Security plans need to converge
Ports and harbours have a number of plans to deal with emergencies Ports and harbours have a number of plans to deal with emergencies, but whether or not they come together to be effective is another issue entirely.There's the port security plan, the coastguard's rescue operations, there's the local police and possibly other agencies to deal with such as the fire crews. "In any one port city you will probably find geographic and functional dividing lines all over the place as to who does what in an emergency," explains Mark Woolley of VSTEP. "If established plans and protocols do not work then it can be very dangerous."So, according to Mr Woolley, there is a need to practice responses together. Further, there is, according to him, a need to check what is out of the ordinary and needs to trigger a response. He said, "You may do a lot of training on how to intercept and arrest, but how do you recognise what to look for?" His answer is that a multidisciplinary approach works best.Ideally, he explains, you want an inter-agency tool, one which means port authorities, coastguard, and law enforcement integration.The old problem is that while even pulling say, a ...
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