Lord MacKenzie

GUARANTEEING THE FUTURE OF A FREE SOCIETY

The war against terrorism is different from wars we are used to. But its outcome is as important as any we have fought before.

These were the words of the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Tony Blair, in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 15 October 2002, following the terrorist outrages that occurred in Indonesia. No one seeing the flames engulfing the nightclub where young people of many nationalities were enjoying their holidays could fail to feel anger and determination to prevent such atrocities, wherever possible, by whatever legal means available. Similar feelings no doubt exist in the USA regarding the recent sniper incident, where innocent citizens in the Washington area were picked off at random.

The Bali bombings are a stark warning to the world that the tragedy of 11 September 2001 was not just a one-off event. America, France, Australia - there is a sense of inevitability that Britain will be next. Obviously, intelligence and law-enforcement agencies must be vigilant but combating such a menace also depends on the cooperation of the public.

The future lies not just with regulation and licensing of the security industry, but also with the drawing up of protocols, perhaps within Home Office or police guidelines, to ensure that the newly regulated sector is properly and efficiently harnessed at times of crisis.

Liberty and Security
The Police Federation has resolutely opposed the use of the private sector in support of the police. The decision is a contentious one, the counter-argument being that those on the front line may well welcome quality assistance from whatever source.

What we must do at this time is build the trust and partnerships necessary to ensure that our society is protected as far as possible from terrorist atrocities. This may involve some curtailing of liberty, but such restrictions are necessary, with the "long stop" as Lord Chief Justice Woolf recently put it, of an independent judiciary safeguarding human rights.

The balance between security on the one hand and liberty on the other is an important one in a liberal democracy. The question was posed in a full and important debate in the House of Lords earlier this year, when Lord Chalfont asked, "To what extent, in ensuring the safety and well-being of our democratic society as a whole, should we adopt policies which, even temporarily, restrict the liberty of individuals in that society?"

In a press interview the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, made his position clear: "Our society is in danger of becoming an airy-fairy libertarian world, where everybody does precisely what they like and believes the best of everybody, and then they destroy us."

Whatever our beliefs, I am sure that everyone will agree that security, both personal and corporate, has risen up the agenda throughout the world.

Expertise in Policing
In terms of policing, Britain has enviable traditions and high standards. We have been called on by many emerging democracies to provide a blueprint for excellence in methods, culture and training. Indeed, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has seen the need to set up a special 'company' limited by guarantee to spearhead the export of the many facets of British policing so much in demand.

Similarly, our experience in dealing with the horrors of terrorism over some 35 years in Ulster provides us with a unique insight into the terrorist mind, and we have developed techniques and equipment, much of it home grown, which will increasingly be in demand throughout the world. I have the privilege of being the President of both the Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers (APPSS), as well as the Joint Security Industry Council (JSIC), both of which work closely with the government in developing a modern industry, both for home use and for export to those countries requiring our expertise or equipment.

Those of us in the private security sector are in a unique position to work in partnership with the authorities, in what is undoubtedly a war on our home ground. As the Prime Minister said, it is a different war, but nonetheless a war. We need to use different methods and harness new resources to defend the realm.

What gives us the legitimacy to become partners with the law enforcement authorities is statutory regulation. Once the industry is proven to be legitimate, it can provide significant additional resources in the war against crime and terrorism.

Technological Resources
Technology is also an essential tool in our armoury. Biometrics, the hi-tech identification of individuals through their unique physical characteristics, was worth a mere $2.7mn a year. Analysts are now forecasting that by 2006 it will be worth $640mn!

The existing biometric methods of using fingerprints, facial characteristics, the iris and hand geometry are areas that can be developed. We have seen in recent years the benefits of DNA identification in crime investigation, not just in securing convictions, but also in the equally important field of determining innocence.

DNA, of course, was pioneered at Leicester University and there is no reason why the private sector in this country should not lead the way in other areas of technological advance to safeguard communities in these difficult times.

Lord Marlesford gave an example of the research and development opportunities available in the debate in the House of Lords referred to earlier. In referring to the "wholly inadequate passport system we have in this country", he remarked on a written answer he had recently received to the following questions: "Do immigration officers at points of entry into the United Kingdom have the facility to check online the validity of British passports presented by persons leaving or arriving? And how long after the reporting in any part of the world of a lost or stolen British passport is this information available to immigration officers at points of entry into the United Kingdom?"

The Minister's answer was that UK immigration officers do not have direct access online to the UK Passport Agency database and that details of passports reported as lost or stolen are sent to the Immigration Service Warnings Index. It is not electronic. The Minister continued, "As part of its anti-fraud programme, the UK Passport Service is developing a database for passports reported lost, stolen or recovered."

So there is work to be done. The world has had a wake-up call and if the problems of international crime and terrorism are to be tackled effectively every conceivable asset must be used in the coming years. JSIC and APPSS have been increasing membership, which provides evidence that British organisations and companies in the law enforcement/security family are aware of the need to develop our shared values and potential.

On Remembrance Day 2002, the Prime Minister told the Lord Mayor's Banquet in the City of London that "Extremism, personified either in terrorist groups or rogue states, is now preoccupying decision makers in the way that the struggle between liberal democracy and communism dominated the thinking of Western leaders during the Cold War".

We are talking about partnership between the public and private sectors as never seen before. The opportunities are mind-boggling, and the unique British experience of dealing with terrorism and crime puts us in a powerful position to benefit economically from the expertise that we have built up over many years in dealing with such matters.

It is all to play for. We should harness our expertise, public and private alike, for the common objective of defeating international terrorism. The future depends on it.

Supplied by courtesy of Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate OBE, LL.B (Hons) and former President of the Police Superintendents' Association