Get to know Safe Stadium project – ISEMl

We present second interview with Safe Stadium consortium member – International Security and Emergency Management Institute (ISEMl).
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Why did ISEMI join the Safe Stadium project?
International Security Emergency and Management Institute is professional platform of former or active police and national security officers, military, civil protection and crises management experts from around the world with great knowledge and experience in CBRN safety, security and related topics. We decided to join the Safe Stadium project with the aim to share our expertise and to support achievements of all objectives in Safe stadium project – Integrated large sport facilities protection system supporting the CBRN security of mass.
Which of your proposals do you think are most important for the project?
The most important outcome of the project is to equip our end users´ consortium partners from MAKIS, SERIS, MSK Zilina, Real Madrid and Lech Poznan with knowledge, training and raising awareness materials, procedures and tools that they will use them in real life during sport and mass events at their stadium after project to be able to prevent, protect, response to CBRN Incidents or Attacks in close cooperation with Law Enforcement Agencies. At the beginning of project, we analysed all gaps and needs and provided recommendations to improve situation at the stadiums regarding CBRN safety and security. Based on analyses, consortium developed integrated CBRN protection system, training and raising awareness materials, exercises, different procedures, guidelines and plans and we are ready to execute trainings and exercises to validate if all developed deliverables are useful and beneficial for end users. We have been working very hard to achieve all project objectives.
What CBRN threats are the most dangerous for stadiums?
The most dangerous CBRN threats are those that can create immediate primary effects, it means contamination which can cause harm to people and secondary effects from panic, chaos, that result in different injuries or deaths.
Can such agents be brought to the stadium earlier and activated later?
Everything depends on security measures at the stadiums before, during and after matches or mass events. At the beginning of project, we assessed current capabilities of stadiums in project, how they are prepared for such situations. Based on the analyses we provided reports to stadiums managers, where we proposed some recommendations to enhance CBRN security at their stadiums. If one or more of established security measures are violated, sure there is possibility to bring hazardous material to vicinity of stadiums and to activate it during sport or mass events. Mission and tasks of sport or mass event organizer, security staff and stewards are very significant to not allow such incidents or attacks happened. They have to be fully focused on their tasks and do not underestimate any situation before, during and after sport or mass event at the stadiums.
Which groups of employees should be trained, only stewards?
During analytical phase of project, we identified needs to organize trainings and raising awareness for Stadium managers, Security managers and staff, Stewards, Regular (non-security) employees and Tenants. We decided to develop training curriculums with training materials for Security Managers and Stewards and raising awareness leaflets, brochures and videos for Stadium managers, Regular (non-security) employees and Tenants. Each target group should be trained according to needs and requirements of end users.
Are activities related to responding to CBRN threats too expensive, can sports clubs afford such expenses?
Speaking about the response to CBRN Incident we know that probability of such incident or attack is very low, however the impact is very high. Every stadium should cooperate with national or local police, firefighters and medical units to manage response with their capabilities, but stadium security personnel, stewards and speaker should be able to support response mainly in very initial phase. Response to CBRN threats is quite expensive and during high visibility sport events a lot of multiagency services are in place to be ready to prevent and response to any CBRN Incidents or attack. However, Safe stadiums project offers some solutions that can improve situation with minimum financial expenses. We developed trainings, basic response procedures, raising awareness documents and integrated tool for security rooms, that could be used at stadiums. Detection equipment, personal protective equipment, decontamination equipment is expensive, but big clubs may invest minimum expenses to achieve basic standards in detection of CBRN threats and protection against them.
Do you see importance to share outcomes of Safe stadium project?
During EU CBRN COE Project 61 Sound Management of Chemicals and their associated wastes in South East Asia, where ISEMI was one of the implementers, we informed experts from Cambodia and Thailand, about Safe stadium project objectives, tasks and activities. This led to further cooperation on enhancing of CBRN Capabilities in Cambodia as part of EU CBRN COE Project 62 On-site Technical Assisstance to EU CBRN COE in South East Asia. During training of Cambodian CBRN Response Team for SEA Games 2023, we implemented some procedures that we developed in Safe stadium projects and we see a lot of useful deliverables that can be shared with stadium security managers or Law Enforcement Agencies in EU and around the world with the aim to cope successfully with CBRN Threats.

Cooperation between the Safe Stadium and the Polish Police Headquarters

On 7 December 2023, a working meeting was held at the Police Headquarters in Warsaw to discuss the assumptions and current status of work in the Safe Stadium Project. The meeting was organized in connection with the planned Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2025.

 

One of the assumptions of the Polish Presidency is to attempt to introduce recommendations/ recommendations/ directives within the EU on countering CBRN threats in connection with sports and other large mass events. Safe Stadium, with its research findings and developed procedures could support  this initiative. Further consultations and analyses of materials developed by the Project Consortium are planned.

New and Emerging Technologies

The subject of Investigating the Nexus Between New and Emerging Technologies and Major Sporting Event Protection was debated at an on-line conference organized on 22 November by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), in cooperation with International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)’s Project Stadia.

The event was attended by law enforcement officers, policymakers, practitioners, international and regional organizations, the private sector, academic researchers and civil society As emphasized by the organizers its aim was to promote coordination and coherence to identify new and emerging technologies which may be responsibly leveraged by Member States as an innovative tool for protecting vulnerable targets on the occasion of major sporting events. Therefore, the meeting served as a platform for around 200 participants from all over the world to debate about safety during sport events, as well as, support cooperation between governments and technology companies. We are proud that Safe Stadium project, presented at panel “Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes against major sporting events” supported the debate.

Safe Stadium at Security Research Event

Safe Stadium project has been invited to Security Research Event (SRE) organized by the European Commission with the support of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in Brussels on 24 and 25 October 2023.
This event is an annual initiative focused on connecting industry, policy makers and knowledge institutions working in the area in security.  This year over 50 European project/initiatives have been presented. The event was accompanied by panelist discussion focusing on future of security research, cascading effects of crises, disaster preparedness and resilience or society digitalization and threats and opportunities that are associated with this phenomenon. Michał Bijak, Safe Stadium project coordinator, was invited to a panel focusing on cascading effects of crises.

Safe Stadium at Council of Europe

On 18th October Safe Stadium project have been presented at Committee on Safety and Security at Sports Events (T-S4) at the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and other Sports Events.

The meeting aim was to discuss between representatives of convention signatory countries how to increase safety and security of sport events as well as how to combat hate speech in sport and promote gender equality in sport.

The project Safe Stadium presented outcomes of the research phase which showcase that stadium are quite well prepared to traditional threats, however CBRN component is missing both in awareness and preparedness. Further project solution have been presented.

During the meeting T-S4 Committee and Safe Stadium project members jointly agreed to work together on annex to The Convention focusing on CBRN threats.

Pilot training at MŠK Žilina

International Security and Emergency Management Institute (ISEMI) and MSK Zilina in cooperation with MAKIS and University of Lodz carried out training for stewards of MSK Zilina on Saturday on 21st of October 2023 at the MSK Zilina football stadium. This training event was organized as part of WP 8 Training and piloting of the CBRN protection system with the main aim to enhance stewards capabilities also in area of CBRN and their first response to CBRN incidents based on the procedures and training materials prepared in WP4 and WP6. Next training and exercise will be organized in March 2023 in Lodz. Later we prepare more detail evaluation of training based on Feedback forms.

 

Fire Service exercises at Lech Poznań

On Friday 29.09.2023 Poznań City Headquarters of the Fire Service conducted at Lech Poznań Stadium exercises focusing on CBRNE threats.

The first part of the event focused  on theoretical aspects: types and summary of CBRN incidents, real-case scenarios, critical infrastructure safety and protection as well as management of (CBRN) threats at mass events. During the morning session also Safe Stadium, NEST and HoloZcan projects were presented by University of Lodz.
The second part of the event focused on exercises consisting of three scenarios:
  • – spraying chemical agents form a drone on fans of one of the stadium sectors,
  • – hanging of unidentified and suspicious object of the stadium roof structure,
  • – planting a suspicious object under the seats at one of the sectors.

 

The Safe Stadium – the decisive phase

In March and April next year, in Lodz and in Madrid, two large-scale pilot exercises will be organized to summarize the Safe Stadium Project. Last Wednesday, the Municipal Sports and Recreation Arena in Lodz organized a meeting devoted to the Lodz event, which will be held at Władysław Król Stadium.

Lodz Regional Police Team (Exercise Leader) presented the concept of pilot exercises. These will be the so-called exercises harmonizing the Police and non-police entities – project partners, as well as other public services and institutions performing tasks in the field of public safety. On behalf of the Police, the exercises will be attended by representatives of the organizational units of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Lodz and the Police Headquarters in Lodz, as well as the Police Prevention Unit and the Independent Counter-Terrorist Subdivision of the Police. The University of Lodz and the Provincial Police Headquarters will take care of the presence of several hundred helpers. An important role in the exercise will be played by Łódzki Klub Sportowy , for which the security of sports events is an absolute priority.

In order to ensure greater realism, the exercise will start with a football match (one of the foreign teams is associated with an institution that is part of the project consortium, but it will be a surprise).

The aim of the exercise will be checking the procedures and technical solutions developed for sport facilities i.e.: stewards, information services, security and order services, monitoring service, announcer, security manager. Their cooperation with the services in the event of a terrorist attack using CBRN agents will be tested.

Planning of Madrid Large Scale Exercise is planned for upcoming months.

Demonstration event movie

We invite you to see video relation form the Joint Demonstration event held at National Stadium in Warsaw on 17th May 2023. The aim of the event was to test and validate results of the Safe Stadium project and two H2020 projects HoloZcan and NEST.

More information about the event can be found here.

Get to know Safe Stadium project – part 1

What is the Safe Stadium project about? Why was the project written? What is the project trying to achieve? To answer this and other question the Project consortium will conduct several interviews with team members. We start with the Michal Bijak, PhD, DSc, prof. UL – project’s author and coordinator.
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What does the term CBRN mean and how the Safe Stadium project approach this threats?
CBRN is an abbreviation for chemical, biological and radiation/nuclear threats. These are unconventional threats, formerly mainly associated with military weapons of mass destruction. However, in recent years increased awareness of the possibility of their use in terrorist attacks, has caused that they are now considered also in term of internal security. The Safe Stadium project,  created as a response to these types of threats, focuses at developing a system for preventing, recognizing and limiting the effects of the possible use of CBRN agents at sports facilities. One of the project’s main goals is also to establish cooperation between institutions representing various sectors important in building a comprehensive security system, i.e. the research and development sector (e.g. University of Lodz), the implementation/technology sector (e.g. Dynamic Safety Corporation), end users (MAKiS, Real Madrid, Lech Poznan), security sector and law enforcement agencies (Polish Police, Spanish Police, SERIS).
Where did the idea for this project come from? Do such threats really exist? What type of CBRN threats is currently the most probable and are we ready for it?
CBRN agents have been a serious threat for many years. Even in antient times biological agents were used for war purposes. In recent years, the awareness and propaganda in terrorist groups regarding the use of CBRN agents has been increasing. Therefore, we decided to deal with the topic of counteracting this kind of threats. Due to theirs specific properties, each CBRN agent causes a real threat and can be used to harm the population. For years, services and international initiatives have been trying to prepare themselves for potential  CBRN threats – with our project we try to support this initiative.
Today we are talking a lot about different financial challenges – can event organizers, sports clubs, facility operators afford to implement project solutions?
Increasing CBRN security is a series of solutions that include special procedures and, of course, hardware recommendations or the so-called ‘security by design’. The implementation of procedural changes or staff training does not require any financial outlay, and significantly improves the safety of the facility. Purchase of ICT solution or detection equipment does require some financial investment. However, within the project we invite sport facilities to first analyse potential threats that their object may be facing. This for example could identification of nearby plant (dealing with certain types of chemicals) or train station through which a cargo shipment is being transported. Based on this analysis a targeted solution can be considered.
Shouldn’t the central authorities, the police, etc., be responsible for creating the procedures?
Shouldn’t such procedures be drafted and implemented by government agencies like law enforcement agencies?
The police and other services conduct their activities based on their internal laws and regulations. Police units from European Union cooperate with each other when international matches are organized to improve fans safety. They also cooperate with each other through international bodies (e.g.: European Group of Policing Football and National Football Information Points) and propose legislative solution. We believe that our project could support this twofold: (1) through development of ready to use procedures for sport facilities and (2) through suggestion of legislative solution that could be implemented at European level.  The second will be developed in cooperation with law enforcement and EU agencies.
Let’s also remember that it is an organizer that is responsible for safety at the facility, and for this reason, as part of the project, we focus on the end-users, but we also try to adapt the project results to the procedures followed by the services responding at the event site.
The Safe Stadium project is developed in partnership with institutions from other countries, including Germany, Spain and Italy. Does it mean that CBRN threats should be considered globally? Can we build a more effective civil protection system thanks to international cooperation?
All security threats should be considered in a global perspective. The flow of information, transfer of good practices, the use of the existing and developed solutions cause that international initiatives always facilitate the creation of high-quality project results.
Let’s also remember that terrorist also benefit form the free flow of information. If we want to be one step ahead of them, we have to work and think globally.
What is particularly important in building a civil protection system, including mass events, against such threats?
First of all, the awareness that such threats may occur and what consequences they may bring.