Building Target Hardening

Public institutions like schools, train stations, hospitals, shopping centres and universities are characterised by their accessibility to a wide audience. Because such locations (referred to in professional terminology as soft targets) are often crowded and minimally secured, they form an attractive potential target for terrorist groups.

In practice it is not uncommon to boost security by implementing very visible counterterrorism measures, such as concrete roadblocks, detection gates, CCTV or on site guarding by armed security personnel. Interventions like these send a clear message to individuals with terrorist intentions, but with soft targets they can spark a weird feeling on the part of the general public as well, communicating that there must be some kind of (increased) threat that justifies the measures taken. The latter mentioned might become even worse since the martial appearance that comes along with the usual counterterrorist interventions doesn’t match the open, welcoming and accessible atmosphere that is characteristic to public institutions. In order to address this dilemma, this PhD trajectory adopts a dual approach: developing interventions that make public spaces less attractive to potential terrorist offenders, without compromising the experience and wellbeing of the common user.