The Issue of Terrorism: Emerging Threats and Responses

One may ask what is terrorism? Terrorism is a very hard phenomenon to describe in one sentence only. Throughout the years there have been various definitions of terrorism as everyone has its own opinion regarding this matter, depending on their own individual perspective.

The United nations defines terrorism as “An anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby - in contrast to assassination - the direct targets of violence are not the main targets.” Along the years, countries have been looking for the best way possible to minimize the terrorism threat from their country. With today’s latest technology and because of the fact that we have more knowledge on terrorism one can design buildings in order to deter terrorism. This is called crime prevention through environmental design. Moreover, this concept has been around for years without even realizing, for instance, in Malta, Imdina is fortified and has a tunnel surrounding its circumference. This was built in order not to be easy for the enemies to enter and kill vulnerable people. Furthermore, such concept was also used in Egypt where they used to surround their castles with water. Throughout the years humans, have adapted the environment around them in a way to help protect them and that is what we have to do today in order to help designing out terrorism.

One can take into consideration the attacks that took place these past years in order to evaluate and see what can be improved in order to be geared up and ready for upcoming attacks. According to Guy Collyer, in order to make change to the environment one must be present in the development projects at the concept stage as once it is already drawn, it is difficult to make changes and improve the security measures of that place. In the UK the National counter terrorism Security office and the counter terrorism security advisers distribute security advice throughout the UK. This type of advice focuses on the protection of people which are considered to be vulnerable or targeted by terrorists. When these authorities deliver such advice, they ensure that the advice is reliable, affordable reasonable and sustainable. When these authorities are assigned to environmental design, they start off on the outside then working their way in, this kind of process is often known as the ‘Onion Peeling’ method. As each corner, layer of the place is examined. Guy Collyer also mentioned that ‘it is important to remember that terrorists will make planning visits to a targeted place’. Therefore, if for instance the risk security team of a specific building renders the site safe and anti-terroristic, one must know that terrorist may and will most probably always find a way to exploit vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, as technology evolves one has to first take into consideration the terrorist’s methodology. Terrorism can take place in various forms, for instance, bombings, mass shootings, plane crash and much more. Also, it is not enough that designing out terrorism changes according to the method that terrorists use, but it also changes according to the place/building. For instance, securing an airport varies a lot from securing a playground. According to each and every situation professional have to find counter actions. Such improved ideas may be, external barriers to deter ramming, use of building materials which reduce risk of fragmentation and more solid structural designs to reduce the risk of a building collapse. It could also be taken into consideration to prevent the access from the beginning, for instance stopping vehicles to see whether they have the permission to be near a certain building for the day. One could also reduce the speed of the vehicles near places where there are a lot of people on a daily basis such as airports which are a hotspot for terrorist activities. This can be done my installing sleeping polices on the road and barriers in front of the doors so that it is harder for vehicles to run over humans.

When it comes to designing out terrorism in airports one has to improve the security measures that are already in place. For instance, when waiting at the ticket booth or to check in your baggage, the line should be elongated instead of the typical “S” queue model. The line must appear smaller so that potential terrorists do not see a crowded place. This can be done by increasing planters or place alternating walls between the queues which will most probably obstruct the view of the adversary. Also another thing which can be done is upgrading the kiosks which are found at the airport, one has to maximize cover for the passengers for instance if a mass shooter decides to point his gun to the crowd, can the potential victims take cover near the kiosks? Moreover, in order to avoid car bombings, which can also be the reason of many casualties, the parking should be well away from the airport.