Over the past few years we have seen an unfortunate and alarming increase in the number of terrorist and criminal attacks on crowded public spaces around the world. Attacks such as those seen on London Bridge and Borough Market in June 2017, Bourke Street in Melbourne CBD in January 2019, Flinders Street in Melbourne in December 2017, and the Bastille Day parade in Nice in July 2016, all demonstrate how vehicles can be used as weapons by terrorists and criminals to devastating effect. This kind of attack is referred to as a hostile vehicle attack, where the driver’s aim is to access a restricted or unauthorised area with the intent to cause harm to a large number of people.
The terrorist attack in Nice was one of the first mass casualties of its kind in a western nation and led to significant changes in Australia’s counter-terrorism practices. In 2017 the Australian Government released Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism, to assist owners and operators in ensuring the safety, protection and resilience of crowded spaces across the country. However, until the hostile vehicle attack on Melbourne’s Bourke Street in 2017, Australia had yet to see firsthand how vulnerable the public can be in these crowded spaces under the threat of a hostile vehicle attack. Following this incident, it became clear that owners and operators of crowded spaces could no longer ignore the imminent threat of a hostile vehicle attack and must implement measures to protect these spaces and those people that use them. That being said, how best can we secure crowded spaces and mitigate against this kind of attack?
Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) is a necessary strategy to separate pedestrians from vehicles through the use of purpose-built barriers, which comply with industry certification and meet the needs of the space, proportionate to the level and type of threat. These barriers have two main purposes, firstly to prevent hostile vehicles from accessing crowded pedestrian areas; and secondly, to act as a psychological deterrent to those with malicious intentions, preventing where possible these hostile vehicle attacks from occurring. When installed correctly, HVM barriers are designed to resist a range of different vehicle types moving at various speeds. These barriers undergo rigorous testing at accredited establishments before being approved for installation.
Since 2017 Australian governments and other organisations have been pro-actively identifying prominent public venues, sporting stadiums, shopping precincts etc. which have the potential to be target sites for vehicle borne attacks. HVM assessments and strategies are being rolled out across these sites as both a deterrent and preventative measure.
Create Security has undertaken one of the largest HVM projects in Australia to date, supplying and installing impact rated bollards in Brisbane’s King George Square, a large prominent public gathering space for people and events. Create Security has also been engaged for other city projects which will see other prominent sites in Brisbane protected by impact rated bollards in the very near future.
Create Security has partnered with international leaders in HVM to bring HVM expertise, knowledge and products to Queensland. If you need a HVM strategy for your premises and would like to know more about our services, please give us a call on (07) 3390 5050.
February 2020