Terror alert sets off chain of events
Police and other agencies follow certain protocols in a high terror alert, reports Florence Kerr.
The increase of the terror alert level to high after the Christchurch mosque attacks will have little to no impact on Kiwis living outside Christchurch if overseas experiences are anything to go by.
The terror alert level is monitored by National Security, a multi-agency group governed by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, after receiving high-level security briefings with top officials in police and intelligence agencies, shifted the terror alert level to high on Friday and security measures were immediately implemented across the country.
Mosques throughout the country had a heavy police presence and aviation and border control measures were put in place. On Friday all turbo prop flights out of Christchurch were grounded because they did not have security screening.
Terrorism security expert Chris Kumeroa said the initial impact of being on a high level terrorism alert is felt immediately by those living near the attack.
Kumeroa said his experience with terror alert levels overseas was that there were five stages ranging from alert level zero to five.
New Zealand has four stages and the current alert level is the highest.
Kumeroa said planning around security looks at several layers, which include armed conflict, civil unrest and criminality.
When there is a build-up of information, such as incidents and communications, assessors can elevate the risk and manage it accordingly.
‘‘The other one is what they call an immediate crisis – a good example is the earthquakes, no warning, it just happens.
‘‘This relates to the incident on Friday ... nobody saw it coming and he was able to do what he could do.
‘‘The [fifth] alert state is what they call extreme which is multicatastrophic – full evacuation phase is to occur.’’
Once an alert has been set, several conditions must be adhered to.
‘‘For example the police will do certain things which the public has seen already,’’ Kumeroa said.
‘‘[At] the mosques, police will be on the ground and act as a deterrent.
‘‘Intelligence agencies and police will then start digging into the background of the suspect, who he is, any connections to a wider terrorist group, and there will be actions they will take as a result of that.
‘‘It permeates all the way across the agencies and the across to the public and you’ve seen as a result that events will be cancelled because the threat is still there and out of respect for people who have lost their lives and to keep the public safe.
‘‘You will see an increase in security.’’
‘‘Intelligence agencies and police will then start digging into the background of the suspect . . .’’ Terrorism security expert Chris Kumeroa