Chief Superintendent Nick Aldworth from Counter Terrorism Policing talks about the importance of the RVSS Scheme and continuing to work with police to help tackle terrorism
I am so proud of the work that is taking place within both the public and private sector to improve the safety of everyone. My role as national co-ordinator means that I have the privilege of meeting and working with people from all walks of life.
The threat to the UK from international terrorism remains at Severe and the pace of our work has not diminished. Our collaborations with businesses such as the vehicle industry are significantly helping to keep people safe. This sector, in particular, has every right to be very proud of itself. Within days of the awful vehicle attack in Nice in 2016, I was sitting around the table with representatives of many of the people who will read this blog. The vehicle rental and leasing industry have been at the vanguard of everything we are trying to do to keep the UK safe for all of our communities, so I am so grateful to you all.
Physically protecting people from terrorism is a role that people often don’t understand. It isn’t one that gets written about and very rarely grabs news headlines. But, as with many things in life, it is the work that is going on behind the scenes that is so vitally important.
Within my portfolio is the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO), a police unit that supports the Protect and Prepare strands of the government’s counter terrorism strategy, CONTEST, and supports the work of about 190 counter terrorism security advisors (CTSAs) who work within local police forces as officers and staff. Their primary role is to provide help, advice and guidance on all aspects of counter terrorism protective security to specified industry sectors. Their depth of knowledge is invaluable so do link in with your local team to get the latest advice and information.
We have all seen the devastation caused by terrorists using vehicles as a weapon and the ongoing work with the Department for Transport and industry has been an important strand of our efforts to help mitigate this threat. This is split into three areas of work: vehicle barriers, the haulage industry and the vehicle rental industry.
As a result of the hard work of the representatives of businesses, as well as the Department of Transport, at the end of 2018 we were able to launch the The Rental Vehicle Security Scheme [RVSS].
The RVSS is a voluntary scheme and is open to all UK hire firms who offer long and short-term rentals to consumers. As part of the ten-point code, companies are empowering their staff to report suspicious activity, which results in additional eyes and ears into the car rental industry – ultimately benefiting businesses, police and communities.
The scheme signposts people to key reporting channels, including gov.uk/ACT, and incorporates the ACT Awareness e-learning tool via counterterrorism.police and the NaCTSO website. The ACT Awareness course is also available on the BVRLA E-learning platform.
I have complete faith that the majority of people are happy to work with the police to help tackle terrorism, they just need to know what to look out for and how to report concerns. Schemes such as the RVSS enable us to get this information to them which is why they are so important.
Please look at all of the resources that are available, speak to your local CTSA, sign up to the scheme and make sure your staff complete the e-learning. These are small steps that can have a huge impact for the benefit of everyone and it is only through working together that we will defeat terrorism.
Thank you for your support.
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