Lessons In How To Spot A Terrorist Incident

Oct 12 2007 By Samantha Booth

Expert Claims Ordinary Scots Can Prevent Attacks Just By Checking Everyday Scenes

UNLESS the general public raise their level of awareness, we could be living with the same kind of security as Israel in just five years' time.

Suicide bombers could be a constant threat and ordinary people could face full body searches before they go to the supermarket, have a night out at the cinema or even go for dinner.

This is the grim warning from security expert Simon Leila.

The good news is Simon says this scenario could be prevented if we were all just a little more vigilant.

In fact, he has definite proof of just how important it is that we all report left luggage, unusual incidents and suspicious characters.

Just last year when he was on holiday in America, he spotted an older lady attempting to secretly film a shopping mall.

She aroused Simon's suspicions by trying to hide what she was doing and after he had followed her and watched her allegedly film every floor of the centre, he reported her to the authorities.

The lady in question is now awaiting trial on terrorism charges.

Simon, whose background is in the security services, said: "I don't want to make everyone paranoid but I do firmly believe that if people became more aware of what was going on around them and reported their suspicions to the police, life would be much harder for terrorists.

"It would be like having a great goalkeeper and four fantastic defenders in a football team, we'd be minimising the danger.

"Every recent terrorist incident we have had in the UK, failed or otherwise, was 100 per cent preventable if only the public had been more awake.

"We have video footage and photos of the terrorists doing pre-runs and preparations and if they had just struck one person as a bit odd and that person had phoned in what they had noticed, the attacks could have been prevented."

This is one of the reasons why Simon's company, 360 Defence, ran Britain's first terrorism seminar for civilians in Glasgow last month. The aim of the course is to train people to start paying as much attention to what is going on round them as they do when they are driving.

Simon wants people to start questioning what they see as if it was almost second nature. Nine times out of 10 there will be a perfectly legitimate reason for what is going on, but at some point what you have spotted may well prevent a crime, catch a criminal or even stop dozens of people losing their lives in a terrorist attack.

He said: "Since 9/11 there has been greater awareness of global terrorism.

"People know that terrorists today are completely indiscriminate. They really don't care who they kill - men, women, kids, no matter what religion, colour or nationality.

As long as they kill they don't care.

"But people are still reacting as they did in the days of the IRA.

"In the days following a bomb attack everyone goes into a state of alertness and the police are flooded with calls about suspect packages.

"Then though, as time passes, everyone forgets about it and walks around once more, not thinking twice about the possibility of a bomb or attack.

"What we are trying to do is get people to be more observant all the time.

"Not to be paranoid or in a constant state of almost panic, but just to see what goes on around them and ask themselves questions why someone is doing something or if something is normal.

"And that's what we train people in on the civilian terrorism courses.

"We don't bother with the background about cells and how terrorist operate the way we would when we are dealing with corporate clients or government agencies.

"All we teach civilians are the basics - what behaviour they should look for, how to spot suspicious packages, how to get out of a situation, who to call, what it is like when a bomb goes off and how they should act if they find themselves in that situation."

These were all questions Simon answered for me as he gave me a quick awareness lesson in Glasgow's city centre at a busy lunchtime.

Walking along the city's Argyle Street, he asked me to tell him what I could see. I told him I could see all the obvious things like people, taxis and delivery vans parked at the side of the road.

What I failed to mention though were the kinds of things a trained security officer should notice, the things Simon would like us to all be more aware of.

I didn't realise I was standing next to a bin - the perfect place to plant a bomb.

THE cars parked down an alleyway had totally escaped my notice too, as had the alleyway itself.

And I hadn't thought there was anything odd about the two workmen digging a hole in the road outside a bank.

Simon said: "If I were in charge of security at that bank I would have been on the phone right away to make sure those workmen were legit.

"In the old days they could easily have been trying to break into a vault, today they could just as easily be in the midst of planning a terrorist attack of some kind.

"A couple of years ago a high-up German banker was murdered in exactly that way. The terrorists had posed as workmen planting tons of explosives under the road.

"They used a child's bike as a marker, so they knew when the banker's car was in line with the bike they should detonate, but the bank's security didn't think it was worth checking because it had been sitting there for weeks."

As we continued our walk along the road, Simon also pointed out the number of people wearing their work security passes in full view.

Stopping one gentleman to ask for the time I could easily read his name, position and the company he worked for.

As a terrorist or criminal it was all information I could have used to get a foot in the door or even hack into records.

Simon stopped me again at the bottom of Glasgow's busy Hope Street.

Once more, despite the fact I knew it was a test, I missed the crucial details Simon's hyper-alert brain had registered.

In particularly a lone beer barrel sitting outside a pub underneath the train station. He said: "That could easily be a bomb, it is worth just checking with bar staff to find out."

Satisfied that it was no more than an empty barrel awaiting collection, Simon took me to the main entrance of the train station, giving me a constant commentary of what he was spotting.

Tourists with suitcases, drunks staggering, shoppers with bags and workers hurrying about on their break.

Frighteningly he then told me that each and every one of them could potentially be a terrorist.

He said: "People have to get over the idea that terrorists are only men who wear certain things or look a certain way.

"They are clever people and they will do everything they can to blend in and be normal. Remember all the 9/11 hijackers shaved that morning and wore suits so people would assume they were respectable businessmen.

"One thing to look out for is people trying too hard to be normal or blend in.

"I know of a few instances where criminals or terrorists have been stopped because they tried to strike up conversations they didn't need to have in order to seem just like everyone else."

Even more frightening though was when Simon told me what I should do if a bomb went off in the station itself.

He said: "If you hear a bang you must hit the ground instantly as explosions go upwards and just hope you are not near any glass as 90 per cent of injuries in bomb blasts are caused by glass.

"Then, after bombs go off, there is always an eerie moment of silence.

"For some reason people don't panic right away and in that time you should run towards where you heard the explosion as there is less likely to be a secondary device there.

"A terrorist looking to cause maximum damage would make sure there were more bombs in the places people are most likely to run towards."

I only hope I never have to to take his advice.

To find out more click on www.360defence.co.uk or call 01436670 055.

"We're trying to get people to be observant, to see what goes on around them and ask questions'