Article citation information:
Uchroński, J. Role and tasks of the police in an airport crisis
situation. Scientific Journal of Silesian
University of Technology. Series Transport. 2016, 93, 131-139. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2016.93.14.
Jerzy UCHROŃSKI[1]
ROLE AND TASKS OF THE POLICE
IN AN AIRPORT CRISIS SITUATION
Summary.
The article presented below refers to a crisis situation connected with a threat
to public order in a public utility facility, such as an airport. The article
presents the role and tasks of the police in releasing such a facility occupied
by unauthorized people. An attempt to explain the basic concepts related to
this issue has been made and the procedure, conditions and legal basis of the
police intervention in conducting such an operation have been presented.
Keywords: Police,
crisis management, airport, evacuation
1.
INTRODUCTION
In
today’s world, human beings are constantly exposed to threats arising from the
natural environment, as well as those caused by other human beings. Such a
situation may occur as a result of the rapid development of civilization, which
has contributed to numerous catastrophes caused, first and foremost, by human
activities and the forces of nature. In the face of a threat to human life,
health and property, we are forced to react swiftly, in such a manner that the
consequences of such events are minimized as much as possible. By a “crisis
situation”, we mean an event resulting from a threat, which consequently leads
to the rupture or severe violation of social ties, with a corresponding
significant disturbance in the functioning of public institutions. However, the
applied means necessary to ensure or restore security should not justify the
introduction of any state of emergency, referred to in Article 228, Section 1,
of the Polish Constitution (martial law, a state of emergency or a natural
disaster).
2. AIRPORT crisis situation
The term
“crisis situation” is defined in various ways in the Polish legal system. In
the Act of 26 April 2007, the legislator defines a crisis situation as a
situation exerting negative influence on the level of human security, property
of significant size or the environment, which causes significant limitations in
the operations of competent public administrative authorities due to the
inadequacy of possessed forces and measures[2].
According to Wikipedia (an Internet encyclopaedia based on an open-content
model), a crisis situation occurs when there is a group of external and
internal circumstances affecting a given system in such a manner that changes
begin and continue therein. A new quality of the system, or a new structure and
function in the already existing system, may result from these changes[3]. The police,
in turn, defines a crisis situation as an event causing danger to human life,
health or property, resulting from unlawful attacks violating these goods, or a
natural disaster, characterized by the possibility of losing control over the
course of events, or an escalation of a threat where, in order to protect
security and public order, it is necessary to use a larger number of police
officers, possibly organized in units or subunits, including armed ones[4].
From the
point of view of the police, a crisis situation may be compared to a special
situation, which is characterized by abruptness and a considerable threat to
human life, health or property of significant size, as well as a facilities,
which are important for state security or defence, such that controlling it
requires additional and extraordinary police forces and measures.
One such
environment characterized by a high likelihood of an occurrence of an emergency
or crisis situation related to the security of human life, health and property
is an airport, which is a place where aircraft land, take off and taxi. The
equipment found at an airport is varied, depending on the number of
passengers and transported goods. A huge number of people of various
nationalities travelling at the same time to different parts of the world
generates a need to treat such a place in an exceptional manner.
The
evacuation of passengers from an airport passenger terminal as a result of an
abandoned suitcase or bag (including a simple plastic carrier) occurs very
often. For the security personnel working at the airport, such an abandoned
object means one thing: a bomb threat demanding the implementation the
special operational procedures, which we define as a crisis situation.
It
should be stressed that the awareness of the protection of all airport workers
does not allow us to presume that such an abandoned object may constitute a
false alarm, just another one of many situations of this kind. In such a
situation, a real threat is always presumed.
In
agreement with, first and foremost, the police and the users of the airport, an
airport operator develops a plan for counteracting a crisis situation in civil
aviation. The airport operator takes into account the conditions and mode of
cooperation and coordination of the actions of particular entities included in
the airport security system, as well as the manner of reacting to threats,
acting in the crisis situation and informing those people responsible for the
airport security system about the threat. During a crisis situation, reliable
and precise communication between all levels of the crisis management team is
crucial. It should be emphasized that, despite the fact that we describe a
crisis situation at an airport, the consequences of such an act of unlawful
interference will reach the highest of governmental authorities.
The role
of the police, as a uniformed and armed formation serving society, which is
intended for the protection of individuals’ safety and maintenance of security
and public order, is necessary in a situation where an extraordinary event
related to threats occur, such as acts of public disorder or terrorism. The Act
on the Police of 6 April 1990 defines the basic tasks of the police in this
type of situation, which may also be implemented in other emergency situations.
Such tasks include: 1) protection of human life, health and property
against unlawful attacks violating these goods; 2) protection of security
and public order, including ensuring peace in public places and on means of
public transport, in traffic and on water intended for common use; 3)
initiation and organization of actions aimed at preventing the commission of
crime, offences and criminal phenomena, as well as cooperation in this area
with state and local government authorities and social organizations; 4) detection
of crime and offences, as well as the prosecution of the perpetrators; 5)
supervision over specialist armed security formations to the extent specified
in separate provisions; 6) control of adherence to public order regulations and
administrative provisions related to public activity or which are applicable in
public places; 7) cooperation with the police in other countries and their
international organizations, as well as with EU authorities and institutions
under international agreements and separate provisions; 8) collection,
processing and forwarding of information about criminals and crime; 9)
maintaining data sets comprising information on known fingerprints,
unidentified fingerprints from scenes of crime and the results of DNA analysis,
as collected by authorized bodies. The police also implement tasks arising from
the provisions of EU law and international agreements on the principles and to
the extent specified therein[5].
As
already mentioned, one of the crisis situations that may occur and that the
police may encounter is public disorder in various public utility facilities.
For the purposes of this article, the role and tasks of the police in releasing
such a facility (an airport occupied by unauthorized people) will be presented.
At this
point, it is worth mentioning that a facility is a building or a group of
buildings, together with an adjacent area and equipment, as well as
infrastructure located within it. Premises or a group of premises may also
constitute a facility[6]. We talk
about releasing when we undertake collaborative organizational, tactical,
material and technical undertakings, which consist of removing people from such
a facility who unlawfully occupy it, people who constitute a threat to
security, or people who contribute to significant public disorder, in order to
enable the functioning of the facility in accordance with its intended purpose.
The
essence of releasing is the repelling of a dangerous, direct and violent attack
on: 1) facilities and equipment significant for state security and defence; 2)
headquarters of the main authorities, the main and central state
administrative authorities or judicial authorities; 3) economic or national
cultural facilities; 4) diplomatic representations and consular offices of
foreign countries or international organizations; or 5) facilities supervised
by an armed security formation established under separate provisions. The
removal of people by the police begins when public order is violated.
The
decision of the President of the Council of Ministers, adopted at the request
of the minister in charge of internal affairs and administration, constitutes a
legal basis for using police forces (in urgent cases, the minister in charge of
internal affairs takes the decisions and informs the President of the Council
of Ministers about it).
The
following criteria must be met for police intervention to take place: 1) an
administrator (owner) or landlord of a facility should conduct negotiations
with the people occupying a facility, determining the consequences of their
unlawful behaviour and asking them to leave the facility voluntarily; 2) it is
appropriate for a prosecutor, who should inform the people occupying the
facility about the legal sanctions that might be imposed on them, to
participate in talks, asking them to leave the facility, or, in the case of
insubordination, threatening to use measures of direct coercion (participants
of occupied facilities commit the crime defined in Article 193 of the Penal
Code on the violation of domestic peace)[7];
and, 3) if the above undertakings prove to be ineffective, the landlord of
the facility asks the police to restore the violated legal order in an informal
manner (in writing) in the presence of the prosecutor. When the police
arrive on the site, the action/operation commander is obliged to: 1) confirm
with the people occupying the facility the fact that the landlord and the
prosecutor have asked the police for help; 2) make sure that the previous
negotiations with the people occupying the facility as undertaken and
conducted by the landlord and prosecutor were ineffective; 3) where necessary,
conduct negotiations by means of police negotiators; and 4) once again ask the
people occupying the facility (and anyone who has immunity) to leave it
voluntarily, indicate the time or period for leaving and, in the case of
insubordination, warn them about the possibility of the police using
measures of direct coercion. If the warning does not bring the expected
results and the facility remains occupied, the action/operation commander takes
the decision on removing these people by force.
If
feasible, the administrator (owner of the facility) should, via their
administrative services, guarantee the possibility of efficient entry of the
police forces into the facility being
released and into the particular premises, as well as expressing written
consent concerning the potential damage caused by the operations of the police[8]. The
action/operation commander, who should be a commissioner of a locally
competent unit of the police or a police officer appointed by them, is
appointed to perform the tasks to be undertaken by the police in relation to
releasing the facility. The commander executes authority over all forces and
measures allocated to releasing the facility[9].
After
arriving at the site, the commander is obliged to: a) confirm with the people
occupying the facility the fact that the administrator (owner of the
facility) and public prosecutor have asked the police forces for help; b)
make sure that the previous negotiations undertaken by the administrator
(facility owner) and prosecutor were inefficient; c) secure the assistance of
the administrator, e.g., by assigning an employee responsible for the keys
to the doors in the occupied facilities/premises or expressing written consent
for the forcing of the doors; and d) again ask the people occupying the facility
to leave it voluntarily and warn them about the necessity to use measures of
direct coercion[10], stating,
for example: “Under the provisions of law, I advise you to immediately cease
doing these actions consisting of the occupation of a building. I warn that the
police does not bear material liability for damage to property related to use
of coercion. Moreover, I ask those people who have immunity to leave this
place”.
An
announcement with such content should be made at least three times at 15-minute
intervals. During this time, decisions are made on the potential withdrawal
from blocking the facility. If the warnings fail to bring the
expected results, the commander takes the decision to introduce coherent
subunits to remove the people occupying the facility by force.
Prior to
using subunits in order to release the facility by force, the commander should
ensure the presence of the landlord of the facility and the prosecutor, as
well as comprehensive access to information about the building, the adjacent
area and the people who occupy it unlawfully. From the point of view of the
police, we will call this process “identification” and it should be conducted
in three directions: facility identification (also known as “internal
identification”), adjacent area identification (also known as “external
identification”) and the identification of the people occupying the facility
(also known as “personal identification”).
Identification
of an area adjacent to an external facility comprises, in particular, the
collection of information regarding: 1) the location and the closest surroundings
of the facility; 2) the shortest access roads, gates and entrances; and 3)
available technical and physical (personal) protection. Upon conducing external
identification, topographical, construction and architectural plans, as well as
photos and visual observation, should be used. Internal identification of the
facility comprises the collection of information on: 1) location of
buildings and the passages between them; 2) internal communication in buildings
(stories, staircases, passages, corridors, lifts); and 3) distribution of
crucial points (alarm and signal devices, telephone exchanges, composition of
explosives or inflammable materials, master power switches, water intakes, gas,
dispatch offices and printing devices). Available architectural plans, technical
documentation and information obtained from personal sources should be used
upon conducting internal and external identification. Personal identification
comprises, in particular, the collection of information on: 1) number and
distribution of the people occupying the facility; 2) composition of the
group in terms of gender; 3) mood, determination and intentions of the people
occupying the facility; 4) those people who may have specialist training, first
and foremost, in the field of pyrotechnics; 5) the possibility of reaching the
people occupying the facility operationally or to directly reach an organizer;
6) the presumed behaviour of the people occupying the facility upon entry
of police forces; 7) equipment and means of fighting collected or disposed of
by the people occupying the facility; and 8) limitations in access to the
facility implemented by the people occupying it and any system of control of
people entering and leaving the facility. Furthermore, the operation
commander should aim to obtain information pertaining to: 1) the reason for
blocking the facility; and 2) the time and type of conflict. The commander may
obtain the above-mentioned data directly from the operational headquarters or
as a result of their own identification. Subsequently, on this basis, the
operation commander assesses the operational situation. An analysis and
assessment of personal potential, which constitutes a condition for selecting
an appropriate option for the releasing actions, is a significant element of the
situation assessment. On the site where the actions take place, the operation
commander should verify and update any previously obtained information in order
to develop an optimal idea regarding releasing actions.
The
following elements, which exert influence on preparing and conducting the
assessment, should be taken into consideration while assessing the situation
during the release of the facility: 1) assessment of the legal situation
of the actions; 2) assessment of data concerning internal and external
identification; 3) assessment of information on the people occupying the
facility; 4) quantitative and qualitative assessment of personal
potential; and 5) assessment of the cooperating forces. Moreover, the commander
in charge of the action/operation should draw attention to particular elements,
such as: 1) access to the region where the actions are taking place; 2)
specificity of the area in terms of engaging services (posts, patrols,
blockades, cordons); 3) behaviour of third parties; 4) how to act during an
attempt to leave the facility by organized groups of the people occupying the
facility; 5) organization of vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the region where
the actions are taking place; 6) topography and communication inside the
facility; 7) locations of potential entry into the facility; 8) distribution
of critical points in the facility; 9) tactics concerning the how to act while
taking control over critical points in the facility; 10) number, attitude and
intentions of the people occupying the facility; 11) potential preparation
for active resistance by the people occupying the facility; 12) the possibility
of reaching the people occupying the facility operationally; 13) the manner of
securing the facility by means of technical and physical protection of the
people occupying the facility; 14) the organizational division of personal
potential; 15) personal technical means; 16) the possibility and
extent of applying measures of direct coercion; 17) the sequence of actions of
particular groups of subunits; 18) camouflage activities and the start of
actions; and 19) equipment and uniforms.
Advance
preventive actions and negotiations aimed at solving the crisis situation
amicably are conducted in parallel with the identification, preparation of
forces, measures and developing the tactics of release. Negotiations with the
people participating in the occupation may be conducted exclusively by the
administrator or another person holding a legal title to the facility. If all
possibilities of solving the dispute by negotiation and mediation have been
exhausted, the commander assesses the operational situation and takes
appropriate decisions. An order constitutes the basic form of forwarding a
decision in the form of specified tasks. If the situation so warrants, the
commander’s order should be prepared in writing.
The
assignment of tasks to particular specialist groups is a significant element in
taking decisions aimed at releasing such an object as an airport. Such teams
comprise a security group, whose tasks include preventing people from the
outside entering the facility, preventing organized groups from leaving the
facility, creating optimal conditions for police forces releasing the facility,
and protecting the facility after conducting actions until control over it is
taken by an authorized person. Protection measures take the form of: a complete
blockade, which covers the region directly adjacent to the acility by
means of police cordons and barriers made of police technical means and natural
obstacles, as well as the use of the terrain or artificial obstacles; and a
partial blockade to cover the further vicinity of the facility in a way
that fulfils the regulatory functions, which may be constructed with the use of
blockade and control posts, mobile patrols and observation posts.
Another
measure involves an assault group, which performs its tasks by means of forcing
entry into the facility, creating the conditions for use by other police
forces, the immobilization of people occupying the facility who have been
entrusted with the security (defence) of the facility by a protest organizer
taking control over crucial points along with communication and alarm systems,
forcing obstacles (barricades) and obstructions inside the facility, and
transferring any detained people to a convoy group. Depending on the
operational situation, an explosive and pyrotechnic detection group may be
included in the assault group.
The
tasks of the search group include a review of the buildings (premises) to be
released, identifying and detaining people who are hiding, the location and,
where possible, neutralization of potential traps, explosive or incendiary
charges, as well as identifying other dangerous objects and evidence of
criminal activities.
The
tasks of the guard group include accepting and securing buildings, premises and
crucial points as they are released by the assault groups, ringing and
isolating buildings or premises in which the people occupying the facility are
located, preventing the reoccupation of released premises, preventing the
people occupying the facility from moving inside the facility or from escaping
through windows and roofs, enabling a safe exit from the facility for people
resigning from its blocking, and securing a method of withdrawal of the engaged
police forces if the actions prove to be unsuccessful. The tasks of the convoy
group include the efficient reception of detained people, searching people,
receiving objects (evidence of crime committed), preparing reports on these
activities, protecting material evidence, and taking the detained people,
together with a deposit, to detention points or places where the investigation
group works. The above-mentioned group should comprise an investigative group.
The last group taking part in the described actions is a documenting group,
which records the course of the release and preserves any traces of
criminal activity by the people occupying the facility in terms of legal
proceedings.
Police
officers from the investigation departments and the forensic laboratory
assigned to the commander maintain the procedural documentation and
preserve any traces.
All
releasing actions should be recorded on videotape (by means of the team’s own
camera operators). In addition, medical protection comprising doctors and
paramedics who, if necessary, can provide first aid to all victims (police
officers and occupying people) and take decisions on potential hospitalization,
conduct a visual examination of anyone who has been injured or complains about
ailments, and document these activities in accordance with the applicable
provisions, all of which should not be forgotten when discussing the actions
undertaken during the release of an airport.
The
release should be characterized by activity, determination, diversity of
actions undertaken, tempo and continuity of their conducting, as well as the
graduation of the impact exerted on the people occupying the facility. One
factor determining the success of such actions is the speed of conducting them,
as well as the application of non-conventional methods and measures and the
disorientation of the people occupying the facility.
The
entry of groups (subunits) from various directions, including simulated ones,
with the potential use of psychological effects, is desirable. All actions
should ensure that the aim is achieved as quickly as possible, in accordance
with the principle related to causing as little damage to the occupying people
and the technical condition of the facility as possible. It should be noted
that, during releasing actions, it is possible to use chemicals, smokescreens
or explosives (however, the people occupying the facility should be
notified of this fact during the informing procedure mentioned earlier), but
only for the specifically defined “purpose of removing the people occupying the
facility from the occupied premises, forcing them to leave blocked passages,
barricades, places of gathering, immobilization and disorientation of such
people, masking the actions of police forces, preventing the people occupying
the facility from moving inside it, opening closed doors or special locks,
creating new entries into buildings or premises, exerting psychological impact
on the people occupying the facility, ensuring the security of the police
forces performing operations, transmitting prearranged signals and
instructions”[11].
After
removing the people occupying the facility, investigating the premises and
potentially neutralizing any dangerous objects, devices or materials, the
operation commander safeguards the facility by engaging a system of posts
and patrols until control over it is taken by an authorized person (landlord)[12].
During
the releasing activities, from the beginning until the end of the operation,
the operation commander bears full responsibility for the security of the
people who are in a region where the activities of the police forces take
place. The commander is also responsible for the lawful conduct of subordinate
police officers and the use of measures of direct coercion, which should be
appropriate to the resistance of the people occupying the facility.[13]
4. CONCLUSION
In
conclusion, it should be assumed that the police, as a formation whose main
task is to ensure the security of citizens and public order, constitutes a
significant element in the Polish system of reacting to events, which may
constitute a serious threat to human life, health and property, as well as to
the natural environment, significant facilities and institutions. The
preparation and application of clear and legible procedures for actions intended
to rescue people and their property, the proper organization of these actions,
and the proper preparation of an integrated plan of cooperation between the
various services and institutions are necessary in order for these actions to
achieve the intended result.
References
1.
Act on Crisis Management of 26 April 2007. Journal of Laws, no. 89, item 590, as
amended.
2.
Act on the Police of 6 April 1990. Consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2015, item 355.
3.
Instruction no. 3 of the Police Commander in Chief of
16 June 2000 on the operations of the police under conditions of a
catastrophe.
4.
Instruction no. 13 of the Police Commander in Chief of
25 August 1995 on tactics of coherent police subunit operation in the case of a
crisis situation or violation of public order and pursuit of a dangerous
offender.
5.
Penal Code. Journal
of Laws of 1997, no. 88, item 553
as amended.
6.
Procedures of the operations of the police within the
scope of tactics of acting and commanding police units in the case of threats
of public disorder or collective public order disturbances.
7.
Regulation no. 213 of the Police Commander in Chief of
28 February 2007 on methods and forms of preparing and performing tasks of the
police in the cases of a threat to human life, health or property, or security
and public order. Journal of Laws,
no. 5, item 49.
Received 05.07.2016; accepted in revised form
03.10.2016
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