00:01We've had this type of unit in the UK for many years, particularly after the Mumbai
00:07attack in India in 2008 and then after that in 2015, sorry, after the Paris attacks.
00:14It's a dedicated unit and you see it on the streets of London.
00:18Having lived there most of my life I was quite used to that, but also as a detective in counter
00:22-terrorism,
00:24it's a unit that I could call upon, but also one that's always there patrolling, looking
00:29after people, sites and events.
00:31These kinds of units do tend to provide an opportunity for more speed in responding to
00:37incidents like Bondi, more capability and the officers involved in that kind of unit would
00:44be highly trained in how to deal with what's described as a marauding terrorist attack, which
00:49is what Bondi effectively was.
00:51It was particularly advantageous in London Bridge attack in 2017 where a number of people
00:58were killed on London Bridge.
01:01And the attackers started to maraud around Borough Market, stabbing people indiscriminately.
01:06And the armed response vehicle arrived in a number of minutes in that situation and ended
01:14the attack itself.
01:15So it's all about time and capability.
01:17The description is around long rifles, so it gives you more range.
01:21But they also have various different tactical options.
01:24I'm not going to go into those options particularly, but what I would say is this is a dedicated unit.
01:31So the idea of it is just on the streets of London is the same.
01:34And much of Europe, this unit works 24-7.
01:37So it responds rapidly to intelligence or information from the public and it intervenes quickly.
01:44And that's really about public safety and protecting people.
01:47The powers of use of force are well known amongst policing here and around the world.
01:51So nothing changes in that respect.
01:53But obviously these guys are trained.
01:56They're going to do events and exercises to practice, to work out where the thresholds are
02:03and how they act in these situations.
02:04So that's exactly what it's all about when they talk about training these units and having them on the streets.
02:10The public are likely to see the vehicles in the offices with the long rifles on the streets of London.
02:16That's been a common sight for many years, at events, at religious sites or just patrolling.
02:22The idea of that is a deterrent and reassurance.
02:24But in all reality, there's a capability there.
02:27So if we do have something as awful as Bondi occur again, they're able to react quickly and intervene.
02:33And that's the idea of these units. That's the purpose.
02:37Absolutely acts as a deterrent, but also can reduce the time the attack takes place.
02:42So that limits the number of people hurt and injured or killed.
