Managing risk
The key steps that organisations and individuals need to take to reduce the threat from domestic extremist campaigns are to:
- Assess the threat from domestic extremism
- Take precautions against those threats
- Respond effectively to domestic extremist incidents
Domestic extremist campaigns, including animal rights campaigns, will include activity to harass and intimidate staff, disrupt business and cause economic damage.
By introducing various physical and cultural measures, you can help to ensure your organisation is better protected from domestic extremist threats. Organisations can introduce many of the physical measures to increase the level of security to business without significant cost or unduly affecting your staff.
Under the health and safety at work laws, employers have to ensure the health and safety of employees in the workplace, including other people working in or visiting the workplace. Employees, other workers and visitors have to take reasonable care to keep safe in the workplace.
The main requirement on employers is to assess the risk of harm to people at work and take reasonable measures to prevent them from being harmed.
People in the workplace need to know what the security measures are and comply with them to keep safe from harm.
Organisations at risk of attack from domestic extremists, including animal rights extremists, need to identify the threats that these campaigns pose to staff and to business as part of the risk assessment. It will not be possible to eliminate all threats. However, organisations should put in place appropriate measures to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
People in workplaces at risk of targeting by domestic extremists, including animal rights extremists, need to know what these measures are and act on them when incidents take place.
Individuals at risk of attack from domestic extremists, including animal rights extremists, also need to take appropriate steps to reduce risk when they are not in the workplace.
