The consequences of the London bombings on July 7 last year have reverberated throughout the UK security industry. The atrocity has had a major impact not only on the public's attitude to terrorism but on policing, transport security, private security, urban surveillance and disaster planning. In the following pages we look at what effect 7/7 has had on the major security sectors. Here Alan Hyder looks at the effects on CCTV one year on...

Two sides of modern technology

Two modern technologies are playing both positive and negative roles in urban terrorism.

Mobile phones: While able to be used to remotely detonate bombs (it is believed the Madrid train bombs were activated by the battery of a mobile phone switched on by the alarm function), phone cameras are playing a vital role in evidence gathering. Mobile phone networks were at capacity on the morning of 7/7 and excessive usage meant communications failures. Citizen reporters" took many still and moving images in the minutes after, helping to give investigators a clearer idea of what happened. They also provided the shots – immediately after the bus blast and underground as passengers made their way along the lines – that could never be expected from TV crews.

The internet: The net was later claimed to be responsible as the medium by which the bombers gained information for their acts and as a means of communication. It also serves, however, as a vital line of instant communication in identifying suspects with immediate worldwide postings of images.

Source

Security Installer