Police call on public to sign up for free counter terrorism training.
An award-winning counter terrorism training course is being made available to the public for the first time and Avon and Somerset Police want you to sign up and help protect the UK.
Devised by CT officers and security experts, the ACT Awareness eLearning package was previously only available to staff working in crowded places like shopping centres and entertainment venues.
Now Counter Terrorism Policing has decided to open up the training to anyone who wants to become a CT Citizen so they can learn how to spot the signs of suspicious behaviour and understand what to do in the event of a major incident.
The programme was originally devised in partnership with retail giant Marks and Spencer – and participants needed to be signed up by their employers. Today the online learning is available free of charge to anyone who wants to take part.
The decision to offer the training to the public was not made in response to the recent attack in London. However, the tragic events which took place just 10 days ago, when two people lost their lives to terrorism, were a stark reminder of the ongoing threat and the need for vigilance.
Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Cullen said: “ACT Awareness eLearning is especially useful for anyone working in or regularly visiting crowded places.
“Developed alongside industry experts more than one and a half million modules have already been completed.
“The course has been so popular, with nine out of 10 users saying they would recommend it, we want to open it up to as many people as possible.
“The threat level remains at Substantial – meaning an attack is likely – so giving everyone the chance to be extra eyes and ears for police and local security teams help to keep all communities across the Avon and Somerset area safe.
“The festive period is obviously a very busy one – so this is a good time to join up and become a CT Citizen.”
ACT Awareness is made up of seven modules that take a few minutes each to complete. You can pause and re-join at any time. In total it takes just 45 minutes – so less than an hour of your time could help to prevent an attack or help save lives if one was to happen.
The course is hosted by online training specialists Highfield. To register and start learning, click https://ct.highfieldelearning.com
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Forcewide, Help us keep everyone safe this Christmas
We’re supporting the latest Counter Terrorism Policing campaign to help keep crowded places secure over the festive period.
The campaign calls on the public and those who work in our busy towns and cities to remain vigilant and report any concerns to staff, security or – in confidence – to Counter Terrorism police at gov.uk/ACT. It also asks everyone to be the extra eyes and ears of the police, so we can work together to tackle terrorism.
Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Cullen said: “We’re asking everyone out and about enjoying the festive season to look after each other and if they see something which doesn’t look right, to report it. Neighbourhood officers will be patrolling our communities throughout the Christmas period, including Christmas Day itself, just as they are on every other day of the year.
“Project Servator deployments will also be carried out across the force area – these are unpredictable deployments involving specially trained officers who turn up announced at various locations to provide the public with reassurance and to disrupt a wide range of criminal activity, including terrorism.”
ACC Cullen added: “The chances of being caught up in a terrorist incident are extremely low. But sadly, as we saw just last week in London, attacks can be carried out anywhere and anytime. “The national threat level remains Substantial, meaning an attack is likely, so we need to remain vigilant.
“Our message to people across the Avon and Somerset force area is not to worry that you might be wasting our time. If you see something suspicious – ACT. Speak to a police officer or report it to local security or staff or via gov.uk/ACT and let us check it out.
“A few minutes of your time could help save lives.”
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Press Release, Elderly pedestrians injured in car park collision.
We are appealing for witnesses to a collision in which a 97-year-old man was injured.
Officers were called to the car park of Morrisons in Summer Lane, Weston-super-Mare, just before midday on Monday 2 December.
There were reports of two elderly pedestrians having been in injured in a collision with a car.
They were treated at Weston General Hospital for injuries not believed life-threatening or life-changing. The 97-year-old man remains in hospital for treatment. The car driver, a man in his 70s, was spoken to at the scene.
If you saw the collision get in touch, or call 101, quoting log 380 of 2nd December.
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November Crime Figures – AN010
Dear Members,
The attached document provides a breakdown of the types of crime that occurred in your area in November 2019.
Kind regards,
Paul Johnson, NHW Admin (Somerset)
Attachments:
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Force Area Fraudster Warning.
Bath Trading Standards have alerted us to a number of incidents where residents have been telephoned by someone falsely claiming to be from the ‘credit investigation’ or ‘debt advice’ departments of the Citizens Advice Bureau.
This can be an expensive and worrying time of year for many people, so it can be easy for them to fall prey to scammers, particularly if they appear to be offering some relief from debt. It is also a concern that the scammers are using the Citizens Advice name as that is where consumers are signposted for most problems.
Although these reports have come from Bath, the calls are not likely to be area specific. If anyone has been affected by a similar telephone call, the advice from Trading Standards is to call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06 or report it online at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/consumer-service/
Another suspicious incident occurred in Canterbury Road, Bath. At approximately 3pm on Friday 29 November, a male has called at the home of an elderly female claiming to be from BBC Market Research. He wanted to go inside the property to complete the survey, despite the resident saying she would send it on. The male also suggested he could pay £1,000 towards the TV licence. As he neither wore or showed any form of ID the resident became suspicious and shut the door on him. Remember that you don’t have to answer the door to anyone you don’t know or weren’t expecting. Always use a door chain if possible.
We want to remind residents to be wary of any unexpected callers at your door, especially those offering unwanted services or selling items that may be of poor quality and over-priced. Always use a trader who has been recommended to you by a trusted source. All items must come with a 14-day cooling off period, and any quote should be on company stationery containing the seller’s address and phone number
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