London and Other Dangers

By Paul Kerstein

July 26, 2005 — CSO — Investigators in London on Monday posted new surveillance photos of two of the  suspects sought in connection with the July 21 attempted bombings in the city’s transportation network. Like other images released by Scotland Yard, these are grainy black-and-white snapshots of men, one of whom was on the Underground, the other on a city bus, taken from closed-circuit television surveillance cameras.

Although there are delays reported in public transportation in the British capital, no one is suggesting avoiding travel to the city or closing shops there. CSOs whose jobs are about managing risks should be thinking about the implications for their employees and operations, and there are a number of travel and operational risk consulting services. London-based Control Risks Group, says  top managers should consider adjusting their business continuity plans to account for more bombings or false alarms. The company also advises employers to allow workers to leave at staggered times, and “to be prepared to deal flexibly” with anxious staff.  IJet, another risk consultancy, urges management to make sure that employees based in London or traveling there are familiar with office evacuation procedures.  IJet also suggests that travelers do not check out of a London hotel before confirming your next lodging, and  learn how to use text messaging because it’s often more reliable when a crisis event stresses mobile phone networks.

London is not the only city where people must carefully manage risk. After the bombings on Saturday night in the coastal resort of Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, the U.S. State Department urged Americans to avoid traveling to the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula. Such warnings weren’t deterring British and Russian tourists from staying in the region, the Boston Globe found. “You are not safe here and you are not safe at home,” one London tourist told the newspaper. “What should you do?”

The Hot Spots online newsletter from Air Security International, updated weekdays,  notes today that a few spots are even hotter than London or Sharm El Sheik. One of those is Pakistan, the site of sectarian violence. Another is Indonesia, where 4,000 protesters set fire to government buildings in Bintuhan, Sumatra; and another is Turkey, where a bomb authorities believed was set by Kurdish nationalists injured two people in an Istanbul cafe on July 23.

 
Related CSO clips:
2004 Global Risk Map


Travel Guides about teaching employees how to be safe on the road


The Six Things You Need to Know About Executive Protection


Avoiding the Road to Perdition

Read more about data protection in CSOonline's Data Protection section.

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