What to do in a Paris style terrorist attack - PIA

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So this was an email that got sent out to everyone in my force by one of the Chief officers and is public domain so I thought I'd share.

The purpose of this is to inform regarding a roaming terrorist attack regardless of motivation, so please don't go off topic and turn this into an IS or muslim bashing thread - that's not the purpose.

The government has issued new advice to the public in the wake of the Paris attacks on how they can stay safe if they find themselves involved in a Paris-style incident – Run, Hide, Tell.

RUN

Escape if you can.
Consider the safest options.
Is there a safe route? RUN, if not, HIDE.
Can you get there without exposing yourself to greater danger?
Insist others leave with you.
Leave belongings behind.

HIDE

If you can’t RUN, HIDE.
Find cover from gunfire.
If you can see the attacker, they may be able to see you.
Cover from view does not mean you are safe, bullets go through glass, brick, wood and metal.
Find cover from gunfire, e.g. substantial brickwork / heavy, reinforced walls.
Be aware of your exits.
Try not to get trapped.
Be quiet, silence your phone.
Lock / barricade yourself in.
Move away from the door.

TELL

Call 999 – what do the police need to know?
Location – where are the suspects?
Direction – where did you last see the suspects?
Descriptions – describe the attackers (numbers, features, clothing, weapons, etc).
Further information – casualties, type of injury, building information, entrances, exits, hostages, etc.
Stop other people entering the building if it is safe to do so.

You can find more information on the Stay Safe principles via the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...orist-threat/recognising-the-terrorist-threat

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-message-following-the-attacks-in-paris-13-november-2015
 
Given people were stopping to pick up hand luggage when their aircraft was on fire I'm not sure you could be too obvious with advice.

If anything that shows that people don't listen to advice in exceptional situations. Because they will have been told not to take hand luggage with them not only at the start of the flight but I'm sure also as the evacuation procedure started.
 
If hiding just remember that Hollywood has lied to you your entire life and almost nothing is bulletproof :eek:

Pre-1950's buildings that use 2 layers of bricks for the external walls will still offer way more protection that a new build house. Those old "Stalinist" concrete council buildings from the 60s/70s are pretty tough too.

Squatting down beside one of the front wheels of any vehicle with a large in-line mounted engine will put a lot of metal between you and danger. Obviously, an XJ12 will other more protection that a 1.2L Polo.
 
Decades of FPS games have prepared me for this pretty well in terms of getting the hell out of Dodge!
 
All pretty obvious stuff, the thing is most would either instincively follow it but some might not.

One of the weird things ive noticed i do in airsoft is despite it being a safe, controlled environment, with no one actually trying to hurt me, when i find myself in the vicinity of a grenade despite knowing in my mind the obvious thing to do is to kick it or leg it, i do neither but instead lock up and freeze (which inevitably results in me being 'out' ofc)

Just goes to show that when in an unfamilar situation, regardless of what you know is the correct thing to do you can just fail to do the right thing quickly enough that it matters. I'm sure the first reaction of far too many people upon hearing gunfire will be to ask "is that gunfire?"
 
For the most part unless you've experienced and trained for something like this 99% of people are going to freeze and forget any sensible plans of action.
 
For the most part unless you've experienced and trained for something like this 99% of people are going to freeze and forget any sensible plans of action.

Yep, i'd imagine anyone suddenly expereincing something out of their normal realm of experience goes through a few seconds of confusion before they can really think and let either the panic or the rational thought process take over.

There was a good documentary i watched about how these things work, and an interesting experiment where they told everyone to walk in a circle, and then the buzzer sounded they had to run for the front door, but they had a sleeper who was instructed to run for the other door, and half of the people followed him despite being clearly told to go to the front door.

During that short time we're sheep and we'll follow the crowd regardless of how safe or rational the crowds actions are.
 
All pretty obvious stuff, the thing is most would either instincively follow it but some might not.

One of the weird things ive noticed i do in airsoft is despite it being a safe, controlled environment, with no one actually trying to hurt me, when i find myself in the vicinity of a grenade despite knowing in my mind the obvious thing to do is to kick it or leg it, i do neither but instead lock up and freeze (which inevitably results in me being 'out' ofc)

Just goes to show that when in an unfamilar situation, regardless of what you know is the correct thing to do you can just fail to do the right thing quickly enough that it matters. I'm sure the first reaction of far too many people upon hearing gunfire will be to ask "is that gunfire?"

Very very few people perform the first time when **** hits the fan no matter how well trained or versed in what to do.
 
My one rule when it comes to this sort of thing. Don't follow the sheep. Run backwards further in. Look for a back door? Roof exit? or whatever seems the best option given the situation. Follow the crowd and you will be followed by the perpetrators who are looking to inflict as much damage as possible.
 
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