Police Activities and Lessons Learned From the Attacks

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Introduction

The 7th July 2005 bombings in London influenced the changes in the police’s methods related to preventing terrorist attacks as well as coping with the attacks outcomes significantly. The possible variants to prevent the attacks were analyzed along with examining the effectiveness of overcoming the bombings’ effects. Special agencies focused on the potential possibilities for the country’s security system to predict and overcome the attacks and provided the analysis of the results. The 7th July 2005 bombings were suicide terrorist attacks in London aimed to kill the masses and damage the transport system of the city. Three simultaneous attacks realized during the morning rush hour were observed in London Underground, and one bomb was detonated on a bus in Tavistock Square later in the morning. As a result, the victims of the attacks were fifty-two persons who were killed, and several hundreds of civilians were injured. Four bombers were also killed during the attacks (Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London, 2006).

The success of overcoming the negative effects of bombings depended on the particular features of realizing the preventive security policies and on the effective police reaction. It is important to analyze the role of police and country’s security systems in the situation along with discussing the police reaction and lessons learnt from the attacks which are also significant for developing the anti-terrorism policies in the United States. Thus, the research aims to discuss and analyze the police reaction to the accident and the effectiveness of the realized operations as well as the importance of the lessons learnt for the further development of anti-terrorism policies in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

The Details of the London Terrorist Attacks of 7 July 2005

The London bombings in 2005 were organized and coordinated terrorist actions against the civilians which included three attacks in London Underground and one attack on a bus moving to Tavistock Square. At 8.50 AM, three bombs were simultaneously detonated by terrorists in London. The fist two explosions of bombs were observed on London Underground C69 and C77 Stock Circle line, terrorists detonated bombs in trains 204 and 216. The third explosion was on London Underground 1973 Stock Piccadilly line, train 311. The blasts caused great damages to trains and stations of London Underground, resulting in the significant number of victims. In an hour, the fourth attack was realized on a bus in Tavistock Square (Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London, 2006). The number of killed victims and injured people was increased. As it was found later, the blasts were the results of using the homemade bombs made of organic peroxide substances prepared by four terrorists belonging to the Muslim extremist organizations. The particular features of the blasts made the police misinterpret the outcomes of the attacks, as a result, the problems in providing the emergency assistance were observed. The initial erroneous reports were associated with the number of attacks and victims. The further police activities were directed toward overcoming the effects of the attacks and finding the persons connected with the organization of the attacks because the four terrorists who realized attacks were killed as a result of blasts (Addressing Lessons from the Emergency Response, 2006).

The organization of the terrorist attacks of 7 July 2005 made the police authorities and security agencies in the United Kingdom revise the approaches to providing the national security and anti-terrorism policies. Definite aspects of the police reaction to the attacks allow speaking about the necessity to continue the improvement of the system and provide certain changes. The question is in the causes of some security failures, in improving the strategies which were effectively used, and in abilities to analyze the situation and learn certain lessons to improve the approaches (Addressing Lessons from the Emergency Response, 2006). The bombings of 7 July 2005 were the most wide scale terrorist attacks in the history of the country, and the accident contributed to examining the question of security from the larger perspective. That is why, it is necessary to concentrate on the aspects of the police reaction to the attacks and on the potential abilities to overcome the negative effects of the attacks.

Literature Review: The Research on the London Terrorist Attacks of 7 July 2005

The important literature on the problem of bombings in London in 2005 can be divided into two groups which include the newspaper and Internet articles on the terrorist attacks which followed the incident or provided the discussion and analysis of the attacks later and the significant research on the causes and effects of the bombings with references to the roles of authorities, police, media, and public in the process. Much attention is paid to the discussion of possibilities to prevent the attacks or decrease the negative consequences with the help of preserving the maximally high country threat level and following the intelligence agencies’ policies oriented to providing the high and severe security levels within the country.

It is important to focus on the literature belonging to the first category of newspaper and Internet sources because it provides the basic information on the problem presented from several perspectives. The first discussions of the terrorist attacks which appeared in the press during the first weeks after the bombings included few details because of the non-ended police investigation, but they provided important information on police reaction and activities. According to Campbell and Laville, during the first days after the attacks, the activities of police were oriented to identifying the personalities of the four bombers and finding the causes for realizing the terrorist attacks (Campbell & Laville, 2005). Police realized the significant work on determining the personalities of the bombers. Policemen worked with suspects and raided the determined districts in order to gather the necessary information on the incident. The actions of police were successfully coordinated, but the effective and immediate reaction to the attacks depended on the initial confusion associated with the causes of the blasts in London Underground. Thus, it can be observed with references to the newspaper and web sources that initially, the causes of the blasts were discussed as the problems with “a power surge, a derailment and person under a train”, and the delay in the police reaction was observed (Tube log shows initial confusion, 2005). The next challenges were connected with the impossibility to communicate effectively with the emergency services, and the authors of the article provide the timeline to describe the actions of policemen and security agencies to overcome the effects of the terrorist attacks (Tube log shows initial confusion, 2005).

The facts associated with the bombings and definite details explaining the work of police and agencies are also discussed in the research by Phythian (Phythian, 2005). Having identified the personalities of the four bombers, the police received the opportunity to learn causes of their actions, and several provocative video tapes in which the bombers stated the necessity of the attacks for the benefits of the Muslims in the Western world were found. Policemen quickly identified the personalities of the bombers and set connections with the other suspects, contributing to the realization of the effective operation (Phythian, 2005).

If the discussion of the attacks’ details and facts was predominantly developed in the press and Internet, the main sources for working out the research on the topic are the report on the terrorist attacks of 7 July 2005 in London titled as “Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005” and the report prepared by the Intelligence and Security Committee (Intelligence and Security Committee Report, 2006; Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London, 2006). “Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005” provides the information on the police’s investigation and efforts in identifying the personalities of the bombers and finding the persons connected with the terrorist attacks. It is stated in the report that “in the hours and days immediately after the attacks, a massive police and intelligence effort was launched to identify those responsible and prevent any further attacks” (Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London, 2006, p. 7). Police and security agencies succeeded in investigating the bombings and providing the conclusions about the issue.

The Intelligence and Security Committee provides the evidence-based analysis of security agencies and police work in preventing and overcoming the attacks. It is the main study on the topic which is referred to in the majority of researches on the issue developed after May of 2006. The authors of the report discuss the events associated with the bombings concentrating on the work of the Security Service before the attacks and on the police activities while coping with the incident’s effects. Moreover, much attention is paid to the lessons learnt from the terrorist attacks. Thus, a range of recommendations which are developed to improve the work of intelligence and security agencies in order to prevent the attacks in the future is provided in the report (Intelligence and Security Committee Report, 2006). This study presents the official discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the police and security agencies’ approaches and methods used to cope with the terrorist attacks’ consequences. Thus, the Intelligence and Security Committee Report is the primary and basic study on the topic.

The next important researches on the topic which belong to the primary studies are the reports “Addressing Lessons from the Emergency Response to the 7 July 2005 London Bombings” and “Government Response to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Report into the London Terrorist Attacks on 7 July 2005” provided by the Government Office for London. The first mentioned report presents the information about the successes of the emergency services. The analysis of the emergency responses led to developing the effective strategies for working with the similar incidents and terrorist attacks (Addressing Lessons from the Emergency Response, 2006). To understand the lessons learnt from the attacks and police response to them, it is necessary to discuss the problem from many perspectives. The usefulness of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Report for improving the strategies for preventing threats of terrorist attacks for the public can be evaluated only with references to the Government’s response to the report provided in “Government Response to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Report into the London Terrorist Attacks on 7 July 2005” (Government Response to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Report, 2006).

The discussion of the Intelligence and Security Committee Report and the critical analysis of its effectiveness in determining the role of the agencies and police in overcoming the problem is presented in the research by Phythian. The author analyzes the information presented in the report as the reflection of the real situation connected with the terrorist attacks in London. Phythian states that the Intelligence and Security Committee’s acceptance of the fact that the changes in the country threat level did not influence the situation significantly allows speaking about some weaknesses in the policy making process (Phythian, 2005). Thus, the possibility of the terrorist attacks can depend on any changes in the country threat level and in police strategies. Although the bombings could not be predicted and prevented, there were possibilities to react to the attacks more directly and effectively. The author criticizes the discussion and conclusions presented in the report stating that the situation can be discussed as the intelligence failure which is based on weak policy making procedures (Phythian, 2005).

In their study, Strom and Eyerman focused on the lessons learnt from the terrorist attacks in London in 2005. The authors state that the agencies faced many challenges while overcoming the effects of the bombings, and the effectiveness of the procedures depended on the coordination of activities and cooperation (Strom & Eyerman, 2008). In spite of the fact that there were weaknesses in communication and leadership which could contribute to developing the associated problems, the work of police and London agencies was based on flexibility and implementing effective communication to limit possible failures in responsibilities. According to Strom and Eyerman’s findings, the success of operations directed toward resolving the problems connected with the attacks depends on the type of the agencies’ jurisdiction and their cooperation as well as on the aspects of the provided coordination (Strom & Eyerman, 2008).

The political, social, and ethical consequences of the terrorist attacks in London are discussed in the researches by Rehman and Ali. In his work, Rehman pays attention to the fact that the discussion of the bombings in London as the first suicide terrorist attacks in the Western Europe led to intensifying discrimination against the British Muslims because of the authorities’ focus on determining the extremist Islamist organizations which development could provoke the attacks. Thus, the security agencies and police continue to realize the prevention procedures in order to decrease the threat possibilities for the public (Rehman, 2007). If Rehman concentrates on the results of the attacks for the Muslims in Britain, Ali discusses changes in the social life of the American Muslims which are closely connected with facilitating the security strategies in the USA in order to contribute to the national security and predict further terrorist attacks. The experience of the United Kingdom is discussed as significant in developing the effective prevention measures and operations (Ali, 2005).

Thus, the current research on the topic of London terrorist attacks provides the discussion of the major aspects associated with the problem including the role of police and security and intelligence agencies in overcoming the effects and finding the guilty persons, political, social, and ethical issues connected with attitude to Muslims in the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Importance on Discussing the Police Reaction to the Terrorist Attacks

The terrorist attacks of 7 July 2005 in London made the countries’ authorities think about possibilities of bombings and the methods to prevent them globally. From this point, it is necessary to focus on the operations realized by the British intelligence and security agencies and police before and after the attacks. The main purpose of this research is to answer the question about the police reaction to the accident and the effectiveness of the realized operations as well as the importance of the lessons learnt from the tragedy. The focus on the police activities is significant to discuss the experience of the United Kingdom as the possible example for the development of the anti-terror policies not only in the United Kingdom but also in the United States (Strom & Eyerman, 2008). Thus, the reason for the research is the necessity to develop effective strategies for fighting the terrorists’ activities to preserve the global peace.

To complete the research, it is necessary to study the current research on the topic, paying much attention to the officials’ reports as the sources of the authorities’ vision of the issue and their analysis of the police and intelligence agencies’ reaction to the tragedy. There are also researches which discuss the possibilities to prevent the terrorist attacks with references to the activities of the security’s agencies, the level of the operations’ effectiveness, the importance of lessons learnt for the developing and improving national security strategies, the political and social consequences for the Muslims globally.

The Police Reaction to the Terrorist Attacks and Lessons Learnt from the Accident

London police began to act immediately after the simultaneous blasts in London Underground. When it was stated that the cause for the blasts are bombs, the situation was discussed as the terrorist attacks. During the first hours after the explosions, the necessary assistance was provided for the injured persons, and police acted quickly according to the planned and agreed actions. During the first days after the bombings, police provided significant investigating procedures to identify the personalities of the bombers and to state the connection between the explosions as well as to determine the individuals who could also participate in preparing the terrorist attacks (Strom & Eyerman, 2008). Although there were some challenges in coordination the activities during the first hours after the explosions because of the confusions in the information about the causes and details of the bombings, the further actions of the responsible persons were effective and based on the cooperative relations between the police officials. The effective police response to the attacks depended on the strict distribution of roles and focus on the definite responsibilities.

The success of the operation also depended on the results of the police investigations. Thus, the police “have taken over 12,500 statements; there are over 26,000 exhibits of which over 5,000 are being forensically examined; they have seized 142 computers along with thousands of exhibits relating to associated hard and software”, moreover, there were more than 6,000 hours of CCTV footage which were examined by the policemen in order to conclude about the personalities of the bombers and other persons connected with the attacks (Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London, 2006, p. 26). During the first days after the attacks, the activities of the police were coordinated round analyzing the clues on the personalities of the bombers on their motivation. After the personalities’ identification, it was important to raid the districts where the bombers lived in order to find more details associated with the case. The connections between the bombers were determined with references to the video tapes from the cameras at the public places of London. The next stage was the analysis of the bombers’ relations with the extremist Islamist organizations.

One of the main challenges for the police was the discussion and analysis of the possibilities of terrorist attacks as well as the potential of Muslims belonging to different Islamist organization to develop terrorist attacks in the future. The personalities of the bombers were not known for the authorities previously. This fact accentuates the significance of controlling the activities of extremist organizations which contribute to radicalization of the Muslim groups. The identification of suspects belonging to extremist or radicalized Muslim organizations is the challenge for polices in many countries in spite of their experience.

The effectiveness of police response to the situation is also discussed with references to chances to predict the bombings and develop the appropriate strategy in advance. Thus, according to the Intelligence and Security Committee Report, the fact of placing Mohammed Siddique Khan under surveillance earlier could contribute to preventing the development of radical ideas and terrorist attacks (Intelligence and Security Committee Report, 2006). That is why, it is important to concentrate on the lessons learnt from completing the necessary procedures and operations on overcoming the effects of the attacks and preventing the further bombings in London.

The work of the London Police was directed toward investigating the aspects of the case while using the available resources and basing on the clues. The priorities in strategies were set toward overcoming the results of the possible attacks rather than predicting them. The rationale in distributing the priorities depends on few chances to identify the suspects connected with the possible future terrorist attacks. The police work was effective in relation to coping with the issue’s effects, but limitations in preventing the attacks also influenced the development of investigations.

In their report, the Intelligence and Security Committee focused on the lessons learnt from the attacks and on providing the recommendations effective for predicting the problems in the future. To accentuate the usefulness of the security system, it is necessary to focus on the threat levels and the work of alert systems the changes in which can influence the emergency reaction to possible terrorist attacks. Although the investigators stated that there were no direct connections in changing the levels of threats in systems and possibility of the attacks, the system should be improved. Security and intelligence agencies should guarantee the transparency of the threat level in relation to the security systems in order to focus on preventing the attacks. Much attention should be paid to informing the agencies immediately about all the aspects of the terrorism cases (Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London, 2006). The success of the police actions in investigating the case of 7 July 2005 in London and overcoming the negative effects depends on the effective and developed interagency coordination and communication. To control the security system, it is necessary to rely on the multiagency partnerships along with the appropriate performance management.

The British Police can be characterized by having the great experience in preventing terrorist attacks and overcoming their effects. This experience can be used by the United States. Thus, it is necessary to pay attention to the long history of the police’s disaster response. This experience “includes extensive bombings of the city during World War II and the Irish Republican Army’s campaign of violence in the 1970s and 1980s. In both cases, incidents were too extensive to be addressed by a single agency” (Strom & Eyerman, 2008). Thus, the experience can be shared regarding the approaches and strategies in coordinating the work of the agencies and maintaining the effective communication between the agencies and security organizations. Nevertheless, it is important to take into account the differences in the security systems of the United Kingdom and the United States while trying to use the UK experience. Analyzing the usefulness of lessons learnt from the attacks for developing the security systems in the USA, Strom and Eyerman state that “cross-agency responses in the United States may also need to be coordinated at federal, state and local levels” (Strom & Eyerman, 2008). Moreover, “the public safety and research communities must work together to better understand how the characteristics of local jurisdictions affect response capacity and to identify and implement protocols that contribute to successful coordination” (Strom & Eyerman, 2008). However, the adaptation of the UK experience for the US realities can be effective to contribute to fighting terrorism globally.

The US agencies can also concentrate on the strategies used by the London Police to prevent terrorist attacks and identify the potential threats for the public in relation to determining the radicalized groups. The problem is in the fact that today the radicalized groups are characterized by the great diversity, and it is rather difficult to predict the actions of the group representatives. The new strategies and initiatives developed by the security agencies in the United Kingdom are oriented toward predicting the potentially threats for the public effectively without references to the possible cultural, gender, or age diversity of the group and organization members. The fact of developing terrorist attacks in London supports the idea that it is necessary to focus on new strategies and change the approaches because the previous methods used in the country as well as in the USA can be discussed as out-of-date because of the increased diversity. The bombers who realized the attacks in 2005 were previously unknown for the police, and their visions were not discussed as radicalized (Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London, 2006). Although similar possible attacks were prevented earlier, a lot of factors influenced the actions of the bombers in 2005. Nevertheless, the role of the London Police is significant and their experience can be examined and successfully used in the other Western countries, including the USA.

Conclusion

The terrorist attacks of 7 July 2005 in London changed the public’s attitude to the problem of terrorism because these bombings were the first attacks in the Western Europe performed by the radicalized religious extremists. In spite of the London Police and national security agencies’ successes in preventing possible terrorist attacks previously, this case was not prevented because of the increased diversity of the radicalized groups and their members. The impossibility to prevent the attacks is discussed by many researchers with references to the fact that the country threat level was irrationally decreased. However, the level still remained to be substantial. This fact means that the work of intelligence and security agencies was active and directed toward preventing the terrorist attacks as it was previously. Moreover, the well-coordinated work of the security agencies and police contributed to overcoming the negative consequences of the attacks effectively.

The police reaction to the attacks was immediate, and the success of the procedures was based on the effective multiagency partnerships and high level of the interagency coordination. The anti-terrorism actions used by police can be discussed as effective because of depending on the appropriate distribution of roles and responsibilities among the agencies and police investigators. The police personnel demonstrated high skills in working in the situation of terrorist attacks, and their approaches in investigating the case and identifying the bombers and suspects can be recommended for using by the US agencies. The lessons learnt from the case are associated with the fact that the success of anti-terrorism operations is based on the multiagency work and effective interagency cooperation and coordination. It is important to cope with the barriers in communication between the agencies in order to create the multiagency team which can successfully work in preventing and overcoming terrorist attacks. From this point, the experience of the London Police and intelligence and security agencies can be effectively used by the USA to develop and improve the system of interagency coordination in the country.

References

Addressing Lessons from the Emergency Response to the 7 July 2005 London Bombings. (2006).Web.

Ali, M. (2005). Impact of London bombings on American Muslims. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 24(7), 62-63.

Campbell, D., & Laville, S. (2005). British suicide bombers carried out London attacks, say police. Web.

Government Response to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Report into the London Terrorist Attacks on 7 July 2005. (2006). Web.

Intelligence and Security Committee Report. (2006). Web.

Phythian, M. (2005). Intelligence, policy-making and the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Crime, Law and Social Change, 44(5), 361-385.

Rehman, J. (2007). Islam, “War on Terror” and the future of Muslim minorities in the United Kingdom: Dilemmas of multiculturalism in the aftermath of the London bombings. Human Rights Quarterly, 29(4), 831-878.

Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005. (2006). Web.

Strom, K., & Eyerman, J. (2008). Interagency coordination: Lessons learned from the 2005 London train bombings. Web.

Tube log shows initial confusion. (2005). Web.

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