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from the is-there-a-solution-that-is-less-bad-than-the-problem? dept.
If it seems like every week, there's another terrorist attack – well, you're not wrong. According to one crowdsourcing map, there have been over 500 attacks around the world since the start of 2017, with over 3,500 fatalities. For a period in 2016, ISIS-initiated attacks were occurring, on average, every 84 hours.
Despite improvements in methods and coordination among law enforcement agencies over the past 25 years, they're still hamstrung in a number of ways. With large public gatherings of people becoming more attractive targets for terrorists, what are the best strategies moving forward?
[...] But despite huge budgets and the presence of thousands of added security personnel, it's virtually impossible to prevent a determined terrorist, or guarantee absolute safety. While security efforts for events like the Olympic Games have escalated, terrorists today no longer wait for major events that draw global interest.
[...] The odds are in favor of terrorists. All they have to do is succeed once, no matter how many times they try. For public safety professionals to be fully successful, they have to prevent 100 percent of the terror attempts. It's a number to aspire to, but even the most experienced countries fighting terror – such as Israel and the U.K. – can't measure up to this standard.
[...] These days, it's necessary to consider any place where crowds congregate as vulnerable "soft targets" for the attackers. To better prepare for securing soft targets (and this isn't to say threats against "hard targets," like planes, buildings and infrastructure, have diminished) law enforcement agencies must improve coordination among one another, whether it's via intelligence, information sharing and training. And then there's the need for deconfliction, which refers to avoiding self-defeating behavior – from interagency rivalries and poor communication to insufficient coordination – by people who are on the same side.
[...] Given that there is no way to guarantee complete safety, and that the threat assessment expects more attacks, there are two more elements that ought to receive more attention: community resilience and community policing.
https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-better-protect-crowds-from-terrorism-78443
[Related]:
1996 Atlanta Olympic Games: https://www.britannica.com/event/Atlanta-Olympic-Games-bombing-of-1996
Secure Airport Design: https://skift.com/2016/07/04/how-smart-airport-design-can-make-spaces-more-secure/
Do you agree with this assessment of the security situation ? What do you think could be done to mitigate the effects of such asymmetric warfare ?
(Score: 3, Informative) by bradley13 on Monday June 05 2017, @07:21AM
When seconds count, the police are just minutes away. This means that we, ourselves, as individuals must be prepared to deal with potential emergencies.
First, think about where you are going. Don't go to stupic places, like a 30,000 strong public viewing.
Life happens, though, and we all go to crowded or dangerous places from time to time. Consider in advance how you will react. Consider various situations that may happen - this isn't new, it's just common sense. When the mugger pulls a knife and demands your wallet, will you peacefully hand it over? Or will you attack? Or will you run? Know the answer in advance.
Take self-defense classes. They will help you keep your head, and react appropriately under pressure. Sometimes the best response is to run away. Sometimes you had better fight. Standing paralyzed in fear never good.
Similarly, in a crowd, if something bad goes down, running with the lemmings is the worst possible response. Better to find a safe place, hide, and assess the situation. If you can, attack. The reason an idiot with a gun can shoot dozens or hundreds of people is because they let him. If the crowd converged, and beat the shit out of the idiot, there would be fewer deaths. Don't contribute to lemming stupidity.
Finally, in countries like the UK, get the damned laws against self-defense repealed. In the most recent incident in London, people were fighting the knife-armed terrorist with chairs, while the unarmed community police ran away. Guess what: it's illegal in the UK to carry a gun or even a knife that you could use as a weapon. Note that this doesn't stop the terrorist from having guns and knives - it just disarms the honest populace.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.