Terrorism Preparedness Case Study Communication Strategies
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This document discusses communicating with the public about terrorism before, during, and after a terrorist incident. It presents a hypothetical scenario of a terrorist attack by lone wolves involving coordinated bombings and shootings during morning rush hour. The document outlines features of terrorism and how it differs from other disasters. It also discusses preparing for terrorism through information provision, prevention, vigilance, and preparedness actions. The potential impacts discussed include fatalities, injuries, effects on transportation and the community, and long-term psychological impacts.
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Terrorism Preparedness Case Study Communication Strategies
- 1. www.tacticproject.eu @TACTIC_EU Case study 1: Terrorism in Europe London workshop 10 February 2015 Trilateral Research & Consulting susan.anson@trilateralresearch.com
- 2. www.tacticproject.eu Question 1 If so, how? Is terrorism different to other types of disaster?
- 4. www.tacticproject.eu Features of terrorism Or is terrorism just the same as other hazards? Terrorism Flood Epidemic Earthquake
- 5. www.tacticproject.eu Question 2 What do these differences mean for preparedness?
- 6. www.tacticproject.eu Preparing for terrorism • Balancing information provision • Prevention • Vigilance • Preparedness actions • Create a kit • Make a plan • Inform
- 7. www.tacticproject.eu The scenario Communicating with the public about terrorism before, during & after an incident
- 8. www.tacticproject.eu Before: Preparedness • Hypothetical scenario • Single hazard incident: terrorist attack by lone-wolves • Coordinated bombing and shooting attacks • Early-morning rush hour – commuters
- 11. www.tacticproject.eu During: The response • Fatalities and hundreds injured • Impact on transport network and wider community • Community volunteering and support • Coordinating with national and local media
- 12. www.tacticproject.eu After: The recovery • Wide psychological impact (e.g., stress) • Community fears of further attacks • Community tension • Behaviour change (e.g., less visitors to London)
- 14. www.tacticproject.eu Group work 1: Discussing and developing the audit • What should be included/and or removed from the audit? • (e.g., what information do you need?) • How could you benefit from the audit? • What were your expectations of the audit? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the audit?
Editor's Notes
- Briefly reiterate that this is one of four workshops, each focusing on different hazards (terrorism, floods, earthquakes and epidemics) Purpose of having a workshop on terrorism is to understand 1) How is terrorism different to other disasters 2) What does this mean for preparedness This workshop and a workshop that will be held in October will be used to develop, test and validate the community preparedness audit, the catalogue of good practices and the learning and training platform Looking for user input – how can the audit, catalogue of good practices and online learning platform be of value to you?
- Put this question to the workshop participants - discuss on their tables for 2 mins
- TRI’s role has been to investigate preparedness for terrorism and how this may be different to other types of hazard. We have been looking at the literature, reports and communications material to understand this Difficult to define – we know what floods, earthquakes, epidemics are. The boundaries of what makes something an act of terrorism are more unclear. The meaning of terrorism has also changed over the years Deliberate human intention – to cause destruction and deaths. Attacks such as 9/11 and the Charlie Hebdo attacks last month gain international publicity High uncertainty – in terms of both likelihood of an attack and the consequences. We don’t know where, when or how. This is related to terrorists wanting the attacks to be unpredictable in order to cause maximum damage and destruction Low probability – this has implications on resources as communities have other challenges that they need to address. Have to prioritise High complexity – This is related to the cause of terrorism. This type of hazard is more difficult to understand Fear – designed to generate fear
- Or is terrorism just the same as other types of hazard requiring the same approach to planning and preparedness? This is a key issue that we are trying to understand.
- Put this question to the workshop participants -discuss for 2/3 mins on their tables
- The characteristics of terrorism mean that providing communities with information on terrorism can be more complex Have to consider that it could increase fear and anxiety in the public Have to ensure that information is not released that could threaten national security The human element means that terrorism is preventable – many campaigns focus on requesting the public’s assistance in preventing terrorism (e.g. 2004 preparing for emergencies leaflet distributed in the UK) Accompanied by request for public to be vigilant and report suspicious behaviour and packages There are some efforts to influence public to undertake preparedness actions such as creating a kit, making a plan and gathering information e.g. Ready.Gov focuses on these activities for different types of terrorism
- We have developed the scenario to understand the communication needs of communities before, during and after a terrorist attack. This to understand how communities can be better prepared to respond to the different phases of a terrorist attack – each stage will have different challenges
- We used the literature review and analysis of past terrorist attacks to develop a hypothetical scenario. This is the information that is available before the attacks to understand the preparedness communication needs before an incident Similar to Boston Bombing and Anders Brevik – lone wolf terrorists We have selected characteristics that are common to past terrorist attacks (e.g., rush hour, bombings and shootings) to understand how the community can be prepared for this type of attack
- Available information suggests that the attacks will occur in a one mile radius of Kings Cross station Potential targets: St Pancras International (Eurostar terminal and railway station), the British Library, museums, colleges and theatres Heavily populated area with diverse population (this will raise language issues)
- Also need to consider how we can prepare communities for the actual incident. Our hypothetical incident involves multiple coordinated attacks involving bomb explosions and shooting attacks at two locations How can communities be prepared for this type of incident?
- Fatalities and injuries Wide impact (further than just the immediate area) Likely to be an overwhelming response from the public as happened in response to many terrorist attacks - support and volunteering (e.g., donating blood) Need to coordinate with the national local media in order to prevent rumour and speculation
- It could take a while to return to normal following a terrorist attack. Preparing individuals in advance can help to reduce stress during the incident Research demonstrates that communities adopt avoidance behaviours following terrorist attacks (tall buildings, public transport) How can we prepare communities for these types of issues that might follow a terrorist attack
- Now we are going to move on and think about and discuss the audit. Different tables to work on the community and organisational audit