This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the Civil Nuclear
Constabulary's (CNC's) participation in Project Servator.
Originally developed by the National Protective Security
Authority (NPSA) and the
City of London Police in 2014, Project Servator is a specialist
policing tactic that aims to disrupt a range of criminal activity
and provide a reassuring presence for the public through
unpredictable and highly visible deployments.
The CNC first implemented
Project Servator at the Sellafield Operational Policing Unit
(OPU) in 2016,
gradually expanding the delivery of the tactic across the sites
the CNC protects.
To become Project Servator officers, Authorised Firearms Officers
(AFOs) are
specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that someone may be
carrying out hostile reconnaissance information gathering that
may help individuals plan or prepare to commit a crime.
Over the past 10 years, the CNC's Project Servator
officers have completed over 23,000 deployments, speaking to
thousands of members of the public, site workers and local
businesses about the importance of remaining vigilant and
reporting anything suspicious.
These deployments have resulted in arrests for offences under the
Misuse of Drugs Act, the Road Traffic Act, and immigration
offences.
Chief Superintendent Ian Davies said: Project Servator is an
important aspect of the CNC's ability to disrupt
threats to our sites and local communities.
By engaging with the people who work and live near our sites and
giving them the confidence to report suspicious activity, we are
able to create a difficult environment for those with malicious
intent to operate.
Thank you to our partners, the site workers and members of the
public who have worked with us to grow our network of vigilance
over the past 10 years; your reporting of anything that doesn't
feel right is vital to Project Servator.
You know the sites and communities that you are working in,
living in and visiting best. If you see or hear something that
seems out of place, unusual or does not seem to fit in with
day-to-day life, trust your instincts and ACT by reporting it to
a member of staff or a police officer. You can also report in
confidence at gov.uk/ACT. In an emergency, always dial 999.
The CNC is one of 29 police
forces across the UK who have adopted Project Servator
and CNC officers often work
alongside colleagues from other forces on joint deployments to
disrupt criminality and provide a highly visible policing
presence. Project Servator deployments can involve a range of
resources, including firearms officers, police dogs and less
visible measures such as plain clothes officers.
Nigel Murdock, Sellafield Ltd Head of Security and Resilience,
said: Servator has been an important element among the layers of
protection we use to keep the Sellafield site safe and secure.
Working alongside our Guardforce security
personnel, CNC officers are always
proactive about challenging and investigating anything that
doesn't look or feel right. Added to this, we have the vigilance
and caution of those working on the site and living around it.
Servator has helped focus and embed this approach.
For more information about Project Servator, view
our dedicated
webpage or search #ProjectServator on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
