Acting on intelligence: a case study

Note: The following case study is based on a real-life incident. Details have been anonymised to protect client confidentiality.

At 0931 on Monday 17th March, Unitrust’s Managing Director was contacted by the General Manager of a long-standing real estate client  one of the leading international real estate providers-requesting specialist security support.

The client representative , responsible  for managing a major asset in the City of London, reported that a tenant had received a threat from an individual in Rome, indicating  a possible risk to the building by way of explosion or arson.

Unitrust’s Risk Director immediately diverted from another site , arriving on site within forty minutes, meeting with the General Manager.. Also present was Unitrust’s Strategic Account Director. 

Before arrival, Unitrust’s Risk Director had contacted the Head of Crime at the City of London Police and established the crime had not yet been reported by the tenants.

City Of London Police were put on notice that  incident had occurred, and a formal report would follow shortly.

Comment on picture provided by our client at the affected property

Upon further liaison with the tenant  it was established that a known individual had threatened to ‘explode like a firework and reduce the building in London to the ground’. This constitutes an offense under section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Given the nature of the threat and its apparent  motivation of revenge,  it was classified as a high risk incident.

Following this meeting:

• A computer aided dispatch (CAD) was raised with the police, securing police attendance

• City of London Police placed a notice at UK ports under the Prevent strategy to flag any airline bookings made by the subject from Italy to London

• The threat was issued from an address in Italy to the tenant’s office in Milan  meaning the  crime was under Italian jurisdiction.

• The crime was formally reported in Italy leading to an investigation by the Carabinieri, Italy’s specialist force handling  serious crime and acts of terrorism. Further updates on their action and threat assessment is awaited.

On site actions:

• Security Briefing -  All security officers and reception where full briefed on the situation.

• Covert Monitoring – A discrete response plan was implemented to alert building management if the suspect attempted to enter the building.

• Intelligence Support – Leveraging its impressive intelligence network, Unitrust conducted  further research on the suspect at no cost to the client as part of their add value commitment.  Photographs of the individual were obtained and  disseminated to site security officers to aid in identification.

ENDS