you likely to see during a deployment? Firstly, police will arrive unannounced, based on intelligence–led policing. Sometimes the deployments involve a handful of officers and PCSOs, other times lots of officers and resources attend. The police deployments vary on each occasion and have a different look and feel. However, each time the emphasis is on interaction between the police, public and security officers.

The deployments are supported by the CCTV system which covers the entire estate. Police utilise the camera systems and staff to improve the effectiveness of the deployment. Using trained security officers and working together with the police allows us to keep everyone in the area safe. During deployments, my team liaise and patrol together with the police sharing intelligence and learning. I have seen great improvements in the confidence and communication skills of my team over the last year, which is due in part to these patrols and other on-site training opportunities.

When we are working together with the police, it reinforces the message that the City is not an easy target and those intent on criminal activity are not welcome, whilst also allaying any undue concerns of the public. It is nice to hear that our joint partnership is having such a positive effect. Project Servator is currently being rolled out by police forces across this and other countries around the world.

Matthew Hollick

Security Manager, Axis Security

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‘We love rush hour. It gives us 300,000 extra pairs of eyes’

That’s the message from British Transport Police (BTP), which is using innovative tactics, labelled Project Servator, to deter, detect and disrupt crime on the rail network.

Project Servator deployments are highly visible police patrols designed to identify and prevent a range of criminal activity, from pickpocketing and theft to more serious crimes, including terrorism.

They involve both uniformed and plain-clothed officers trained to detect suspicious activity, supported by other resources, such as armed officers, police dogs, a network of CCTV cameras, and the thousands of rail and security staff and the community that BTP works alongside.

Officers work with rail and security staff and retailers based at railway stations to develop a network of vigilance. The aim is to empower them to support the police in keeping the railway safe and secure.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Alun Thomas said, “Working together to create a network of vigilance is the key to making Project Servator a success. Rail and security staff and people who work at stations are so crucial in the fight against crime because they are our eyes and ears on the network.

“They know their environment better than anybody, so they will know if something is out of place or doesn’t feel right.”

Important role

Rail staff and retailers also play an important role in helping to let the public know what is being done to make sure they get home safe, secure and on time every day. BTP officers carrying out Project Servator deployments also spend time talking to the travelling public. These officers inform and reassure the public about their activities and explain how they can help the police and become part of the network of vigilance, by reporting unattended items or suspicious behaviour.

Alongside this face-to-face engagement, BTP displays posters and leaflets in train stations and coffee bars and retailers at the stations, and audio announcements are made to help explain what they are doing.

The patrols were met with a positive response from members of the public who were surveyed during test deployments at Waterloo, Euston and Paddington stations in London in September 2015.

The research showed that the majority were reassured by Project Servator deployments and that they also appeared to be prepared to be part of a network of vigilance, with 64% and 66% saying they would be more likely to report unattended items and suspicious behaviour respectively.

Project Servator was first introduced by City of London Police, which adopted the collaborative community approach in early 2014, aimed at further protecting the City and reinforcing the existing “ring of steel”. It was also used during the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by Police Scotland and partners in the summer of 2014, to build on and complement the Games’ safety and security plans.

BTP has worked with both forces and their partners to carry out joint deployments covering railway stations and city centres and continues to do so.

Highly visible presence

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Alun Thomas explains what people can expect to see at stations “This could mean you see a highly visible presence of officers at your station more often.

“We will turn up unannounced to carry out patrols. They could happen at any time, last for different amounts of time and involve varying numbers of officers and resources. The key to deterring, detecting and disrupting crime on the network is making our deployments unpredictable.

“Don’t be surprised or alarmed if you see a Project Servator deployment being carried out at a station you are using. Our officers are there to keep you and the public safe.

“You can play a vital role by being vigilant when you are travelling on the network and reporting anything that doesn’t feel right – for example, an unattended item or someone acting suspiciously. Don’t leave it to someone else to report it.”

How you can help

People working in security roles in businesses operating near or around the railway can help make a real difference. As well as being vigilant and reporting anything suspicious, demonstrating a commitment to your security protocol, by ensuring sign-in processes are followed and security passes are displayed at all times for example, help to reinforce and promote a culture of vigilance around the network.

You can also help us to tell the public what Project Servator is all about. Providing information will help support our operations by reinforcing the message that the railway is not an easy target and those intent on carrying out criminal activity are not welcome, as well as also helping to address any concerns the public may have.

You can help by:

• Displaying a poster in the window of your business during our operations. Our police officers may ask you to do this while the operation is happening. These posters help to reassure the public and deter criminals.
• Explaining to customers and employees about the nature of Project Servator deployments: They will happen often and at unpredictable times. They can expect to see a highly visible presence, sometimes including police dogs and armed officers.
• Don’t be alarmed by the deployments – they are intended to keep the public safe.
• Report anything that doesn’t feel right: Tell a police officer or member of rail staff
• Call BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or the Anti Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321
• Text BTP on 61016
• Call 999 in an emergency

More information at www.btp.police.uk or search #projectservator on Twitter

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Sergeant Matt Timms takes up position in Liverpool Street Station in the City of London, having briefed the team for this afternoon’s Project Servator deployment.  Mounted officers make their way to the entrance by McDonald’s, while firearms officers and PCSOs walk through the station from Bishopsgate, attracting attention from the public and also from two men who are acting suspiciously. What isn’t obvious is the plain clothes officers also present in the area, who immediately notice their behaviour and decide they need to be stopped and engaged.

Subsequently, after talking to the men, the officers formed the grounds to stop and search the two men. Cocaine and two stolen mobile phones are found. A search of their home address is made and ten further phones are recovered, along with some cannabis.

Project Servator in London

Project Servator (Latin for observer or  watcher) has been business as usual in the City of London since its official launch in February 2014, with the innovative strategy and tactics proving highly successful in disrupting a wide range of crime. From the launch to the end of June this year, Project Servator has resulted in 238 arrests, 78 vehicle seizures and 103 cannabis warnings amongst other outcomes, including intelligence referrals. Servator officers have become increasingly skilled in their craft and this is reflected in their consistently impressive results.

Project Servator is the use of unpredictable, intelligence led, highly visible police deployments, involving a wide range of assets including specially trained officers, supported by community partnership, media and public relations to help disrupt hostile reconnaissance and wider criminality.

You may see dogs and horses one day, firearms officers and a police helicopter the next – a range of assets can be deployed at any number of locations across the Square Mile and at any time of the day or night.

You may also see the force’s distinctive red, white and black posters around key locations, including in local businesses, and the handbills given out by PCSOs and officers during deployments.

Project Servator was developed and piloted by City of London Police in an effort to disrupt would-be terrorists and other criminals researching targets in the Square Mile. It is now being used day and night in the City as an alternative to the previous tactic, which used officers stationed in the familiar entry point boxes. The officers are trained to detect subtle changes in behaviour in crowds and only those who attract the attention of the highly skilled Project Servator officers are stopped and engaged, and if then warranted, searched. The deployments are highly visible, but what the eye can’t see is the presence of plain clothes officers working with their uniformed colleagues.

High success rate

It has recently emerged that fewer than one in ten of stop searches in the UK resulted in an arrest, but Project Servator produces a much higher success rate, with 69 per cent of targeted searches resulting in arrest, caution or fixed-penalty notice. This exceptional detection rate is creating significant interest in Project Servator from other forces in the UK and even from overseas.

Having seen its success in the City of London, Police Scotland successfully embedded Project Servator during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in summer 2014, producing results consistent with those seen in the City. The British Transport Police have dedicated Project Servator officers deployed in transport hubs, at times combining forces with the City of London team for joint operations. The Metropolitan Police are now considering the use of Project Servator in Westminster, along with some other UK forces.

The City of London Police is seen as the lead force in this effective use of a strategically co-ordinated range of tools and techniques. This includes behavioural detection combined with the force’s considerable CCTV network and of course the 300,000 pairs of eyes and ears of our City of London residents, workers, visitors and businesses who they call upon to help keep the City safe and to report anything suspicious. And, as part of this effort, City of London Police officers have been out patrolling the City with private, SIA licensed security officers from City-based businesses.

Role of the community

The force’s close working relationship with the City community is of huge importance to the project, with businesses large and small keen to get involved with providing a literal ‘shop window’ for Servator messages and training their staff to be vigilant.

The force knows its community is behind them. A survey undertaken by YouGov in October 2014 showed that those who live or work in the City of London are more likely to report suspicious activity as a result of the increased terrorist threat (61%) than Londoners in general (50%), and an overwhelming 87% of people who live and work across London and in the City believe the public are important in fighting terrorism.

The force plans to increase the patrols carried out with security officers and further integrate the City of London community into the project.

If your business or group is interested in finding out more and becoming involved please contact: Temporary Superintendent Helen Isaac E: helen.isaac@city-of-london.pnn.police.uk

Anti-terrorist hotline 0800 789 321 For further information on Project Servator, and the City of London Police visit: www.cityoflondon.police.uk

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New tactics herald a change to Policing in The Square Mile

It’s a breezy February morning and traffic is making its way into the City across Tower Bridge in much the same way as it has done for many years.

People on their way to work, making deliveries, en route across London, or just to visiting one of the Capital’s most iconic landmarks alongside the historic Tower of London. This morning, however, something is very different and those crossing Tower Bridge – whether on foot or by car – are soon under no illusion that they’ve crossed a boundary into the City.

The City of London Police is out in force – highly visible, vigilant, professional but polite, engaging with members of the public to reassure and explain that this is “business as usual” and no cause for alarm. There’s definitely a sense of purpose, of teamwork and the officers are focussed as they go about their deployment on the bridge.

New tactics

This show of force is part of a new way of working using unique and cutting edge training for City of London Police staff, which is aimed at cutting crime, increasing community rapport, deterring would-be perpetrators of hostile reconnaissance and raising public confidence and reassurance.

It comprises the staging of spot operations designed to deter and raise concerns amongst criminals, along with the deployment of specially trained officers and CCTV to increase the likelihood of correctly detecting them.

Speaking of the new tactics, City of London Police Commander (Operations) Wayne Chance says, “We’re pioneering this new approach here in the City of London to complement our ongoing operational activity to protect the City. This uses all the resources at our disposal, from specialist plain clothes and uniform officers, through to dogs, horses, vehicles, CCTV and ANPR technology and other measures to deter, disrupt and detect a wide range of criminal activity and hostile reconnaissance. Our excellent relationships with City communities and businesses mean they’re fully engaged in helping us and being involved.”

The measures comprise a more visible presence coupled with supporting information and materials. The entry points into the City have been revamped and refreshed and the unpredictable nature of the tactics means that sometimes there will be relatively small deployments with just officers, and at other times much larger operations with a mix of cars, motorcyclists, dogs and other measures.

These new measures have been introduced following three years of intensive work and study, with the City of London Police being the force chosen to run the pilot scheme.  Following the successful pilot and further refinement, the tactics are now being launched under the project name of Project Servator.

Reassurance

It is really important that the public understand the nature of the operations and, crucially, feel reassured rather than alarmed.  Therefore, a pivotal part of Project Servator is communications. These support the operations by reinforcing the message that the City is not an easy target and those intent on criminal activity are not welcome, whilst also allaying any undue concerns the public may have.

Equally important is engagement with our community and this is an on-going process.

As part of that engagement, the force is seeking support from the community in a number of ways. Organisations are being asked to explain to their customers and employees about the nature of these operations, specifically that they are part of the force’s commitment to help protect the City and everyone who works, visits and lives here.

Members of the public are also urged to report anything suspicious either to an officer or by calling 101.

For more information on Project Servator and how you can help the force to keep the City safe, please visit www.cityoflondon.police.uk

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