Nothing is more deterring to a terrorist than a trained security or law enforcement professional who asks the right questions at the right time. A terrorist tries to avoid exposure at any cost prior to the execution of his attack. Having the ability to intercept the terrorist in the plenary stages of his act will undoubtedly make him rethink his method of operation and even the selection of his target. Terrorist threat mitigation is therefore heavily dependent on honing one’s detection and questioning skills through training.
We have to consider security training as a primary element in the design of an effective security system; without training, a security system becomes predictable, ineffective and consequently vulnerable and obsolete. In this respect, we must also realize that in security, technology is always applied to support security and law enforcement personnel and not the other way around.
Our inclination is to buy technological solutions that try to offer a single and simple solution. Unfortunately, the war against terrorism is mapped by our terrorist adversaries who continually look for ways to breach the security system. In this way, we are obliged to follow the terrorist map and method of operations when designing our countering policies procedures and training. This demands the application of a highly evolved and articulated procedural protocol applied by people, supported by technology and glued together with training.
General Douglas MacArthur said once: “There is no security in this life. There is only opportunity”. The most effective security system is the one that trains its people to look for the opportunity to catch and hunt down the terrorists and not wait for the terrorist to be intercepted.
