Following the horrific terrorist attack in Manchester last night, in which 22 people were killed and tens of others injured, the Metropolitan Police Service has increased the number of officers on duty across the Capital.
Whilst all policing operations in London are currently planned to the backdrop of a severe threat level from terrorism, specialist officers from our event planning teams and protective security experts are now reviewing in detail all the plans for upcoming events in the Capital.
This includes smaller events which may not have had a police presence seeing a greater focus; an increase of armed and unarmed officers on highly visible reassurance patrols around key locations and crowded places and work with event organisers.
The Met is reaching out to event organisers through licensing officers to ensure that they are given the latest protective security advice to keep their music events as safe as can be. Using well established local and London-wide briefing systems, the Met is ensuring that refreshed advice is given to all those venues hosting events.
A full review of the security and policing operations for the weekend’s sporting events – the culmination of the football and rugby seasons at Wembley and Twickenham – is underway. This will include the deployment of extra armed officers.
Operation Hercules – which sees the deployment of a range of mobile and static overt armed officers – will be stepped up to protect the Capital. This is designed to make London as hostile an environment as possible for any would-be attacker. That means the locations, types of tactics and the numbers of officers deployed at once will continually change to be most effective and avoid predictability.
The Met will continue to do everything possible to protect the Capital not just through the use of armed officers but the ongoing work by specialist detectives in the Counter Terrorism Command; working with partner agencies and gathering community intelligence.
Commander Jane Connors, said: “As the full horror of last night’s attack in Manchester still sinks in the thoughts of all of us in the Met Police are with those who have lost loved ones or who were injured.
“Here in London we are determined to do all we can to protect the Capital. That means that over the coming days as you go to a music venue, go shopping, travel to work or head off to the fantastic sporting events you will see more officers – including armed officers.
“We are used to delivering policing operations that seek to mitigate against the severe threat we face from terrorists. It is only right that we now take time to review those existing plans and make sure we are confident that we are doing all we can.
“As you are out and about in London please be alert – call us immediately if you see something suspicious. If you are at an event and something worries you, go straight to a police officer or security guard and tell them.”
Across London local officers are also out engaging with a range of communities as terrorist attacks can cause heightened concerns. Safer Schools officers are working closely with their schools to make sure that young people understand what the Met is doing to protect the Capital.
http://test.test/2017/05/22-confirmed-dead-after-is-claimed-suicide-bomber-targets-ariana-grande-concert/
http://test.test/2017/05/manchester-update-people-being-urged-to-avoid-city-centre/
