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Yesterday's nationwide bomb hoax

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Hello all,

You may have seen that schools across the country, including here in our customer area were targeted by malicious bomb warnings by email. Some, in liaison with the Police, evacuated and searched while, as the incident unfolded, others decided against it.

This is another scenario where potentially you can't win and are damned by some whichever way your decision is made.

Don't forget though, if you evacuate, a bag bomb means a 200m cordon, not standing in your assembly area for fire. A vehicle of concern, 400m. The Police will not usually respond on a blues and twos basis and when they do arrive will ask you to accompany them, because they don't know your place like you do. That will all take substantial time and shelter/facilities for those evacuated will need to be put in place quickly to recognise that. Ensuring all medicines and first aid equipment plus your usual evacuation crates and bags are essential too.

There is no indication as to whether this will be repeated but it fits in to our ongoing support to you around vigilance and resilience. Perhaps a discussion at your SMT and with your team may be timely to cover your approach and key points/

Don't forget, if a telephone warning is received that your recipient needs to try to gather as much information as possible to aid later investigation.

Finally there's your 'authoritative source' role and the loggist. Do use your communication methods to inform your community of your situation and keep them regualrly updated so rumour and misinformation can't grow. Also immediately activate your loggist to start the contemporaneous note and action taking, should int be needed down stream.

All the best.

Bill

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