Responding to Bomb Threat

Terrorists sometimes telephone threats of bomb attacks; their calls appear to fall into two categories:

1. Threats that actual devices have been planted; the aim is to save life (or to be able to blame inaction by others if there are casualties).
2. Threats where no device has been planted, are designed to disrupt normal activities.

Most telephoned bomb threat calls are made by malicious pranksters whose threats are empty. But making such calls is a crime, and they should always be reported to the police.

Occasionally the calls will actually be from terrorists. You will not be able to assess whether or not a call is "genuine". The calls constitute a threat to the lives of your employees or your business or the lives of others in the community, and they must always be treated seriously and handled urgently.

Anyone may be a recipient of a bomb threat call. Handling them is not simple. It is difficult to remain calm and react effectively. Employees may be traumatized by the incident and will suffer more if they blame themselves for not reacting as well as they would have liked. The golden rules are:

• Keep calm
• Try to obtain as much information as possible
• Dial 911 (if that facility operates)
• Report it to the security coordinator and the police immediately