Project Servator, the UK policing tactic used to deter, detect and disrupt terrorism and other crime – began officially operating across London on Thursday, April 5.

The tactic began in the Square Mile since 2014, and the Metropolitan Police launched two pilot teams in November 2016. The Met launched further teams, so that the whole of London, including London City Airport and Heathrow Airport, will be covered.

Project Servator sees the deployment of both highly visible and covert police officers, supported by other resources such as dogs, Mounted Branch, firearms officers, vehicle checkpoints, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and CCTV. Police explain that the deployments can happen anywhere, and at any time, and include police officers trained to spot the tell-tale signs of people who may have criminal intent.

The tactics used have been developed and tested at the UK official Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) with the City of London Police.

The new Met teams will work with colleagues from the City of London Police, British Transport Police (BTP) and the Ministry of Defence Police to carry out deployments across the capital, including busy areas such as shopping centres, tourist attractions and transport hubs. Pictured is a tourist posing for a photo in front of the statue of Churchill in a corner of Parliament Square, yesterday morning while a Servator deployment was around the Square; in the middle ground are Met and BTP officers at entrances to Westminster Tube station, part of the deployment.

Supt Nick Aldworth, Head of the Met’s Project Servator teams, said: “Working with the community is a vital part of making Project Servator a success, and record numbers of people have been contacting the police to report suspicious activity. Every day, Project Servator officers will enlist the help of businesses, security staff, community groups and members of the public to be vigilant and make it even harder for criminals, including terrorists, to succeed. By being vigilant, we can all create a hostile environment for potential terrorists who may be considering their targets and for individuals looking to commit crime.

“The public shouldn’t be worried if a deployment happens in their area. In fact, I encourage anyone to talk to the officers to find out more. The public can help keep their community safe from terrorism by reporting anything that seems out of place, unusual, or doesn’t seem to fit with day-to-day life.”

The Met give the case from October 2017, when Servator officers were deployed at the Changing of the Guard; they stopped a vehicle after becoming suspicious of the driver. Officers identified that he had no car insurance and was in possession of a bank card in a name different to his own. The officers arrested him and searched his home address in Westminster, recovering a machine used to fraudulently print bank cards.

Since February 2018, the Ministry of Defence Police have been carrying out deployments in and around Whitehall. They also have Project Servator teams operating at the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites in Berkshire and at Portsmouth Naval Base.

Supt Helen Isaac, of the National Project Servator Team based at the City of London Police, said: “Project Servator has been adopted by eight UK police forces since it was launched by City of London Police in 2014, with more to follow in 2018. Officers have made arrests on suspicion of a wide range of offences and have taken drugs and weapons, including firearms and knives off the streets, seized uninsured vehicles and located wanted criminals. Hundreds of pieces of intelligence about criminal activity have been gathered and shared across policing.

“Thank you to everyone who has worked with us and helped to make Project Servator an effective policing tactic.”

More words and pictures in the May 2018 print issue of Professional Security magazine.

For more on Servator visit the City of London Police website. </s> A London-wide counter-terrorism initiative which will see hundreds of specially trained officers on patrol at potential terrorist targets has been launched.

Project Servator sees the deployment of both highly visible and covert Metropolitan Police officers, ready to swarm locations at short notice in order to deter, detect and disrupt criminal and terrorist activity.

Officers inform members of the public about Project Servator today. Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire.

The deployments can happen anywhere and at any time at locations including shopping centres, tourist attractions and transport hubs, undertaken by police officers trained to spot the tell-tale signs of individuals who may have criminal intent.

Project Servator has already been in place for four years with City of London Police, and was trialled in Wandsworth and Lambeth last year.

In the past four years, City of London Police have conducted 938 searches leading to 547 arrests due to Servator deployments.

Superintendent Nick Aldworth said that traditional techniques for stopping terrorism have not worked against new, simpler terrorist attack methods.

"When we look globally and nationally, we have seen that terrorists now use simple methodologies that perhaps have evaded some of our traditional techniques for countering terrorism," he said.

"In terms of specific methodologies, we put a lot of time and energy into future forecasting.

"We look at Syria and some of the things that are happening there, and how that might be migrated back into the UK.

"That's an ongoing piece of work, not only by us but through our intelligence services colleagues as well."

The new methodologies used by terrorists in the UK include using vehicles as weapons.

The London Bridge and Finsbury Park attacks both saw rented vans mow down and kill members of the public, while a car was used to kill people on Westminster Bridge last year. </s> Hundreds of specially-trained police will be ready to deploy to potential London terror targets at short notice under a new plan called Project Servator.

The officers could be sent to patrol locations like shopping centres, transport hubs and tourist attractions in a move aimed at deterring, detecting and disrupting possible attacks.

The plans involve undercover and highly visible police trained in how to spot people planning such acts.

Project Servator has already been used for four years by City of London Police, and was trialled in Wandsworth and Lambeth last year.

In the past four years under Servator deployments, the force has carried out 938 searches leading to 547 arrests.

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Superintendent Nick Aldworth said traditional techniques for stopping terrorism have not worked against new, simpler terrorist attack methods such as using vehicles as weapons.

Image: The aftermath of London Bridge terror attack where terrorists used a van as a weapon

He said: "When we look globally and nationally, we have seen that terrorists now use simple methodologies that perhaps have evaded some of our traditional techniques for countering terrorism.

"In terms of specific methodologies, we put a lot of time and energy into future forecasting.

"We look at Syria and some of the things that are happening there, and how that might be migrated back into the UK.

"That's an ongoing piece of work, not only by us but through our intelligence services colleagues as well."

The London Bridge and Finsbury Park attacks both saw rented vans hit and kill members of the public, while a car was used to kill people on Westminster Bridge last year. </s> The Project Servator counter-terror police patrol tactic launched officially covering London yesterday. At about 9.15am, dozens of police from deputy chief constable rank down were gathered inside the Tower of London (see the Met Police website for the group photo). A deployment in Parliament Square at Westminster followed.

Professional Security magazine around that time, on its way to Parliament Square, had its own experience of Servator. For the magazine has, it turns out, followed Servator from its earliest days. In the spring of 2014 it reported on Servator at One New Change, the shopping centre across the road from St Paul’s Cathedral, inside the City of London Police area; the City force was first to do Servator and continues to have oversight of it, alongside the official Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI). Professional Security has since seen and reported on Servator at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (in use by Police Scotland); at King’s Cross main line railway station (British Transport Police); in the City again, around St Paul’s; at Sellafield nuclear power station (the 100pc armed, Civil Nuclear Constabulary); and last summer the intu shopping centre at Thamesmead (Essex Police). In every place – and others doing Servator, such as Stansted Airport – the same consistency of method, applied to a public space, ‘crowded place’ to use the counter-terrorism lingo of a train terminus, retail mall or wherever. Always the same attention to detail, and application of method; careful use of private security, and the public generally as ‘eyes and ears’; and (also part of that attention to detail) informing people of what Servator is about, to reassure. All for a purpose; to make life more difficult and uncomfortable for the ‘hostile’, whether someone carrying out reconnaissance, considering a terror attack; or a burglar or robber or street thief, anyone who would find the attention of the police unwelcome.

In spring 2014 at One New Change Professional Security saw police patrollers at work with the centre’s security staff, and retailers, to make the place more hostile to criminals. Four years on, Professional Security thought to take again a photo that it took in 2014; of the view of St Paul’s from the centre of the mall. We were riding a hire bicycle and parked it against a post and snapped away.

Having done that for a minute, and taken care to face the cathedral always, not to point the camera around – Professional Security looked over its right shoulder. In one of the shops, looking out the glass door, a man in a grey suit was looking directly at us.

This is how it must feel, as a ‘hostile’. Had someone asked our business, we could have explained – we had a copy of the latest issue of the print magazine in our bag. But it felt uncomfortable; knowing that we were under surveillance. It was a telling experience. You want to act normally, of course, and not attract (further) attention. But, you ask yourself, what is normal? In this case, is it for the best to undo the camera unhurriedly? Or to pack away as fast as you can, to show that you are not hanging around? Or, should you do it slower than you would do normally, to show that you are unconcerned? And above all, you feel that you ought not to take another look at the man – who had a short beard – because would that not be suspicious?

Yet how hard it is to resist a second look! Once we were done, we did look, and yes, he was still looking at us. There was nothing for it but to pick up the cycle and push it out of the mall and go on our way.

One of the beauties of Servator is, as police say, the unpredictability of it; police do patrols of varying sorts at various times, using a mix of ‘assets’ – uniformed police and plain-clothes, mounted officers on horses, sniffer dogs (and what are they sniffing for?!), even a helicopter. They deploy when and where they do according to intelligence, for a reason, not merely because it’s a nice-looking day. They may tell Security and local businesses in advance, they may not. Always the purpose of making maximum use of the ‘assets’ for best effect.

Another beauty is the doubt it sows in the minds of a ‘hostile’. No-one at One New Change came up to Professional Security, to challenge. Nothing was said. Professional Security has not been to One New Change since 2014 and has no cause to go back. We can only say that it looks like the Servator principles are alive and working at One New Change, four years on.

One last point. A couple of hours later Professional Security was in Parliament Square for the official launch of London-wide coverage of Servator, by the Met, British Transport Police, and Ministry of Defence Police (covering Whitehall, in this case), besides the City. While speaking to Supt Helen Isaac of the City force, of the National Project Servator Team, Professional Security mentioned the good experience (good as a citizen, unsettling if you had ill-intent) at One New Change. She replied: “Everybody in a Project Servator [deployment] is watching you. It’s about the person who works in the coffee shop who understands what Servator is and what to look for, it’s about taking that all-encompassing effect all the time, whether there’s police there or not.” She then said that she would pass on the good feedback to One New Change – a small but telling example of that attention to detail; and how thought-out Servator has been all along.

For more about Project Servator, visit the City of London Police website. </s> UK police have successfully foiled a suspected terrorist attack on a London Underground train after discovering a "viable improvised explosive device" on board.

A 19-year-old man was tasered and arrested under the Terrorism attack at 12.20pm local time before an alleged explosive device was detonated in a controlled manner.

One bystander said that the teenager “walked down the street doing his own thing” when police “jumped him”.

While his motive has yet to be confirmed, he remains in police custody at a London police station for further questioning.

The Ministry of Defence warned its staff that the culprit might have hidden more devices around the city.

“This increase is in response to the discovery of a suspected viable improvised explosive device (IED) on a London Underground train yesterday,” the statement read.

“It is unknown who placed the device and what their motivation was. Therefore it remains possible that the perpetrator may attempt to place further devices. The threat level will continue to be reviewed as further information is received.”

Travellers on the Jubilee line were told to quickly evacuate the station, which remained closed for seven hours.

Armed police have since been added to London’s public transport network as part of a ramped up security program in response to the terrorism threat.

“They were plain-clothed police with masks, they had guns, everything. It was very unnerving,” one witness said.

“They were giving orders to each other and they knew exactly where to be, where to stand. Everything looked pretty organised.”

Another witness named Ali said the teenage boy was struggling not to get arrested for “a good five minutes” and police were shouting “armed police; don’t struggle".

"The armed police, I think five of them, ran behind him and put him on the floor,” Ali said.

Police said they believe the young man acted alone and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the alleged bombing attempt. </s> One day after a bombing claimed at least 22 lives at a concert venue in Manchester, England, Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that the U.K. is raising its terror threat level. The move, declared Tuesday evening, means members of the British military will be deployed throughout the country to supplement its police forces.

"It is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack," May said. "It is now concluded, on the basis of today's investigations, that the threat level should be increased for the time being — from 'severe' to 'critical.' "

She added: "This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely, but that an attack may be imminent."

The announcement comes just hours after police identified a suspect — 22-year-old Salman Abedi — and ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombing. Greater Manchester Police also announced Tuesday that they had "arrested a 23-year-old man" in connection with Monday's bombing.

Dozens of concertgoers were also injured in the attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariana Grande show.

The BBC reports this is only the third time the U.K. has reached the highest terror threat level under its alert system — and the first since 2007.

In her brief speech Tuesday, May said the police request for military support "is part of a well-established plan known as Operation Tempora, in which both the armed forces and the police officers involved are well-trained and well-prepared to work in this kind of environment."

She laid out what to expect from the operation:



"This means that armed police officers responsible for guarding key sites will be replaced by members of the armed forces, which will allow the police to significantly increase the number of armed officers on patrol in key locations. "You might also see military personnel deployed at certain events such as concerts and sports matches, helping the police to keep the public safe. In all circumstances, members of the armed forces who are deployed in this way will be under the command of police officers."



NPR's Bill Chappell has more on the Manchester attack — everything that we know, as of Tuesday evening — right here. </s> Here is the full statement on the Westminster terror attack made by Mark Rowley just now:

"Good morning - I am here to update you on our ongoing counter-terrorism operation following the horrific attack in Westminster.

"Greater clarity is now developing regarding the casualty figures as we have now collated information from the public and five hospitals - the latest figures I have are that there are currently four dead and 29 people were treated in hospital.

"We are still collating numbers of walking wounded and of those in hospital sadly seven of them are in a critical condition.

"Tragically the deaths included Pc Keith Palmer who was protecting Parliament, and two members of the public - a woman aged in her mid 40s and a man aged in his mid 50s.

"The fourth man of course was the terrorist who was shot dead by armed police at the scene.

"Hundreds of detectives have been working through the night and during that time I can confirm we have searched six addresses - and made seven arrests. The inquiries in Birmingham, London and other parts of the country continue.

"It is still our belief - which continues to be born out by our investigation - that this attacker acted alone yesterday and was inspired by international terrorism.

"To be explicit - at this stage, we have no specific information about further threats to the public.

"Clearly our investigation is ongoing - developing all the time - and is focused on his motivation, his preparation and associates.

"I do recognise that the media are making progress in identifying the attacker - I would continue to ask that his name is not published whilst we are at such a sensitive stage in our investigation - and as I state still conducting arrests and searches.

"The large and complicated crime scene remains in place and our work there continues - I would like to thank everyone for their support and patience as we finish this work.

"As people are out and about on the streets of the Capital this morning they will see more police officers on duty - armed and unarmed - and a mix of British Transport Police and the City of London.

"We have cancelled some leave and increased some duty hours and are working to make sure that we can out in force to reassure the public.

"We must not allow terrorists to create discord, distrust and fear.

"The police stand with all communities - later today a meeting of faith leaders will be held here at New Scotland Yard.

"Whilst our work to investigate and understand what happened yesterday continues with vigour - we must also reflect.

"I want to thank the public for their support and all their good wishes - I know it is appreciated by all those men and women who are out there today protecting us.

"Finally, I would also like to ask the public for their continued help and continued vigilance and if you see anything that causes you concern or raises your suspicions do not hesitate to call us - 0800 789 321 - or in an emergency 999. Thank you." </s> The attack unfolded quickly, and police said officers had shot and killed the three attackers within eight minutes.

The assault began Saturday night when a van veered off the road and barrelled into pedestrians on London Bridge. (Photo: AP)

London: Police specialists collected evidence in the heart of London after a series of attacks described as terrorism killed seven people and injured 48 others. Prime Minister Theresa May called an emergency security cabinet session Sunday to deal with the crisis.

The assault began Saturday night when a van veered off the road and barrelled into pedestrians on London Bridge. Three men fled the van with large knives and attacked people at bars and restaurants in nearby Borough Market, police and witnesses said. The attack unfolded quickly, and police said officers had shot and killed the three attackers within eight minutes.

The violence turned a summery night in an area packed with revellers into a scene of panic and chaos, with officers running through crowded streets screaming for people to flee. Lifeboats on the River Thames helped evacuate the area.

Read: Trump speaks with PM Theresa May, offers US full support on London terror attacks

Emergency officials said 48 people were treated at London hospitals and a number of others suffered less serious injuries. The Metropolitan Police force declared the attacks "terrorist incidents," but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Britain was already on edge after a suicide bombing two weeks ago at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, in northwest England, that killed 22 people and injured dozens of others. Grande and other stars are scheduled to perform a benefit concert for victims Sunday night.

The latest attacks come just days before Thursday's general election. May's Conservative Party had been expected to win by a wide margin but recent polls have showed the race tightening. Major parties suspended national campaigning Sunday.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the attackers hoped to disrupt democracy and hamper plans for voting, but that would not happen. He said Londoners should remain vigilant but added: "I'm reassured we are one of the safest global cities in the world."

Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said that while police believe all the attackers were killed, the investigation continued. "We believe three people were involved, but we still have got some more inquiries to do to be 100 percent confident in that," he said.

As dawn broke over the capital, a large area on the south bank of the River Thames remained cordoned off. Police told people to avoid the area, leaving tourists and revellers struggling to get home.

Read: Pak ‘shocked and saddened’ by London terror attack, condemns it

Khan said some of the injured were in critical condition. French President Emmanuel Macron said French citizens were among the wounded. Only hours before, bursts of gunfire echoed through the streets - likely from armed police - and at least three blasts rang out as officers performed controlled explosions.

One image taken by a witness showed a man on the ground surrounded by police; he appeared to be wearing a vest with canisters attached to it. "The suspects were wearing what looked like explosive vests," Rowley said. "But these were later established to hoaxes."

Gerard Vowls told The Guardian newspaper that he saw a woman being stabbed by three men at the south end of London Bridge. He said he threw chairs, glasses and bottles at the attackers in a bid to stop them.

"They kept coming to try to stab me. They were stabbing everyone. Evil, evil people," he told the newspaper. "I want to know if this girl is still alive. I've been walking around for an hour and a half crying my eyes out. I don't know what to do."

Bartender Alex Martinez said he hid in a garbage bin for a half hour when a man stormed the restaurant where he worked, which was nearly full. "I saw that man with a knife in his hand and after that a man started screaming so I knew something wrong was happening," he said.

Medics treated the injured near the market as shocked people cried and shouted around them. Police officers yelled at people to run from the area.

Simon Thompson told Sky News that he was just outside Borough Market when he saw crowds fleeing. "We ran for like 100 meters and then saw loads of police cars turned up and there was kind of a period of quite intense gunfire," he said. "I hid in a restaurant basement for about an hour. ... Police told us to get out and then there was more gunfire."

Police received the first call of reports of a vehicle hitting pedestrians on London Bridge at 10:08 pm British time (2108 GMT). Soon after, reports started coming in of stabbings at Borough Market, a nearby area full of bars and restaurants surrounding a popular food market.

Photographer Gabriele Sciotto said he was on his way home from a pub when he saw a man running toward him telling him to turn around and run because there was a terrorist attack. As a documentary filmmaker, though, his instincts were to keep going.

The 25-year-old said that at first, "it didn't look too dangerous." The men went into Borough Market, but then turned around and ran toward the Wheatsheaf Pub after being confronted by a police officer, he said, and suddenly a lot of police came from the other direction.

The attackers "had no clue what they were doing. They were scared. The police were scared," he said. After one of the men was shot, Sciotto captured a photo of the suspect on the ground wearing what appeared to be canisters.

Police initially said officers were also responding to a third incident, in the Vauxhall neighborhood, but later said that turned out to be an unrelated stabbing.

Police tweeted a warning telling people in the area to run to safety, hide and then call police if it is safe to do so. They asked Londoners to "remain calm but be alert and vigilant."

May confirmed the attack "is being treated as a potential act of terrorism" and said her thoughts were with "those who are caught up in these dreadful events." Her office said she would chair a meeting of the government's COBRA emergency committee on Sunday.

As thousands of people flooded from the area of the attacks - many unable to get home with nearby subway stations shut - locals were quick to offer assistance.

The Royal Oak pub, near the area of the attacks, opened its doors to people evacuated from hotels. At least one taxi company offered free rides to people stranded in the area. Phaldip Singh, who describes himself as an entrepreneur and youth activist, tweeted that Sikh temples were open to provide food and shelter for those affected.

It was the third attack to hit Britain in as many months. In March, a British convert to Islam ran down people with a vehicle on Westminster Bridge, killing four, and then stabbed a policeman to death outside Parliament.

Then came the May 22 Manchester concert bombing. After that attack, Britain's official terrorism threat level was raised to "critical," meaning an attack may be imminent. Several days later it was lowered to "severe," meaning an attack is highly likely. </s> The UK's terror threat level has been reduced from "critical" to "severe", Theresa May has said.

It means that an attack is now "highly likely" instead of expected "imminently".

On Tuesday the Prime Minister put the terror threat level up to critical in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing on Monday night.

But today Mrs May said armed soldiers will be withdrawn from the streets at midnight on Monday.

Operation Temperer, which allows the military to be deployed to key sites, will continue until the end of the bank holiday, the Prime Minister said.

Speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, she said the decision had been taken after "a significant amount of police activity" over the last 24 hours.

She said: "The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant."

It comes as Met Police chief Mark Rowley insisted the terror cell behind murderous Salman Abedi ’s attack has been smashed.

He urged Brits to enjoy the bank holiday weekend, as officers continue to look into how the warped maniac ended up killing 22 people, including seven children at a gig on Monday.

Hospitals were still on high alert after the threat level was raised to critical, armed police are also ­patrolling trains and even beaches.

Bank Holiday weather: Britain to roast in soaring temperatures before thunderstorms on Monday

Officers reviewed security at more than 1,300 events this weekend. But Assistant Commissioner Mr Rowley said police had snared a “large part of the network” that supported Abedi, 22.

He added: “Enjoy yourselves. We can’t let the terrorists win by dissuading us from going about our normal business.

“There will be extra officers on duty, and that will include hundreds of armed officers. Extra firearms officers have been out on streets because we have backfilled guarding posts at key places with ­military personnel. Their ­presence at these sites will continue throughout the weekend.”

On smashing the terror cell, he added: “We are very happy we’ve got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about.

“There still remain important lines of inquiry for us to pursue. We’ve got to understand everything about the terrorist, his associates, the whole network and how they acquired and built the bomb.

“We have made enormous progress but there are still some really ­important lines of inquiry to follow through.”

Security minister Ben Wallace said there is no specific threat against an individual event at the moment.

But additional armed officers will be at events such as this evening’s FA Cup Final at Wembley between Chelsea and Arsenal.
Police announce they will expand Project Servator to cover London. Project Servator involves the deployment of hundreds of armed counterterror officers in a bid to rapidly swarm potential terrorists.