Project Griffin
Encyclopedia
Project Griffin was originally introduced by the City of London Police
and Metropolitan Police
in April, 2004 to help "London
's financial sector
better protect itself against terrorist threats". It has since
spread to businesses and security services as a way to get educated about counter-terrorism
and crime prevention, be the 'eyes and ears' for the police and be prepared for major emergency. The goal of the program is to bring together the police, fire brigade
, ambulance services
, private security industry and other government agencies in deterring, disrupting and support operations targeting terrorist and extremist
activity.
Since its inception, the program has spread across the United Kingdom
, Australia
, Canada
, Singapore
, South Africa
and the United States
.
A complementary program called 'Project Argus' is also deployed across the United Kingdom
. Project Argus focuses on "preventing, handling and recovering from a terrorist attack." It takes participants through simulated but realistic terrorist attack for participants to learn what would likely happen in an attack, what are the priorities during an attack and to
have the necessary plans in place before an attack.
, these may include: explosives, threats identification, crime scene
preservation, bomb threat
management, CBRN
management, conflict resolution
, reconnaissance
, cordon management, crime reduction strategy and legal matters. Participants who finish the entire course will be presented with a certificate and their name entered into a register in case for a deployment.
is placed for all participants to obtain any terrorism issues, crime or security issues. Generally speaking, these information are police intelligence
information for registered participants only.
, health and insurance
coverage differ.
Counter-Terrorism and Emergency Management Division adopted the project model to train security officers in threat identification and increase awareness in terrorism
. They may be called upon for emergency response in an event of a major incident such as a terrorist attack. These security officers will be responsible for access control
and manning the police cordon
lines.
adopted the project from the United Kingdom
. While similar in structure and function, the primary objective for the VPD is crime prevention
and crime reduction instead of counter-terrorism. Private security firms, Community Policing Centre volunteers and other security screened groups will participate on this project to receive the latest crime information and to assist police in an event of a major disaster.
disseminates information to registered volunteers on any safety and security development around the country. In an event of a street fight, they will assist police in crowd control
, traffic diversion, evacuation
and cordon control.
launched a pilot project in South Africa
in 2007 to train private security in crowd control, securing crime scenes, reporting suspect vehicles, participate in weekly police briefings. Project participants will respond in an event of a major disaster. Unlike other jurisdictions, these security guards will also participate in a non-emergency situation. For example, they form part of the security plan for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
.
launched the program called 'NYPD SHIELD'. Shield "is an umbrella program for a series of current and future Police Department initiatives that pertain to private sector security and counterterrorism. This is a public private partnership based on information sharing." This program, unlike other jurisdictions, only pertains to information sharing and not the physical intervention in other programs. It was thought information sharing between police and businesses will educate business signs to look for and their potential for being targeted while serving as NYPD's 'eyes and ears'.
City of London Police
The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle and Inner Temple. The service responsible for law enforcement within the rest of Greater London is the Metropolitan Police Service, a separate...
and Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
in April, 2004 to help "London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's financial sector
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
better protect itself against terrorist threats". It has since
spread to businesses and security services as a way to get educated about counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
and crime prevention, be the 'eyes and ears' for the police and be prepared for major emergency. The goal of the program is to bring together the police, fire brigade
London Fire Brigade
The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for London.Founded in 1865, it is the largest of the fire services in the United Kingdom and the fourth-largest in the world with nearly 7,000 staff, including 5,800 operational firefighters based in 112 fire...
, ambulance services
London Ambulance Service
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the largest "free at the point of contact" emergency ambulance service in the world. It responds to medical emergencies in Greater London, England, with the ambulances and other response vehicles and over 5,000 staff at its disposal.It is one of 12...
, private security industry and other government agencies in deterring, disrupting and support operations targeting terrorist and extremist
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
activity.
Since its inception, the program has spread across the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
A complementary program called 'Project Argus' is also deployed across the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Project Argus focuses on "preventing, handling and recovering from a terrorist attack." It takes participants through simulated but realistic terrorist attack for participants to learn what would likely happen in an attack, what are the priorities during an attack and to
have the necessary plans in place before an attack.
Awareness Day
This is a one day seminar where police members will attend to teach course participants various skills. Depending on jurisdictionJurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
, these may include: explosives, threats identification, crime scene
Crime scene
A crime scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists....
preservation, bomb threat
Bomb threat
A bomb threat is generally defined as a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, or injuries, whether or not such a device actually exists...
management, CBRN
CBRN
CBRN is an initialism for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. It is used to refer to situations in which any of these four hazards have presented themselves. The term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC , which had replaced the term ABC that was used in the fifties...
management, conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
, reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, cordon management, crime reduction strategy and legal matters. Participants who finish the entire course will be presented with a certificate and their name entered into a register in case for a deployment.
Bridge Call
Every week (or regular interval as determined by the police force), a conference callConference call
A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party...
is placed for all participants to obtain any terrorism issues, crime or security issues. Generally speaking, these information are police intelligence
Police Intelligence
Police intelligence refers to an element of the British police. Staffed by police officers and support staff, its purpose is to track and predict crime with a view to curbing it...
information for registered participants only.
Response
In the event of a major emergency or disaster, trained members will be deployed to support the police. They will be responsible for securing the cordon line and assist in evacuation if necessary. The response phrase differs from each jurisdiction as liabilityLegal liability
Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
, health and insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
coverage differ.
Australia
Victoria PoliceVictoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
Counter-Terrorism and Emergency Management Division adopted the project model to train security officers in threat identification and increase awareness in terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. They may be called upon for emergency response in an event of a major incident such as a terrorist attack. These security officers will be responsible for access control
Access control
Access control refers to exerting control over who can interact with a resource. Often but not always, this involves an authority, who does the controlling. The resource can be a given building, group of buildings, or computer-based information system...
and manning the police cordon
Cordon
A cordon is also a line of people, military posts, or ships surrounding an area to close or guard it.Cordon may also refer to:* Cordon and search, a military operation...
lines.
Canada
In February, 2009, Vancouver Police DepartmentVancouver Police Department
The Vancouver Police Department is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.VPD was the first Canadian police force...
adopted the project from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. While similar in structure and function, the primary objective for the VPD is crime prevention
Crime prevention
Crime prevention is the attempt to reduce victimization and to deter crime and criminals. It is applied specifically to efforts made by governments to reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice.-Studies:...
and crime reduction instead of counter-terrorism. Private security firms, Community Policing Centre volunteers and other security screened groups will participate on this project to receive the latest crime information and to assist police in an event of a major disaster.
Singapore
Termed 'Project Guardian', private security guards are trained and volunteer their service in case of a major emergency. Singapore Police ForceSingapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...
disseminates information to registered volunteers on any safety and security development around the country. In an event of a street fight, they will assist police in crowd control
Crowd control
Crowd control is the controlling of a crowd, to prevent the outbreak of disorder and prevention of possible riot. Examples are at soccer matches, when a sale of goods has attracted an excess of customers, refugee control, or mass decontamination and mass quarantine situations . It calls for gentler...
, traffic diversion, evacuation
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
and cordon control.
South Africa
South African Police ServiceSouth African Police Service
The South African Police Service is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1116 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province...
launched a pilot project in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 2007 to train private security in crowd control, securing crime scenes, reporting suspect vehicles, participate in weekly police briefings. Project participants will respond in an event of a major disaster. Unlike other jurisdictions, these security guards will also participate in a non-emergency situation. For example, they form part of the security plan for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
United States
New York City Police DepartmentNew York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
launched the program called 'NYPD SHIELD'. Shield "is an umbrella program for a series of current and future Police Department initiatives that pertain to private sector security and counterterrorism. This is a public private partnership based on information sharing." This program, unlike other jurisdictions, only pertains to information sharing and not the physical intervention in other programs. It was thought information sharing between police and businesses will educate business signs to look for and their potential for being targeted while serving as NYPD's 'eyes and ears'.