Iain Moran, Crowdguard’s MD, and Russ Phillips, Counter Terrorism and Risk Director, delivered our inaugural webinar on 22nd January “Understanding HVM for Events”.

When most people think of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM), they picture Vehicle Security Barriers (VSBs). While these barriers play a critical role in protecting events, they are only one piece of the puzzle. As Safety Advisory Groups, local authorities, and law enforcement increasingly request HVM measures for events, understanding their full scope is essential for effective security planning.

This webinar addressed the key elements of HVM planning, implementation, and response strategies. Topics discussed included:

• The Benefits of a Complete HVM Plan
• The Role of Key Stakeholders
• Practical Applications

Understanding how a comprehensive approach goes beyond simply deploying physical VSB’s barriers is paramount to ensuring a cohesive security strategy.  This is the basis for Crowdguard’s trusted Plan, Provide, Protect model to deliver comprehensive event security:

• Plan: Expert Risk assessments including Threat Vulnerability Risk and Vehicle Dynamic assessments with full HVM design and specification.
• Provide: Access to a diverse range of HVM solutions ensures tailored, effective deployments.
• Protect: Certified, rated HVM solutions and ongoing support guarantee enduring safety – all part of our ‘Protection in Partnership’ mantra.

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What is Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM)?

The National Protective Security Authority gives this definition:

• Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) is a protective security discipline focussing on reducing risks associated with vehicle borne threats posed by terrorists and criminals.
• HVM is the delivery of measures that are informed by the threat and how it manifests itself, the multiple consequences of an attack, the vulnerability of a given location and the needs of the enterprise requiring protection. 
• The basis of HVM are security risk assessments, security planning, and design and the deployment of risk-based measures.

This reinforces the key message that Russ introduced, that HVM is not just a series of barriers – it is a developed security and counter-terrorism plan that involves processes and procedures, as well as physical measures, to reduce the risk of a hostile vehicle incursion.

These will typically include deterrent communications, security awareness, incident response, planning and staff training, operational security, traffic management/ calming measures as well as the deployment of physical obstructions such as Vehicle Security Barriers (VSB).

Layered security measures

Using the ‘onion analogy’, Russ explained that a well-designed security solution has many layers – meaning that there are many aspects involved in a good security plan and the number and types of layers required is determined by a risk assessment and a proportionate response plan. It’s imperative that all the layers work together to provide a robust, unified solution – so if one layer fails then there is another layer of security to deter a hostile actor.  This makes your VSB one layer of a multi-layered event security plan.

In order to reduce the risk of a hostile vehicle incursion, event organisers would do well to consider the following types of vehicle-borne threats:

• Parked vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED)
• Penetrative / Ramming attack
• Tailgating / Encroaching vehicles
• Deception – Using a delivery / emergency vehicle to gain access to a site
• Duress/ Coercion – Forcing staff to gain access to a site/ deliver an explosive package
• Insider Threat – often used in tandem with duress/ coercion, or as a result of poor staff security vetting procedures.
• Tamper/ Sabotage of existing defences.

In order to reduce the risk of the above, these possible solutions should be considered:

• Vehicle Access Passes – Passes issued in advance only to authorised vehicles.
• Control/ Check points – Checking vehicles, driver ID, purpose of site visit before vehicle reached the centre point of the event.
• Key Management – So that keys cannot be stolen and vehicles used for malicious purposes, and so that only authorised staff have access to vehicles.

Physical obstructions and location of event

Using VSB to secure the main ingress/ egress routes to & from your event is a critical consideration for event organisers. Physical barriers play an important part in this, but they can be greatly assisted by the location of your event, and the surrounding (urban) landscape. Think of natural changes in elevation (stairs, steep hills, embankments), water features (rivers, canals, fountains), walkways and bridges – all of these can be used to further reduce the risk of a hostile vehicle attack.

The NPSA has produced an excellent guide to help you better understand the use of HVM and topology in urban settings, called the Public Realm Design Guide for HVM.

VSB measures can be temporary, semi-permanent of permanent solutions – but all should have a ‘rated’ level of protection. Typically, this should be either ISO22343-1, PAS68, or IWA impact rated standards. There is also a delay-rated standard (VADS), which is designed more for temporary HVM measures, to protect against repetitive, nudging-style attacks. However, your primary consideration should be one of proportionality, as well as a budgetary consideration. Do you really need a permanent ring of steel around the location for your once-a-year village fete? Probably not. A conversation with your Counter Terrorism Security Adviser (CTSA) will be able to steer you in the right direction and identify the most proportionate level of protection needed.

Risk and Residual Risk

It is impossible to completely eliminate all risks associated with your event. So, it is important to understand the residual risk – essentially, what your security measures will, and will not do, and then have a series of measures built into your security plan to further mitigate these residual risks.

Tactical Options for consideration, to further reduce risk levels can include:

• Soft Road Closures to increase Stand-Off distance
• Tactical Parking/ Chicanes/ Lane closures – to reduce space & speed of approaching vehicles
• Vehicle Access Control Point – Stop and Check credentials
• Vehicle Access Passes – Know what every vehicle is doing on site, and why they are there
• Event Vehicles – transport lorries/ vans that are already cleared to be on site can also help in in HVM plan.
• Vehicle Monitoring when on-site
• Security Minded Comms – Thoroughly explain to your security staff what your response plan is, in the event of an incident. Make sure they understand it,
• Flexible Plans – Revise it and stand it up and stand it down as required.

At Crowdguard, we can include, where appropriate, a Threat Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (TVRA), alongside a Vehicle Dynamics Assessment (VDA), to help event organisers understand the level of risk associated with their event. This will then give them an informed understanding of risk, and how to mitigate against it, within the budgetary constraints that they are operating under.

Principles of Protective Security

Deter ▶ Detect ▶ Delay ▶ Mitigate ▶ Respond

The vital thing to understand about a HVM for events is that its key function is to create TIME. Time – often vital seconds – for the police, event security, and/or stewards to get people to safety from the area, to implement a response plan and start the evacuation process.

Every event organiser must have a response plan. Without this, all other preparations are pointless.

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Major Event HVM solution example

Russ then went on to use an example to demonstrate all of the key points so far by using the following scenario:

• Full weekend event – 2 days. In a green space outside town.
• Big name headline acts – huge fanbase, lots of media coverage
• 50,000 people expected to attend over the weekend
• Event starts at midday on the Saturday.
• The event area is alongside the main route in and out of town and about one mile from the railway station.
• It finishes at 2200 hrs on the Sunday.

Key considerations:

• Event location – Main access routes into town alongside the event space. How do you safely manage 50,000 people into and out of the event space without causing gridlock?
  • Use a series of soft and hard road closures, alongside a TM plan that re-directs traffic flow around the event space.
• What about the residents? You can’t force them out of their houses for the weekend, neither can you force them not to leave their abodes.
  • Possible solutions could include Park & Ride for residents. Escorted travel arrangements? Unrestricted access? Resident-only access through permits / ANPR solution?
• Managing egress – The main bulk of people will leave the event location at roughly the same time, over a one-hour period. Many of them heading to the local train station.
  • Considerations for egress should include:
    • Risk Levels – Risk levels reduce as the crowd thins when it moves away from the event site.
    • Expected response – Staff are equipped with airhorns and radios and are briefed on expected response.
    • Traffic Management Plan – Traffic Management moves traffic away from busy area for the egress period.
    • Transport hubs – Extra VSB’s in place at railway station as this is a predictably busy place for an extended period whilst trains are used to get people out of the city.
    • Zones – Key stakeholders involved as this is clearly Zone-Ex and is worked in partnership with local authority, transport authorities as well as event organisers and police.

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Counter Terrorism Plan

HVM is part of a wider counter terrorism plan, so event organisers should also have plans in place to mitigate against other types of attacks, such as:

🛑 Knives 🛑 Firearms 🛑 IED’s 🛑 Fire as a weapon 🛑 Marauding attack.

HVM is not Traffic Management, or Traffic Calming, but can work in partnership with these measures to further reduce the risk of a hostile vehicle incursion, when it is aligned with operational requirements and budgetary considerations.

HVM is a collaborative process that should involve your HVM provider, Event organiser/venue/local authority, Police, CTSA, Security provider and Traffic Management company.

One HVM size does not fit all

We believe that there is no single solution for every event. Each event has a different location, timing, risk profile, ingress/egress routes, crowds will behave differently at a music concert than they will at a football match. This is why we work closely with all stakeholders, utilising our trusted Plan Provide Protect model, before deciding which kit to deploy, and where – creating a proportionate installation that minimises disruption but ensures that an event and its attendees are protected.

Crowdguard only deploys equipment that is tested and listed in the NPSA CSE. We have access to a large range of equipment that enables us to ensure we can work with your operational requirement and operational budgets.

We believe in ‘doing the right thing’ and will be open, honest, and accountable in all of our dealings with event organisers, providing expert, impartial advice throughout the planning of your event, right the way through to its ending.

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Get in touch with the Crowdguard team to discuss your HVM requirements. We will give you the best possible advice and provide a turnkey service to help you plan and implement strategies to keep people safe in crowded places, with market-leading solutions installed by experts, designed to help you mitigate risk.

Tel: 0161 507 3434

Email: info@crowdguard.co.uk