Our Senior National Coordinator for Protect and Prepare, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jon Savell, asks for your support during a busy summer of events.
Senior National Coordinator for Protect and Prepare, Jon Savell
The wall charts are filling up, the knockout stage is underway and Euro fever has well and truly taken a hold. For many, the last few weeks will have felt like the start of summer, even if the weather hasn’t always agreed.
With an estimated 500,000 football fans travelling from the UK to Germany and millions more watching at home, the Euro 2024 Championship is shaping up to be one of the key moments of the summer months. And not long after the winner’s name has been inscribed on the trophy in Berlin, the Olympic torch will be lit in Paris, marking the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
But it’s not just our European counterparts gearing up for a busy summer. Domestically, there’s a line-up of events, including music festivals, sporting spectacles and other celebrations that will attract thousands upon thousands of people from across the UK and beyond.
What’s the thread that runs through all of these events? It’s of course, you, the people. And when the public are involved, we in policing have a role to play to keep you safe.
From our colleagues in local police forces to our teams across the country in Counter Terrorism Policing, we’re all playing our part to ensure the safety and security of these memorable moments. But as always, we can’t do this alone. Your help is vital.
Unfortunately, we know that these events could be attractive targets for terrorist activity. The UK threat level remains at substantial, meaning an attack is likely. We only need to look at recent events in Europe to know that the threat is real. Closer to home, our operational activity continues, at significant levels, every hour of the day.
This is why we are collaborating with event organisers across the UK. We’re calling on them to support our summer campaign, which encourages you to trust your instincts and report anything that doesn’t feel right to security or the police.
Our research tells us that the public agrees they have a role to play in defeating terrorism. With the help of event organisers and venues we can equip people with the information they need to report their concerns. There are numerous examples where public reports have instigated or helped terrorism investigations. When it comes to keeping people safe, one person and one report can make all the difference.
Credit: M Media Group
From fan zones to festivals, stadiums to city centres, we want you to see our campaign. If you are an event organiser, venue owner or have channels where you can share messages with the public, if you think you can help, visit ProtectUK and download our digital toolkit.
We have been working at pace, on numerous fronts, for a while now and we expect this tempo to continue right through the summer. With over 800 live investigations being undertaken, I can assure you we are working night and day – alongside our partners in the intelligence community – to detect and disrupt terrorist activity.
As you would expect, this will continue over summer. Whether it’s supporting our European colleagues with the security of global events, or closer to home helping to ensure the big moments of the summer are delivered safely, we will be there. Sometimes you will see us and other times, we will be less visible, but our priority will always be keeping you from harm.
Together, we can help to keep people safe this summer.