Counter-Terrorism Awareness: Martyn's Law

Public venues, crowded places and major events can face severe consequences when terrorism risks, emergency procedures and staff responsibilities are not properly understood. Weak planning can create confusion during an incident, delay protective action, expose vulnerabilities and increase the risk of physical harm. This Martyn’s Law training course develops structured awareness of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, protective security governance and proportionate counter-terrorism preparedness.

Learners will examine how to identify terrorism-related threats, assess vulnerable locations, establish public protection procedures and coordinate emergency responses. The course also explores international counter-terrorism frameworks, security technologies, hostile vehicle mitigation, intelligence sharing, business continuity and security culture. Organisations addressing radicalisation-related safeguarding responsibilities may also consider Prevent Duty (Counter-Radicalisation) Training.

What Is Martyn’s Law Training?

Martyn’s Law training helps learners understand the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 and the practical principles used to protect publicly accessible premises and events. The Act received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025 and is intended to improve protective security and organisational preparedness across the United Kingdom. The Security Industry Authority will regulate the legislation when its substantive requirements come into force, currently expected in spring 2027. 

The training explains the distinction between standard and enhanced duties, the role of the responsible person and the meaning of “reasonably practicable”. It also considers how evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication procedures can help reduce physical harm during a terrorist incident. Although the legislation does not prescribe one particular training course, responsible persons must ensure that relevant people understand and can implement appropriate procedures and measures. 

The legal requirements are UK-specific. However, the course’s comparative law, risk-management, emergency-planning and protective-security content is relevant to international professionals responsible for crowded places, critical infrastructure, public venues and organisational resilience.

Who Needs Martyn’s Law and Counter-Terrorism Awareness Training?

This course is suitable for:

• Premises operators and responsible persons who need to understand standard and enhanced duty requirements.

• Venue and event managers responsible for public safety, crowd management and emergency arrangements.

• Security managers and protective-security personnel developing proportionate prevention, detection and response controls.

• Facilities and operations managers coordinating building access, evacuation, lockdown and business continuity arrangements.

• Emergency-planning and resilience professionals responsible for incident plans, exercises and recovery procedures.

• Risk, governance and compliance teams evaluating legal duties, organisational exposure and documented controls.

• Managers in hospitality, leisure, retail, healthcare, education, transport, entertainment and places of worship who support public-facing operations.

• International security professionals comparing UK requirements with United Nations, United States, European, French and Australian approaches.

• Consultants and advisers seeking structured awareness of protective security without claiming regulated or specialist competence.

What Does a Martyn’s Law Course Cover?

This Martyn’s Law course covers the legal structure of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, qualifying-premises thresholds, responsible-person duties, regulatory oversight and the difference between standard and enhanced requirements. Learners examine terrorism risk identification, crowded-place vulnerabilities, security governance and internationally recognised risk and business-continuity principles.

The course also covers emergency planning, evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, shelter-in-place arrangements, command structures, intelligence sharing, surveillance, hostile vehicle mitigation and security culture. The final modules connect legal awareness with practical decision-making, staff communication, reporting, physical security and organisational resilience.

The detailed course curriculum appears below.

Why Does Martyn’s Law Compliance Matter for Premises and Events?

The Act applies to qualifying premises that meet its use, accessibility and attendance criteria. Standard-tier premises generally involve an expected simultaneous attendance of 200 to 799 people, including relevant staff. Enhanced-tier premises generally involve 800 or more people. Qualifying events must also satisfy specific statutory conditions and normally involve 800 or more people at the same time. Not every publicly accessible location automatically falls within scope.

Those responsible for standard-tier premises will need to notify the SIA and establish appropriate public protection procedures, so far as reasonably practicable. These procedures concern evacuation, inevacuation, lockdown and communication. Standard-tier requirements are intended to focus on practical preparedness rather than automatically requiring expensive physical alterations or security equipment.

Enhanced-tier premises and qualifying events have additional responsibilities. These include proportionate public protection measures relating to monitoring, movement, physical safety and security, and security-sensitive information. Enhanced-duty responsible persons must also document their procedures and measures, maintain relevant records and designate a senior individual where the responsible person is an organisation rather than an individual. 

Failure to prepare can lead to ineffective emergency decisions, uncoordinated staff responses, poorly controlled crowds, operational disruption and avoidable exposure to harm. Once the legislation is in force, the SIA will have powers that include information gathering, compliance notices, penalty notices and, in defined enhanced-duty circumstances, restriction notices. 

Effective counter-terrorism awareness is therefore not limited to legal compliance. It supports clearer responsibilities, stronger risk decisions, faster communication and a more resilient workforce. This course gives learners a structured foundation for contributing to protective-security arrangements while recognising that site-specific assessments and specialist advice may still be required.