Countering Terrorism in a Changed World

The event, now in its second successful year, broke expected attendance figures by a factor of 50 per cent when in excess of 4,000 qualified personnel from government, military, law enforcement, intelligence and private sector organisations from the UK and overseas attended the 2009 edition at the Queen Elizabeth Centre in London.

Such was the success of the event, that the event was moved to Olympia, to accommodate the demand for exhibition space and to accommodate a much expanded conference and specialist workshop programme.

Counter Terror Expo brings together the world’s leading thinkers in the counter terrorism arena through the annual event. The event provides a platform for those tasked with turning strategy into meaningful deliverables from across the globe. The event seeks to foster much closer ties between agencies tasked with preventing terrorist outrages and is actively supported by leading organisations such as: NATO, The Security Institute, Intellect, London First, National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) and Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO).

The event comprises an extensive high-level conference, multiple supporting specialist workshops and one of the biggest technology exhibitions of its kind in the world today. The secure exhibition seeks to showcase the latest specialist security technologies, products and solutions which form a crucial part of counter terror capabilities internationally. Leading companies involved in the exhibition include:
Thales DLJ UK who are the headline sponsors, Rapiscan Systems, EADS, Lockheed Martin, Smiths Detection, Panasonic, Bosch, L-3 Security & Detection Systems, Bruker Daltonics, Zaun Fencing, RSDecon, Corus Bi-Steel, Allen Fencing, G4S Technology, Gunnebo, and many others.

Counter Terror Expo’s key component is a conference featuring over 90 leading international expert speakers who will discuss the most critical and topical issues concerning the international counter terrorism community. Over two full days, the conference will debate how we should ensure a multilateral response to terrorism, tackle threat diversity, counter transnational terrorism, deliver critical national infrastructure and provide cutting edge security for high profile international events, amongst many other issues. Organisations speaking at the event include: United Nations, Australian Federal Police, NATO, European Commission, Home Office, European Union, Danish Security and Intelligence Service, Office of Cyber Security, Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), Swedish Defence Research Agency, London First, London Fire Brigade, and Interagency Council for Applied Homeland Security Technology (ICAHST), The Pentagon and many more.

Alongside the main conference, Counter Terror Expo will also feature a range of practical and technology focused free-to-attend workshops. The workshops format will allow an in depth look at specific technologies being deployed in the counter terrorism arena. The technologies will be explored through a series of real life case studies to provide understanding on the equipment and its role in the fight against terror. Topics covered for 2010 include: CBRNE Detection and Protection, Building and Facilities Protection, CCTV and Surveillance, Perimeter Protection and Intrusion Detection, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), EOD and IEDD, Information and Communication Systems, and Human Factors & Training.

The event is being held just under 18 months after the Mumbai terrorist attacks and against the backdrop of London soon becoming the focus of world attention as it plays host to the upcoming Olympic Games.

High profile sporting events and their star performers like the Olympic Games represent a high value target and in the challenge to protect them from a terrorist atrocity, it is becoming increasingly evident that some countries are better equipped than others. The commando style terrorist attack against the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore last year, served to emphasise what many in the counter-terrorism and security fields have known for a long while; that in uncertain times the idea that the global and unifying nature of sport can be reflected in all the venues at which it is practiced no longer holds true.

The challenge of securing major sporting events is one that the major sports governing bodies such as the International Olympics Committee (IOC), Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), International Cricket Committee (ICC) and many others have to come to terms with as the risk of terrorist attack becomes increasingly acute. This challenge will be explored in-depth at the forthcoming Counter Terror Expo. The event brings the counter terrorism experts together with those tasked with the unenviable role of keeping sport safe, to debate the issues faced and help to identify best practice solutions to address current and future needs. Delegates with special responsibility and a professional interest in sports security will be immersed over the two days of Counter Terror Expo in the terrorist threat to crowded places, the implications for those tasked with ensuring a safe and secure environment, and the methodologies and techniques necessary to ensure sport remains safe.

Sporting events present some pretty big security challenges and not least because of the sheer number of spectators who attend them. The United Kingdom has long experience in staging safe and secure international sporting events. But the UK will soon face its ultimate challenge when it plays host to the 2012 Olympic Games. Lessons learned from the biggest security challenge in the sporting world, have clear application in the wider sports community.

The range of threats we face in the modern age is constantly changing and the countermeasures in place must therefore constantly evolve to effectively meet them. In recent years the threat of terrorism has increased considerably. High scale terrorist attacks such as 9/11 and 7/7, expose the rising power of terrorism and poses the question of how to deal with such extremist and fragile issues.

The attempted downing of Northwest Airlines (NWA) flight 253 as it approached Detroit Metro airport on Christmas Day 2009 exposed a fatal flaw in US intelligence gathering and dissemination, and renewed calls for greater levels of information sharing amongst agencies nationally and internationally.

The incident has particular resonance for speakers and delegates at the forthcoming Counter Terror Expo conference and exhibition, over two full days high level attendees will review issues such as intelligence sharing and greater cross border cooperation in the fight against international terrorism.

The Northwest Airlines (NWA) flight 253 incident is a text book example of how systemic failures and human factor issues conspired to allow a lone individual with direct links to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to get far too close for comfort to achieving a goal of blowing up a passenger jet over a major United States city.

In light of this incident President Obama has ordered a full scale review of the incident in order to ensure it doesn’t happen in the foreseeable future. The lessons learned from this review will doubtless filter down and be subjected to peer review at this globally significant Counter Terror Expo event.

Principal conference themes with particular importance in light of current events include Building Cooperation across Europe and Internationally to Combat Terrorism in the Current Climate; Cooperative Counter Terror Strategies with South East Asian Countries; Facilitating Transatlantic Action in Response to Terrorism; and The Role of the United States in Countering the Changing Face of International Terrorism amongst others.

Today the threat from terrorism is a global one which demands global, inter regional and domestic solutions working in harmony to protect our citizens.

By drawing together knowledge and expertise from in and around the world, Counter Terror Expo seeks to provide viable solutions to effectively safeguard the public with a goal not only to prevent terrorism but ultimately defeat it: “We are delighted at the unprecedented interest in and demand for this mission critical event and Counter Terror Expo 2010 is set to become the biggest and most talked about event of its kind,” comments Peter Jones, managing director, Niche Events.

For more information
Counter Terror Expo 2010 will be held on the 14-15 April at Olympia in London. Further information on the event can be found by visiting www.counterterrorexpo.com or by contacting Nicola Greenaway, operations director, +44 (0)20 8542 9090 or e-mail: ngreenaway@niche-events.com