A section of Kenyan law enforcement officers and security experts received specialised training targeting vehicles and motorists posing threats to other road users.
To equip cops with the relevant skills, Kenya's National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) partnered with the UK in Kenya to train select security stakeholders in hostile vehicle mitigation and CCTV assessment.
According to a statement dated Tuesday, December 6, the experts from the UK trained the participants on the threat posed by hostile vehicles, mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the attacks and the need to produce an operational requirement when considering the installation of hostile vehicle mitigation strategy.
"The knowledge acquired will help the officers in their duties of keeping Kenya safe from acts of terrorism," NCTC stated.
Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM)
This protective security discipline focuses on reducing risks associated with vehicle-borne threats posed by criminals.
Hostile Vehicle Mitigation involves the delivery of measures informed by the nature of the threat caused by a motorist and the consequences anticipated.
During the process, cops from Kenya received relevant knowledge about deterrent communications, security awareness, incident response planning and training and operational security.
Other skills include traffic management and the deployment of physical obstructions such as vehicle security barriers and traffic calming measures.
According to NCTC, the new skills will be critical in helping various security stakeholders carry out different crackdowns and monitor the real-time movement of motorists.
"Vehicle barriers are typically products designed to prevent vehicle access by compliant drivers or occupants. They cannot be relied upon to prevent hostile vehicle access," the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure stated.
"It is important to be clear about the vehicle borne threats of concern and how those might manifest themselves, including the potential exploit techniques," it added.
