Successful completion of the project on the protection of public spaces

The EU has a strategic commitment to combat terrorism at the global level, respecting human rights with the aim of making our societies more secure, which is why the nexus of security and development is of great importance.

Following the series of attacks in public spaces suffered in Europe and other parts of the world, from 2015, the European Commission designed an Action Plan which, among other things, involved the creation of a Forum for the exchange of experiences in the protection of public spaces, the EU High Risk Security Network.

The Spanish Guardia Civil belongs to this European network and has been in charge of working for almost four years on the project on the protection of public spaces (CT Public Spaces). Specialists from the Guardia Civil have worked hand in hand with their counterparts to share the experiences acquired in this European forum.

The project, funded by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP, aimed to prevent terrorist attacks and, where appropriate, reduce their effects in crowded public spaces in Ghana, Kenya and Senegal. European security forces have shared new developments in tactics, techniques and procedures in the fight against terrorism and a large number of activities have been carried out covering aspects related to the protection of public spaces from terrorist threats.

The result of the project has been very satisfactory, since thanks to this work it has been possible to raise awareness of terrorist threats among political and police leaders, to make progress in improving command and control capabilities, risk analysis, and in the use of tactics, techniques and procedures that enable security forces to prevent, protect, react and recover in the event of a terrorist attack. In addition, cooperation has been fostered between the different security forces and private security, which are very important actors in security.