Guidance

Good Housekeeping

Published 2 November 2020

This guidance was withdrawn on 30 May 2022

For the latest, up to date versions of NaCTSO guidance, please visit www.protectuk.police.uk. This NaCTSO page is no longer updated.

1. Introduction

Good housekeeping improves the ambience of your premises, reduces the opportunity for placing suspicious items or bags and helps you manage false alarms and hoaxes. Items left insecure on site, such as flammable liquids, tools, scaffolding poles and ladders, could be used by terrorists and criminals. It’s therefore important that they are safely secured whenever they are not in use.

2. Good housekeeping

You can reduce the number of places where devices may be left by considering the following points:

• Avoid the use of litter bins in vulnerable areas (e.g. near crowded locations, glazing and support structures). Monitor vulnerable areas with CCTV and make sure there are regular cleaning regimes in place.
• Review the management of all your litter bins and consider the size of their openings, their blast mitigation capabilities and location.
• The use of clear bags for waste disposal makes it easier to conduct an initial examination for any suspicious items.
• Review the use, placement and security of any compactors, recycling sorting points, wheelie bins, skips and metal bins used to store rubbish within service areas, goods entrances and near areas where crowds congregate.
• Your operations manager should have an agreed procedure in place for the management of contractors, their vehicles and waste collection services. The registration mark of each vehicle and details of its occupants should be known to the security staff or manager in advance of their arrival.
• Keep public, communal and external areas (such as exits, entrances, lavatories, service corridors and yards) clean, tidy and well lit.
• Keep the fixtures, fittings and furniture in such areas to a minimum, ensuring there is little opportunity to hide devices.
• Lock and check unoccupied offices, rooms and store cupboards.
• Place tamper-proof plastic seals on maintenance hatches.
• Pruning vegetation and trees, especially near entrances, will assist natural surveillance and help prevent the concealment of any packages.
• Ensure that all staff are trained in bomb threat handling procedures, or at least have ready access to instructions, and know where these are kept.
• Review your CCTV system to ensure that it is working correctly and has sufficient coverage both internally and externally.
• Ensure first-aid kits and fire extinguishers are checked regularly and ensure that they have not been interfered with. Any used items should be replaced. Are a sufficient number of staff trained in first aid for a terrorist type attack?
• Security managers should consider a secondary secure location for use as a control room as part of their contingency planning.
• Security systems reliant on power should have an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) available. This should be regularly tested if it is identified that power loss could impact your safety critical systems; e.g. alarms, secure doors and locks, CCTV etc.
• Ensure street vendors, cycle racks, lockers and bins do not impede evacuation routes, assembly areas, exits or entrances.
• Ensure cycle racks and lockers are placed away from crowded areas. Monitor with CCTV if necessary.

Consult with a security professional, such as a CTSA, regarding the design and placement of street furniture, lockers, bins, cycle racks etc.

You may also want to complete the Good Housekeeping checklist

You may also want to complete the Bomb Threats checklist