Page 36 - Security Today, October 2018

Portable Security
Protecting Hard to Protect Areas
QBuickly prevent deadly vehicle attacks wherever people congregate
y their very nature, terrorist attacks are unpredictable and They can be placed on any stable surface such as concrete, asphalt, predicated on surprise. Staying one step ahead by identify- compacted soil or vegetation to quickly protect people and property ing vulnerable areas, and securing them, is critical to stav- against aggravated automobile or truck assault.
ing off vehicular attacks. That means being able to deploy Temporary bollards can be used to close off streets, entrances or
security equipment in tough conditions, at a moment’s notice. wide expanses such as access to pedestrian areas or even airport run-
A year ago this month, an Islamic terrorist drove a rented pickup truck into cyclists and runners for about one mile of the Hudson River Park’s bike path in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The ve- hicle-ramming attack killed eight people and injured 11 others. Gov- ernment officials are asking how authorities can protect people from attacks in places such as this.
Many officials are unaware there is an answer. A crash-rated portable bollard system will let law enforcement and other security providers promptly block access to uniquely-shaped venues to stop vehicles from being used as weapons against large numbers of pedes- trians. Additionally, individual portable bollards provide vehicle bar- ricades in applications such as heavily traveled narrow walkways and roadways or any area that a vehicle can get through. They can also be used as substitutes until permanent bollard systems are installed.
ways. They can be installed in conjunction with portable barricades to fill in any gaps to protect people and critical infrastructures at pub- lic events such as parades, festivals, sporting weekends and any place that vehicles could attack transitory events. The combination of the portable barriers with the portable bollards provides fast controlled vehicle access without the time and labor of installation.
Other access points are those that are temporary. For instance, at a stadium, traffic may need rerouting for sporting weekends. Or, the city is having a parade. In either case, sections normally open to traffic will be closed to create pedestrian paths and gathering points.
Differing from the “hard stop” wanted with fixed, in-the-ground, anti-terrorist bollards, the Soft Stop technology of the portable bol- lard decelerates and stops the vehicle over a short distance. This is important because, in many cases, the tragedies that the portables
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GOVERNMENT SECURITY OCTOBER 2018
By Greg Hamm