Introduction to Martyn’s Law
Earlier this year, The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act – also known as Martyn’s Law – received Royal Assent. The legislation was born out of the tireless campaigning of Figgen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett was one of the twenty-two victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. The Act aims to improve the security of public spaces by providing qualifying organisations with guidelines/requirements for protecting their environments from terrorist attacks.
In our recent webinar with SJUK, we spoke with Jonathan Neal - a former member of the Counter Terrorism Unit for British police and current Security Sales Executive at CityTalk Group. With his extensive background in the public security sector, Neal outlined how he thinks about public safety broadly, what we know about Martyn’s Law to date, and how organisations can start to prepare for the recently passed legislation.
Safety Within Public Spaces
Admittedly, enhancing security in public spaces can sound like a daunting task - even for those with extensive experiencing managing events and large venues; however, Neal provides a clear framework for organisations to ensure better safety:
- A site walkthrough can help teams in better understanding their environment. In assessing all entrances, exits, spaces prone to crowding, and poorly lit areas, teams can start to identify potential vulnerabilities to their premises.
- In addition to better understanding the space, it’s important for teams to consider what a threat might look like in their particular context. For local authorities, this might be organized crime and anti-social behavior while stadiums might be more concerned with bomb threats, overcrowding, and unregulated entry points.
- Neal suggests that security professionals and staff should not only be able to identify threats, but also appropriately respond and act decisively in the case of a security incident. This can be achieved through the development of a clear emergency plan and security training for staff.
Neal assures that organisations don’t need to figure it all out by themselves. Instead, he recommends collaborating with local partners and other nearby venues to learn about what’s worked for them. One simple initiative that Neal’s found to be effective? “A lot of locations, we talk to them about the power of hello. It’s just going up to people and saying.. We’ve seen you onsite a couple of times.. Are you lost, are you ok?” Something as simple as a quick check-in with a suspicious person can help you identify threats before they escalate.
Martyn’s Law: What We Know
While the above generalized guidelines are helpful for starting your security preparedness journey, many organisations are looking for more specific guidance surrounding Martyn’s Law.
Currently, the law is in a 24-month implementation phase (from April 2027) - meaning organisations have until 2027 to execute. Given the implementation period, the UK government is consistently releasing new information about the Law, and Neal encourages everyone to “keep an eye on the Protect UK website and the Home Office website” to stay up-to-date as additional details are released.
So, what do we know about Martyn’s Law now and who does it apply to?
“Martyn’s Law will apply to any location that is.. publicly accessible - be that free access or ticketed” says Neal. Venues that qualify include the likes of nightclubs and bars, cinemas, stadiums, and music festivals - but also hospitals, shops, and even educational institutions. All qualifying venues must notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) of their premises.
Security guidelines will use a two-tiered approach, based on expected occupancy:
- Standard Tier: 200 - 799 people
- Enhanced Tier: 800+ people
According to the Home Office, standard tier locations will be expected to safely evacuate, invacuate, and lockdown their premises in the case of an emergency - as well as communicate with individuals onsite.
Enhanced tier locations will be required to undergo further steps to secure their location under the law’s guidelines, including formally documenting their “protection procedures” and reporting them to the SIA.
Neal summarizes the goal of these requirements as an effort to “make all of these locations that little bit harder for people to do their reconnaissance… It’s about target hardening and reducing the impact of a terrorist attack at these locations.”
Technology’s Role in Staying Compliant
Many venues who will be impacted by Martyn’s Law are likely already utilizing physical security guards and even training staff on how to respond in the case of an incident. And, while this is a great starting point, Neal underlines how human fallibility can represent a single point of failure: “You’re asking people to think really… cognitively in a chaotic situation, which is never an easy thing to do, and it’s going to test people in the hardest ways possible.” The former counter terrosim expert, therefore, advocates for the use of technology like CCTV and access control to help organisations reinforce their safety measures.
Neal advises on the use of the “deter and detect; delay and respond” framework when it comes to ensuring public safety - and points to the ways in which Verkada’s cloud-based, AI-powered physical security solution can help in implementing this foundational structure.
Verkada’s tools can help public premises in securing their environments in a variety of ways by allowing them to:
Monitor their site, from anywhere: Verkada’s Command Center enables users to remotely monitor sites - any time, any place. Unlike on-prem solutions, which require users to physically be at the location of their NVR to view footage, Verkada empowers you to monitor their site activity from any logged in phone or desktop/laptop device using Verkada Command.
Receive proactive alerts: Get instantly notified of any suspicious or dangerous activity happening on location - including loitering, crowding, Person of Interest detection, and ANPR.
Easily spot hostile actors, while maintaining a privacy-centric approach: In the spirit of preserving public privacy, users can set Verkada cameras to blur faces. Should you detect any suspicious activity or have an incident requiring investigation, you can enable selective face blur - allowing you to see only the face of a suspect while obscuring the identity of uninvolved parties.
In addition to detecting people, certain Verkada cameras are also capable of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), so users can monitor vehicles on/around their premises.
Control access to buildings and enable lockdowns in emergency situations: Restrict access to entries/exits throughout your building(s) using Verkada’s Access Control, enabling only authorized staff to gain entry to specific areas. In the case of an emergency, lockdown your premises with the click of a button - preventing perpetrators from advancing further into a building.
Reduce investigative time: While traditional physical security systems often require professionals to watch hours of footage in order to investigate an incident, Verkada’s cloud empowers users to easily identify any threats through motion detection, alerts, and even AI-powered search. By drastically cutting down on the amount of time to takes to investigate, Verkada users can act quickly and decisively in an emergency.
Rapidly communicate with law enforcement: Not only can Verkada identify security incidents with ease, it also lets users instantly share footage with colleagues, third-parties, and even law enforcement via text and/or email.
If you are looking to adopt a modern, integrated security platform to assist in enhancing your preparedness strategy and provide your teams with the tools to act decisively and intelligently, contact the Verkada team for a one-to-one discussion.
Additional Resources
As Martyn’s Law continues to evolve and further details are released, affected organisations might be looking for more information.
To stay informed on the latest, Neal points to the following helpful resources:
Want to watch the webinar? You can tune into the on-demand here.