County is ready to respond (From Gazette Series)

County is ready to respond

POLICE have moved to reassure Gloucestershire residents that clear procedures are in place to deal with any terrorist attacks in the county.

A Local Resilience Forum (LRF) is in place to manage the planning and response of any major emergencies or incident that may occur in the county.

The county LRF is one of scores nationwide that have been formed as part of the Government's Civil Contingencies Act.

Until early this year, the LRF existed as the county's Major Incident Coordinating Group (MICG).

Gloucestershire Constabulary's assistant chief constable, operations, Mark Polin, who chairs the LRF, said there was a very long history of emergency planning in the county.

He said: "The planning we engage in involves formulating in depth policies and procedures on how to respond to any incidents that may arise - as well as training and practising for such a situation. "We also follow national guidelines but obviously adapt those plans to make them more relevant in our area.

"It is a very well tried and tested formula and I hope this gives some reassurance to the county residents who may be concerned about major incidents and emergencies, particularly in the light of the events in London.

"We have no information to suggest any such incident will take place in Gloucestershire but it would be wrong of us not to be prepared for any eventuality."

The LRF includes representatives from the police, Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Gloucestershire Ambulance Service, the Primary Care Trusts, Magnox, Environment Agency, coastguard and the military.

There are also a number of subgroups formed to deal with media and communication issues, training, health, planning, voluntary services, utilities, search and rescue services, risk assessment and infrastructure.