Vehicle attacks against pedestrians - Circuit Magazine

Vehicle attacks against pedestrians - Circuit Magazine - Archives

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Vehicle attacks against pedestrians: How to mitigate the risk. As I see and read again and again news about vehicles attacks against pedestrians, it’s sad to realize that I’m not really surprised. These kind of attacks are more and more likely to happen in the future.

Why? Because these vehicle attacks are encouraged by Isis in their publications and propaganda channels. Also the large media attention they get when attacks happen are positive boost to continue these types of attacks. There are not so much news about operations where these types of attacks are stopped by the authorities, rather we mainly read about the attacks that where success.

Why these attacks are so popular.

The copycat phenomenon: Terrorist wishing to become a martyrs read about these success stories where terrorist are successful and praised By the Isis leaders. These vehicle attacks are really simple to do. There is no prior training you have to go through, Just Basic driving skills. These attacks are cheap and there is little operational planning they have to conduct. The weapons (vehicle) is easily accessible, it can be their own, rented, or stolen. Fear effect: The fear effect of these attacks are strong because there is big worldwide media attention. In past years we only heard about these types of attacks in the war zones of the world or in Israel, but now they are reality in our own cities, in our own street´s where we live and work. There is this feeling among people that everybody can be a victim and of course that is a purpose and goal of terrorism.

Not just in the war zones I live and work in Finland where terrorist threat is considered to be low in general, although we had our first terrorism attack this year in city of Turku, where there was a mass stabbing. The official threat level in our four ladder scale (1-4) is 2, elevated. One of the threats named By Finnish security intelligence service is a lone wolf attack. We are seeing authorities and security service companies stepping up to the challenge. The new norm is to plan for a vehicle attack in everywhere there is a gathering of crowds, in concerts and such.

There are a lot of people who are thinking and worried about modern day terrorism and these kinds of vehicle attack. Although I always say that there are more changes for you to win millions in lottery than becoming a victim of terrorism. Little knowledge about these incidents can put things in perspective.

I hate it when I see people asking what I can do in situations like this, and the security specialist are giving answers like: you have to be aware of your surroundings. That is very true, but people don´t know how to be aware, unless they are educated in how and what to look for. Awareness skills are something you have to be trained for and practiced.

Here is some of the things I teach when talking about vehicle attacks against pedestrians. This is not all inclusive list of what to do, but can guide you to learn more.

Protecting buildings is simpler than protecting people. When you do your emergency preparedness planning for fires and such, include these types of scenarios in them. Consider the routes vehicles are driven in to your building or near crowds of people. Make it difficult to drive straight line in to your building or people. Strengthen the building By extra layer of protective material. Consider using barricades to stop a vehicle from driving in to the crowd or building. These barricades can come in many shapes and sizes. Consider carefully where people hang around smoking or where the gathering spot is in case of fire or similar incident. In a crowd gathering such as outdoor concerts and such, keep the people inside a protective barrier. (can come in form of fences, barricades and such) When walking in streets, consider walking in the sidewalk that makes cars go your directions, so you are looking at the cars coming to you instead of cars passing you behind your back. Maybe you can buy 1-2 extra seconds when you can see ahead what’s happening. If the street has cars parked in only one side, consider using that side when walking so the cars are acting as your barricade. Also if there are fences or uplifted curbs or some similar things like that make use of them. In the same fashion make use of the possible vehicle barriers. Try to look for and avoid tunnel effect. In case of car coming to you, there should be some direction to move to avoid it. Remember also that tunnel effect can be formed by people when there are a lot of people running away from threat in a narrow street. If you get the feeling something is wrong, Try always have a reason for your gut feeling. Usually there is some clues about incidents before your brain can process your subconscious sense. Be aware of sounds like cars accelerating or crashing. If you hear something that is not normal sound of traffic, try to look for reason for it. If you see something out of Place like people running toward you act fast and don’t stay there too long trying to figure what´s going on. Move to safer location and assess the situation again. People are often ashamed of acting before it’s too late. If you don’t know what’s up and something tells you there is something happening, move to safer location and assess the situation in non-panicking way. Realize that the attack does not always end in the crash. The terrorist can (and there a lot of examples of it) continue the attack using guns or knives. Even explosives can come in the picture) so don’t go near the attack vehicle. Assess the situation carefully before helping the victims. The can be more attackers in play. If possible go inside a secure building. Avoid the windows and the front entrance where the vehicle can be driven. Also avoid large crowds gathering inside the building. If inside a building locate the exits, avoid panic and prepare to leave if the attacks continue in your direction. Call the authorities when you get to safe spot. Practice first aid skills. In addition to your basic CPR training consider doing TCCC (tactical combat casualty care) course or some similar course where you will learn little more relevant stuff regarding these types of attacks. Mentally practice what are going to do when this happens to you, or when you are with your family or travelling in some foreign country. You may have a different approach when you are alone versus when you are with family and friends.

When the incident is over, always do what the authorities tells you to do. Think in advance how and who are going to contact to tell you are OK. Make use of the possible crisis debriefings that are offered to you.

To conclude: Remember that these attacks are very rare in the big picture! Don’t live in fear, but do take a few moments to think about your actions in crisis like this.

There are a lot more to discuss, but let’s save something for the future. Thank you for your time and interest!

Vehicle attacks against pedestrians By: Wille Heino

The post Vehicle attacks against pedestrians appeared first on Circuit Magazine.

Tactical Firearms Training – The Basics

If you plan on working internationally in the close protection or security industry you will be expected to some degree to know how to handle firearms. Now, to get things straight to start with, what most people, especially Americans, don’t realize is that most non-government close protection jobs are unarmed due to the legal restrictions on firearms in most countries. Part of your threat assessment for any assignment needs to include the laws on the use of force and what if any weapons are legal in the locations you are going to be working in. Being caught with an illegal weapon, especially a firearm will get you thrown in jail very quickly, no matter how important you think you are! So, what do you need to know about firearms if you are looking to work internationally in the close protection and security industry, well the first and most important thing is knowing how to use firearms safely. To become proficient with firearms, like everything else takes practice and time, you’re not going to become and expert after a few hours’ tuition. Many firearms related accidents happen because those handing the firearms are not complying with the basic firearms safety rules of keep the firearms pointed in a safe direction and keeping their fingers off the guns trigger. If you ensure you always follow these two safety rules, you will be acting more responsibly than many others who are working with and carrying firearms. Remember, if you’re the one holding and in control of a firearm that accidentally discharges and injures or kills someone you will be held responsible. A thorough understanding of firearms and range safety is essential before you even start any shooting with live ammunition. Here is a more complete list of firearms safety rules and considerations. WEAPON SAFETY DEPENDS ON KNOWING YOUR WEAPON, CONFIDENCE, ALERTNESS Safety considerations for firearms must always be followed Always keep firearms pointed in a safe direction, especially when loading and unloading. Keep your finger off the trigger until the weapon is pointed at your target. If the action or slide on the weapon is closed, always treat the gun as if loaded and carry out the unload drills. Always show that a firearm is unloaded to a person before you hand it to them. When someone hands you a firearm, always check the chamber and make sure it is unloaded. Never take a person’s word for whether a firearm is loaded or unloaded, always check! Never point a firearm at anyone just for fun or play games with firearms. Always know what is behind your target and have a good backstop. Only fire-controlled shots. You can rapid fire but make sure you are hitting your target. Always practice tactical drills with unloaded firearms until you’re confident and competent enough to use live ammunition. Always unload firearms before dry-fire tactical training. Only use dummy ammunition or blank-firing firearms for demonstrations or dry-fire drills. Never mix blank, dummy, and live rounds. Always check that the gun is unloaded before cleaning. Never tamper with ammunition, and only use reloads from reliable sources. Never use damaged rounds, and always dispose of them safely. Keep guns and ammunition in secure storage when not in use. If you do not know how to operate or are having problems operating a firearm, get professional help. Never used drugs or alcohol when using firearms. Always check and comply with local firearms law Types of Firearms You should try to train with and get to know as many different types of firearms as possible as you never know what you will come across. You might be working unarmed on an assignment in a hostile environment but you need to know how to use the firearms you might encounter in that environment incase things go bad, say your hotel is attacked, and you might have to use the firearms of the local security, police, military and bad guys or make them safe after an incident. Pistols: The two main classification for pistols are semi-automatic and revolver. Sadly, most people these days tend to only train with semi-auto safe action guns such as Glock and S&W M&P’s etc. You need to know how to safely use revolvers, single and double action semi-autos, single action semi-autos and at least be familiar with derringers and sub-compact pocket pistols. Shotguns: I have heard quite a few supposed close protection experts, usually from police backgrounds dismiss the requirements for shotgun training. The reason for this I believe, is in their limited experience within a government agency they have never had the opportunity to use shotguns or travel to locations where they are used. I have personally working in Europe, South & West Africa, Middle East, US, Caribbean, Latin America and have come across shotguns being used in for security details in all of those locations. I would say shotguns are the most widely used firearm used for legal security purposes globally. Shotguns come in various configurations and you should at least understand break action, pump, semi-auto shotguns and the various types of ammunition and chocks. Assault Rifles: Even though most of the tacticool firearms training videos on the internet put an emphasis of training with AR-15’s and AK-47’s in reality there are not many places you can legally use them for security purposes unless you are in the military, on a government related assignment or working illegally. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the laws were put in place for security guards to carry assault rifles, but in most places if you are lucky enough to legally have firearms there is a greater change of it being a shotgun or a pistol rather than an AK etc. Sporting Rifles: In a lot of countries semi-auto firearms are banned or very restricted and the only legal firearms available will be sporting shotguns and leaver or bolt-action rifles. The only time most tacticool operators will consider learning how to use a bolt-action rifle would be if it was a tricked-out sniper rifle… Well, I am sorry if I offend any tacticool operators reading this but all hunting rifles, even with wood stocks, can be used as sniper rifles and for tactical applications. If someone is trained how to shoot properly, understands individual tactics and is armed with a decent leaver or bolt action .22 rifle, I would class them as far more value than the tacticool shemagh wearing operator who uses optics on their tricked-out AR-15 to hit paper targets at 15 meters… Other Firearms: Depending on where you are planning to work depends on the types of firearms you could encounter; in hostile environments you may need to have the rudimentary knowledge of how to operate belt-fed machine guns. Or, if you’re in an area where hunting is popular it might make sense to learn a little bit about black powder rifles and pistols, which in some places have a lot less restrictions on them than cartridge firing firearms. Tactical Firearms Training I have my own views of firearms training and the state of the firearms training industry but will try to keep them to myself as much as I can for the sake of this article. My basic advice to anyone looking at attending any firearms training courses would be is the course relevant and is the instructor experienced enough to teach it. The best place to get a good grounding in firearms training is in the military as you should be given thorough training, the bullets will be free, and you will also be getting paid for your time. There is no way you can replicate a few years military firearms training experience by taking a two-week tactical firearms course. One issues with those who have only had regular military training is that they are only used to dealing with a limited range of firearms. Personally, I only really started to learn and use handguns other than a Browning Hi-Power after I left the British Army and worked in South Africa, Eastern Europe and then joined a gun club in UK before handguns were banned. You must ensure the training you will be getting is relevant for what your going to be doing and is of a good standard. In the U.S. the general standard for training is what’s put out by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Most people don’t realize when taking a training course from an NRA instructor that it only takes one-day to become and NRA instructor or Range Safety officer. In the United States, it’s easy for a novice shooter to become an NRA firearms instructor, as I said it’s a one-day course, SERIOUSLY! With another one-day course they can become a Range Safety Officer, and after that with another one-day course a Chief Range Safety Officer able to certify Range Safety Officers… All without any experience of ever running a firearms course or any experience of actually working on a shooting range… I have come across NRA instructors who could not field strip their own firearms, Chief Range Safety Officers who had never used revolvers or shotguns. From their certifications you would expect them to be experienced professionals! Well, think again… You cannot gain the experience required to be a decent RSO or instructor by just attending a few theory classes, watch tacticool YouTube videos and belonging to Gung-ho online chat forums. The schools issuing these NRA certifications are making money, it’s business, but how many of their students then go on to market themselves as “firearms experts” after just a few one-day classes? I think this can be classed as fraudulent in anyone’s books. It’s just like taking a first-time driver, giving them a two- or three-day theory on how to drive, showing them a car, starting the engine and then certifying them to set up a driving school… Scary, right? Always verify the real-world experience of the instructors who you’re intending to pay good money for quality training. Firearms training can be very expensive so ensure you’re not wasting your money and understand that after just a few days training you’re not going to be at a professional level, whatever your certificates say! Ongoing dry and live firearms training and weapons familiarization is essential if your serious about working in hostile environments but learn to differentiate the difference between tacticool holidays and experiences and relevant training! Tactical Firearms Training – The Basics The post Tactical Firearms Training – The Basics appeared first on Circuit Magazine.

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