Martyn’s Law for Companies
Since the Manchester Arena bombing in the UK in 2017, there have been 14 further terrorist incidents. However, predicting them is notoriously difficult and can be extremely dangerous to the public.
In a bid to ensure that public venues are better prepared in the event of a possible future attack, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (also known as Martyn’s Law, after one of the victims of the Manchester Arena attack), is a piece of legislation that obliges venues to “consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.”
Meeting the requirements
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, and the Government intends an implementation period of at least 24 months before its duties come into force.
A standard tier premises will apply to locations with a capacity of more than 200 people but under 800. These businesses will be asked to undertake simple yet effective activities to put in place procedures to reduce harm to the public in the event of an attack. These could be as simple as training staff to lock doors, close shutters and identify a safe route to cover.
Key requirements include:
- Evacuation: Safely moving people out.
- Invacuation: Guiding people to a safe internal location.
- Lockdown: Securing a location against external threats.
- Communication: Ensuring clear information flow.
The enhanced tier will apply to premises and events with a capacity of more than 800 individuals, given the devastating impact an attack could have in these spaces.
Additional, more comprehensive requirements include:
- Conduct detailed security risk assessments.
- Develop and document a thorough terrorism protection plan.
- Appoint a senior individual to oversee compliance.
- Implement proportionate measures to reduce vulnerability (e.g., physical security, bag checks, CCTV or hiring security staff).
Many organisations have already implemented tools to improve their systems and processes ahead of time, ensuring that their staff are prepared and will know what to do if a terrorist attack occurs. However, regardless of which tier an organisation belongs to, high on the list will be improving communication. After all, if people don’t know quickly that something is happening, they can’t act on it.
How NetSupport Notify can help
Many organisations already use NetSupport Notify, our mass alerting tool, as part of their emergency plans and to support Martyn’s Law.
In seconds, staff can send out alerts that take priority on unattended large-screen public information panels and recipients’ screens (above everything else), so they can’t be ignored or saved for later. Plus, in time-critical situations, organisations can also send a pre-configured “emergency response” message via a hotkey combination.
With the ability to distribute messages to up to 10,000 screens across multiple sites, NetSupport Notify can succeed where other forms of messaging fail, by allowing recipients to react quickly once a message is seen.
State Governmental Agency
Excellent response to customer needs. Product has been extremely useful in emergency situations.
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
NetSupport Notify allows us to distribute the console to several departments who can then send targeted notifications with differing levels of priority.
Nashville Court of Clerk
We use NetSupport Notify for emergency notifications in the event of adverse weather or active shooter situations.
