ProtectUK, a central hub for counter terrorism and security advice, published a Vigilance Communications Toolkit for the Coronation weekend to help the public to be alert.

As the Coronation of the King and the Queen Consort will be celebrated with events across the country between 6 – 8 May, various ceremonial events will take place in central London, with 30 large screens showing the Coronation live across the UK, a concert in Windsor and local community events.

The public are likely to be out and about enjoying the celebrations and the bank holiday weekend, so this is an important opportunity to remind them to stay alert, trust their instincts and help us to keep everyone safe by sharing any concerns with security, staff or the police.

With the Vigilance Communications Toolkit, ProtectUK aims to:

Encourage those celebrating the Coronation to report anything they see that doesn’t feel right, 

Increase public awareness of how to report,

Increase public confidence in knowing the signs to spot,

Reassure the public that their reports will be treated in confidence, aren’t wasting police time, or getting innocent people into trouble,

Encourage business and local authorities to deploy security minded communication.

A spokesperson from ProtectUK said: “All of our campaign materials will be reassuring and reflect the celebratory tone of the Coronation weekend.

“We want the public to be alert, not alarmed.

“Our communications approach is underpinned by insight into how the public feel about the UK terror threat and research into how those with hostile intent think, feel and behave.”

According to the key insights obtained from the polling:

Over 90% of people believe Counter Terrorism Policing is necessary and vital to keeping the country safe;

Over 60% believe that everyone can play a role in defeating terrorism;

Over 70% felt like vigilance messaging in public spaces was relevant and suitable;

76% of people who saw messages encouraging them to be vigilant felt assured to follow their instincts and like they knew how to report if they saw something that didn’t feel right.

ProtectUK said that the public want to report something that doesn’t feel right, but awareness of where to report is low and there are concerns about wasting police time.

“Our campaign materials aim to raise awareness of what to do and reassure the public that we want them to contact us with any concerns,” a spokesperson from ProtectUK said.

You can download the toolkit here.