Met police firearms

[Techie1 + 2,024]

Former chief superintendent calls for routine arming of all officers as a greater priority.

The newly installed barriers at Westminster Bridge on Monday morning. Photo: Press Association

Barriers have appeared on bridges at the request of police following the second vehicle attack on one of the London landmarks this year.

But there are differing views on how much safer this makes the public.

Manufacturers claim they can reduce the number of officers needing to be deployed, but a former counter terror commander believes they are minor and has renewed his call for routine arming of officers.

Met Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley announced the latest installation on Sunday night, and the barriers have been erected to protect pavements in areas including Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.

Such barriers can stop a 7.5 tonne vehicle travelling at up to 50 mph.

But at a cost of around £675 per metre they do not come cheap.

Jonathan Goss, MD of Townscape Products, a company which makes similar devices to the ones installed on the bridges, said: “Terrorism has taken an unforeseen turn over the past year and those that wish to undermine our way of life have begun using vehicles to cause mass harm.

“To address this threat head on – we need to keep vehicles and pedestrians separate by using intelligently positioned barriers.”

He claimed they are more effective than armed police at keeping pedestrians safe as they will stop vehicles completely.

“When it comes to hardening our urban environment to protect us against terrorist attacks, authorities need to start by focussing their efforts on the most at-risk public areas to make best use of any available budget.

“Once these locations have been identified, the sole job of blocks, barriers, bollards and planters is to ensure that vehicles cannot access the public area in question,” he added.

Designs such as plant pots can make them blend in with their surrounding without being too obvious.

Last year Lord Toby Harris’ review of counter-terrorism measures in the capital, commissioned by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, recommended that such barriers in the Westminster area receive more funding from the Home Office.

The Labour peer wrote: “Following the lessons of the Nice attacks, these could allow more effective mitigation of similar attacks here than the expensive systems that are currently in place.

“A business case for these flexible barriers has previously been considered by the Home Office, but may be revisited. They should review this urgently and move to fund a solution.”

The peer told PoliceOracle.com in May that he was yet to receive a government response to his report.

He put this down to the purdah period which followed Theresa May’s calling of the snap General Election.

But Kevin Hurley, former Surrey PCC and a counter-terror lead in the City of London Police, told Police Oracle: “I think for the prominent and tiny section of our busy roads yes you can protect with those barriers but the reality is terrorists will just run people over any else where there isn’t a barrier.

“If you can’t constrain the movements of the attacker they will carry on until the specialist firearms officers get there.

“The only way to stop an attack is to shoot them immediately, that means all response officers should carry a side arm.

He cited the seriously injured BTP officer who faced the attackers near Borough Market armed just with a baton as an example of the pressing need for this.

“Anyone who says otherwise had never personally had to face down someone with a knife wants to stab him to death,” he added.

View on Police Oracle

[BlueBob + 692]

They may move that risk but create others and of course, we can't completely barrier very road.  Rather a contrary approach to vehicle separation when just a few hundred metres away its all about shared spaces in Oxford ST etc where many forms of vehicle/ped separation has been removed

[ParochialYokal 1,119]

This is the most ridiculous article I have seen in ages! I thought it was a Daily Mail but it is Police Oracle. Another publication to add to my 'toilet paper list'.

 

There are very few central London bridges. Those that span the Thames are relatively short.

 

£675 per metre is peanuts. If a bridge is 200 meters long then a notional cost of of £150k each side- £300k in total- is nothing.

 

I believe that the rail industry has a notional figure that places the value of life at £2m- the investment threshold at which safety features must fall below in order to achieve a 'cost benefit' (i.e. If the cost is over £2m per life saved it is not 'cost effective).

 

The cost of barriers doesn't even consider the indirect costs saved. The cost of neutralising or prosecuting terrorists. The costs of lost tourism. The cost of another bridge attack would run into tens of millions of pounds in total costs.

 

Central London bridges need to be 'target hardened'. The cost for doing so is peanuts. End of.

 

[Zulu 22 + 4,576]

In all cities it is relatively easy to find a target of pedestrians gathered in tightly knit numbers. You cannot provide barriers at all.

[Indiana Jones + 1,082]

Bridges are particularly vulnerable / attractive because of the lack of lateral exits.

[Traffic Rat + 287]

Now sort the rest, Battersea, Wandsworth, Putney, Kingston etc..

Think will be the cry shortly.

[BlueBob + 692]

On 6 June 2017 at 21:05, Indiana Jones said:

Bridges are particularly vulnerable / attractive because of the lack of lateral exits.

But so are most high streets, shopping centres ec etc.  We now have to decide how to deal with ped/ cyclist/ vehicles.  

[Indiana Jones + 1,082]

1 hour ago, BlueBob said:

But so are most high streets, shopping centres ec etc.  We now have to decide how to deal with ped/ cyclist/ vehicles.  

But many of them have shop doorways, sideroads, street furniture and the like that offer some chance of refuge. On a bridge, that is usually not the case - they tend to be very bi-directional for pedestrians as much as traffic.

[Goldfgy + 16]

A barrier certainly put an end to the vehicle attack in Times Square, New York City, recently. The attack was not prevented completely, but was curtailed. The attacker was quickly captured by members of the public and detained for the police.