Cardiff Students' Union hosts counter-terrorism exercise

A counter-terrorism planning exercise has taken place at Cardiff Students' Union, where Welsh security operatives dealt with realistic scenarios presented by actors.

The event was run by the Security Industry Authority, the regulator of the private security industry, in the Great Hall of the Union. The exercise was organised in partnership with South Wales Police and Counter Terrorism Policing Wales.

Inspector Jeff Lewis of South Wales Police said: "We are very pleased to support this exercise. The Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) training is a very effective way for security operatives to improve and increase their skills. This has a direct effect on public safety. Effective venue security is crucial and initiatives such as this, when combined with working closely with our partners, can only serve to help keep people safer and I thank all those who took part in today’s event."

The training event involved a series of real-time simulations of possible emergency scenarios, including a mass stabbing, an acid attack, a marauding terrorist attack taking place outside the club, and a suspect package.

John Sandlin, the SIA’s Senior Manager of Compliance and Inspections, said: “We have run a number of these events across the UK. The event in Wales enabled security operatives to experience scenarios with a counter-terrorism theme in a training environment to better prepare them in the event of a real-life incident. We staged a number of scenarios, giving the venue staff and security operatives an opportunity to respond. There was an instant debrief from counter-terror experts, which was a great opportunity to provide feedback and learning. We know from previous events that operatives, and their managers, really appreciate what they learn from these events and find them worth their while. Any of these security staff could find themselves as the first responder at a serious incident, and raising awareness of how to respond to such incidents could prove invaluable in helping to protect the public.”

Phillip Dayment, Head of Venues at Cardiff Students’ Union, said: “Ensuring the safety of our students is of utmost importance. We are thrilled to collaborate with the SIA and South Wales Police for this initiative, which will certainly enhance the security resilience for our venues and events at Cardiff Students’ Union. This training program complements our efforts towards promoting the well-being and safeguarding of our students.”