TACTICS

In recent years the threat of terrorism in urban environments has become an important issue, emphasised by several successfully carried out terrorist attacks (New York, Madrid, London, Copenhagen and Paris are just some examples). When security forces are alerted to a specific terrorist threat, their main goal is to prevent an actual attack. On the other hand, if prevention fails and the attack is carried out, independent of the degree of success, security forces become responsible for stopping it and mitigating its consequences. The efficiency and effectiveness of the response relies on the ability to respond quickly, decompose threats and efficiently and effectively manage existing capabilities.

TACTICS (Tactical Approach to Counter Terrorists in Cities) is an FP7 project commissioned by the European Commission in 2012 to develop a low technology readiness level (TRL) decision support technology to assist security forces in countering terrorist threats in urban environments. The system that was developed as part of this project brings an innovative approach built around threat decomposition, threat management, and capability management. The system can be defined as a counterterrorism decision support technology designed to facilitate a clearer understanding of both the threat and the capabilities available to counteract it, enabling a faster, more efficient and effective security force response. This report assesses the policy implications of introducing a TACTICS like system in Europe.