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The devastating terrorist attacks on the British capital in July 2005 has made building security in London an issue for all of its citizens. It has understandably become a big focus of minds in government – both on a national and local level. That summer saw the loss of many lives, and significant physical and psychological damage for many of the survivors.

The 7.5 million inhabitants of this ancient city combine to produce one of the busiest metropolitan centres in the world. Financial institutions, educational establishments and businesses of all kinds now feel the need to look at their building security. London’s structures are now some of the most watched in the globe.

Building security in London has been high on the agendas of powers that be since the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began its mainland terror campaign in the 1970s. In 1991, when the IRA successfully launched a mortar into the grounds of Number 10 Downing Street, political building security in London tightened to a much greater degree. The city that remains has some of the highest end anti-terror technology anywhere.

The IRA campaign arguably put the British security services one step ahead of potential terror threats. Unfortunately though, this could not prevent the 7/7 attacks on London’s transport network. One of the tools which was developed when the IRA were the main threat, was the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system. This is widely used in the United Kingdom and effectively means that security services can track any vehicle in the country.

As many terrorist attacks have in some way been linked to vehicles – usually for delivering the proposed weapon – ANPR has proved a useful weapon in building security in London. In the UK, buildings are potent symbols of nationhood – particularly those of institutions such as Parliament, the Royal family and the armed services.

Building security in London was brought to the fore by the unsuccessful bomb attack on the Tiger Tiger night club near the capital’s popular Piccadilly Circus area. The device was unwieldy in size and therefore could only be transported by a private vehicle – public transport would have been impossible. The day after this attempted attack another group drove a 4×4 vehicle into the glass doors of Glasgow Airport. The vehicle contained propane gas canisters. Fortunately, these canisters did not go off.

The bombs in London and the attack in Glasgow were proven to be linked. They demonstrated how building security in London as well as many other British cities has become a crucial issue. How the advancements in surveillance systems will affect (or have already affected) the civilian population in terms of civil liberties is arguably the downside to this protection – a protection which is in no way guaranteed.

Unfortunately, there are likely to be further attempts on British cities in the years ahead. Whatever the future holds in terms of terrorist threats, the surveillance systems which watch over the criminals are also watching over the rest of us.

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Anna Stenning is an authority on building security in London having researched the subject for her thesis. For more information visit http://alamosecurity.co.uk/

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