Police ‘as prepared as we can be’ for Manchester-like attack
Following the horrific attack that left 22 dead and 59 injured on Monday in Manchester, the Calgary Police said they are “as prepared as we can be” if a similar attack happened in Calgary.
“This isn’t new to us,” said Inspector Cliff O’Brien. “We’ve realized this has been a potential risk for a long time. It is something that is built into our plans, and not just for a terrorist attack but for a criminal attack.”
The police conduct full-scale exercises, at least once a year, and table-top exercises regularly to prepare for such an event. They also learn from attacks, like the one in Manchester, and adjust accordingly.
Additionally, O’Brien said the communication and co-operation between security and intelligence agencies is strong in determining best practices.
He says there is no indication that Calgary is connected to Monday’s attack. However, Canada has been threatened by al-Qaida and ISIL as a potential target, as recently as last year.
“I think we have to be vigilant,” said O’Brien. “We have to understand that this could happen on Canadian soil.”
O’Brien said many times everyday citizens are the first to notice changes in people around them. He urges people to report suspicious behaviour to the police.
“This isn’t just a law-enforcement issue,” said O’Brien. “This is a community issue and what we encourage people to do is if they see things that are out of the ordinary, if they see people or are hearing about people that are disassociating with their regular life, or are starting to talk about violence as a method of changing things, we want to know about that so we can get involved and hopefully intervene.”
In regard to events that bring together large amounts of people, O’Brien said they do lots of planning beforehand and consult with venues to identify potential gaps and where security should be increased.
The last deadly terrorist attack to take place in Canada happened in Ottawa in October 2014. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot Canadian soldier Nathan Cirillo while he was on duty at the Canadian National War Memorial. In a video posted by Zehaf-Bibeau he cited Canadian foreign policy and religion as the reason for his rampage.
O’Brien said it is too early to tell what can be learned from the Manchester attack, but they will continue to follow the investigation.