Enhancing the overall security of explosives
Today, society faces numerous security threats from crime, terrorism and illegal trafficking to mass emergencies and natural disasters. These threats can target physical objects accross borders or occur in cyberspace. Such attacks can endanger the very foundations of society. In the context of this, and with a focus on the security of explosives, the EU-funded EXERTER project brought together 20 practitioners from 13 EU Member States into a network of explosives specialists. The aim was to bridge the challenges for security practitioners to capture and utilise research results as well as to direct the industry’s innovation efforts to address the needs in the fight against terrorism and serious crime. “The practitioners mainly belong to law enforcement agencies and by bringing them together, the aim was to share information on new developments, but also to identify difficulties and challenges, and highlight suggestions for improvements in the field, for example changes in regulation,” explains Anneli Ehlerding, project coordinator.
Prevention, detection, mitigation and reaction
EXERTER looked at the explosives-related problem from a broad timeline from prevention, detection and mitigation to reaction after an incident. Human factors, such as understanding the terrorist or actor, and other aspects of counterterrorism and the countering of organised crime, were also explored. “Explosive threats are often connected to other actions, and the needs and suggestions connected to explosive threats are often related to issues concerning for example drugs or financial crime, and cannot be seen as a stand-alone subject,” adds Ehlerding. Each year of the project, EXERTER worked around a set of scenarios, such as ‘criminal use of explosives’ and ‘explosives in public transportation systems’. “This has been a great way to focus the discussions each year on new angles, other technologies and regulations, and other challenges. The scenarios have been chosen by the practitioners in the project, to make sure that they are relevant and important, but a wider network has been active in the discussions,” outlines Ehlerding.
Giving the community a voice
The widespread engagement from practitioners and others in the network has highlighted the real need for this type of community – a platform where practitioners can meet and share experiences, and make their voice heard together on issues, ideas and recommendations. “In addition to the factual outcomes in terms of areas identified and highlighted throughout the project, seeing how the network has developed and started to live on its own has been a great outcome of the project; seeing how participants learn from each other, share expertise and experiences, and make new connections where they help each other and which might lead to new collaborations,” highlights Ehlerding. Another key result of EXERTER is the numerous recommendations that have been raised in the network. “These recommendations will when implemented, for example, decrease the risk of smuggling or manufacturing of explosives, or increase efficiency post blast in securing evidence or tracing a perpetrator,” notes Ehlerding. During the lifetime of the EXERTER project, the network has grown to include over 300 stakeholders. “The majority have been actively involved in workshops and conferences, as well as taking part of the results. The results will continue to influence many recommendations, future projects, and regulatory or process adjustments across Europe,” concludes Ehlerding.
Keywords
EXERTER, security of explosives, pan-European network, terrorism, serious crime
