Blue light services across the East Midlands will be testing their response to a major terrorism incident in a large-scale operation spanning multiple locations in the region.
Nottingham is hosting the event, which will see multiple partners and agencies, from local to national, come together at Trent Bridge cricket ground in West Bridgford on Monday, 27 January.
The operation is being coordinated by Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTPEM), part of a national network of units dedicated to responding to the threat of terrorism.
The scenario will test how police and partners react to challenging, dynamic situations, including ambulance and fire teams, who would also play key roles in the event of a terrorist incident.
The exercise is not in response to any specific threat or intelligence but is part of a regular nationwide testing and exercising programme.
Nottinghamshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Suk Verma said:
“We are delighted to host the exercise here in Nottinghamshire and work with our partners across the region and beyond.
“This type of training is an integral part of policing and ensures that we deliver a robust response if we are ever faced with a terrorist incident.
“Simply, this is about protecting the public and ensuring that we have a strong and efficient response in order to protect life.
“I would like to personally thank everyone involved for making this exercise possible.”
Regional Assistant Chief Constable Diane Coulson said:
“Testing response planning is something that takes place regularly across all emergency services and is a vital way of ensuring we are as prepared as possible to respond to a major incident such as a terror attack.
“Not only do exercises such as this help to ensure all services understand each other’s roles, but they also provide an opportunity to highlight areas where learning can be identified and adopted. These can then be shared with teams up and down the country so that we are all aligned in our response.
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“Fortunately, terror incidents are rare; however, we are better prepared than ever to respond when required. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone involved in pulling the exercise together, along with those who are taking part.”
Rob Taylor, Event Safety Officer at Trent Bridge, said:
“We’re happy to be able to lend our support to Counter Terrorism Policing by providing a real-world setting in which they can test their response to an incident – and it will be great to observe the collaboration, communication, and response of the agencies involved at close quarters.
“Practical exercises like this are invaluable to them – and also to us as a venue, as we prepare for another busy summer on the global sporting stage.”
The threat to the UK from terrorism remains at ‘Substantial’.
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