On 12th May, a total of 101 delegates attended the three-hour long 'Project Argus' table-top exercise held in Douglas.
Hosted by the Emergency Planning Office of the Department of Home Affairs, it aimed to raise awareness of how businesses can assist in preventing, handling and recovering from a terrorist attack or similar emergency event.
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) initiative was brought to the Island by Jersey’s Emergency Planning Officer Michael Long and international terrorism security adviser Detective Constable Bruce Liron.
Department Member with responsibility for emergency planning, George Waft MLC, opened Project Argus in the Promenade Suite at the Villa Marina. He commented ‘In the world we live in today, we all have a part to play in the fight against terrorism in all its guises. Project Argus aims to raise awareness of what actions people can take before such an event or similar emergency to increase their preparedness.
'It will hopefully encourage people to return to their business and consider what information they need to collate or how they can develop their business continuity plans.’
The table top exercise was attended by representatives from the emergency services, the public and private sector, including hoteliers, retailers, and charities.
David Gawne, chair of Crossroads Caring for Carers, was one of three representatives from the voluntary sector. He said ‘I thought it was very useful. Like a lot of voluntary organisations, we provide care services and run a number of charity shops, and this encouraged us to look at how we would continue running those services during and following incidents such as this.
'We are no more immune to being involved in a terrorist attack than anyone else, although I thought it was excellent how the presentation recognised the Island’s situation. There are certainly things I will take from it. It re-confirms that our business continuity plan is sound but there may be some tweaks needed to our major incident plan.
'I will certainly be sharing the outcomes with colleagues in the Third Sector!’
Finance sector worker Terry Miles, of SMP Partners, also praised the exercise. He said ‘It was very informative, well presented and I learnt a lot. I think it will be useful to anyone in the finance sector.’
Paul Heckles, Head of Enforcement at the Island’s Financial Supervision Commission, concluded ‘I feel we are quite well prepared at the FSC with our business continuity plans but there were still things that I picked up on, such as having a ‘grab bag’ containing essential plans, radios and even cash to assist staff to get home in the event that they are unable to return to their possessions in the building.
'There were some very practical things covered by the exercise that I will be taking back and discussing with senior management'.
