British tech firm Halo Solutions has issued this statement regarding its part in the Coronation of King Charles
THE STATEMENT
Halo Solutions, the tech company behind the software platform Halo (v5), played a crucial supporting role in keeping the public safe during “Operation Golden Orb”, the counterterrorism and security plan devised by the Metropolitan Police for the Coronation of King Charles III and the Coronation concert at Windsor Castle.
The Coronation was the United Kingdom’s biggest state event since the Queen’s funeral last September (which Halo was also involved with).
Operation Golden Orb was also the single biggest security and policing operation that the Metropolitan Police had mounted in the capital in recent years, with more than 11,500 police officers and staff protecting 312 of the world’s leaders and visiting dignitaries.
The Metropolitan Police worked with multiple agency partners – both private and public sector – including British Transport Police, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service, with support from other police forces across the UK.
Working with private and public sector partner agencies, the Halo (v5) system has been monitoring and protecting critical infrastructure and transport links.
It was deployed to monitor crowd ingress and egress through places like Waterloo and Windsor train stations for both events. Its primary function was to deal with crowd safety, incident management, monitoring of security personnel and assets, as well as to implement counterterrorism prevention strategies, monitoring for suspicious persons, packages, vehicles and baggage.
It follows the announcement this week by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley that his officers had to target a “criminal network” during the Coronation, which included people posing as fake security stewards, who were caught with bottles of paint that they intended to throw at the parade.
Further intelligence indicated that the group planned to also use rape alarms and loud hailers to disrupt the Coronation and vandalise monuments with paint.
The Halo System acted as a central command and control function monitoring multiple feeds of security information through the Coronation weekend from several sources at the two key train stations and the surrounding infrastructure at both locations.
A number of suspicious incidents and individuals were identified, monitored and reported.
PUBLIC AND CROWD SAFETY
Former police and counterterrorism officer Lloyd Major, Founder and CEO of Halo Solutions, said: “We were delighted and honoured to have played a small but important role, working with our partner agencies and clients to help maintain public and crowd safety for the Coronation at key locations and surrounding infrastructure with an estimated 20,000 people travelling to Windsor to attend the Coronation concert and many more in central London.
“This was an incredibly well organised event by the Metropolitan Police and huge credit to all the security companies and partner agencies involved, pulling this off with little to no incident whilst the eyes of the world were upon us.
“Security and crowd safety of the public at major events has never been more important following the disasters of Hillsborough and more recently, the Manchester Arena bombing of the Ariana Grande concert, Astroworld, Itaewon crush deaths and the o2 Brixton Academy fatalities. Following any major disaster or terrorist incident, the words ‘lessons will be learned’ are an all-too familiar chorus so it’s great to see the use of pro-active and preventative measures, such as Halo and other tools and training all being deployed to best effect .”
The Halo (v5) system provides a wide range of risk mitigation services in crowd and public safety. It provides a unique command and control of major events with one core aim of safety and protecting the public. It provides incident management, crowd dynamics, heat-mapping, density, flow and sentiment, as well as bodycam video, CCTV and drone footage integration, ticket scanning, security staff authorisation and public reporting for suspicious activity or packages as well as many other features.
The tech platform is also playing a significant role in major event security and crowd safety at music, sporting and live events at arenas, stadiums and festivals, following the aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing. With “Martyn’s Law” being introduced this year – which the Government plans to introduce to all venues and stadia to ensure stronger protections against terrorism in public places – this will mean even greater responsibilities for venue owners, arenas and stadiums, with mandatory checks and protocols. Halo (v5) and its unique integrations are the global market-leading event safety solution to support venues in addressing the recommendations of Martyn’s Law.
Over this Coronation weekend, the system was also deployed at a number of major sporting and music events around the globe, protecting the public and fans attending the F1 Miami Grand Prix, the Eurovision song contest and pop/rock concerts from Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Bublé – to mention just a few.
Major added: “The Halo (v5) tech was designed to play a critical role in mitigating risks attached to major events before they happen, with a focus on prevention. In the unlikely event those risks do escalate, Halo (v5) effectively and rapidly brings together all of the different security, health and safety systems, medical teams and partner agencies involved in an event under one command and control system.
“By doing so, it allows faster response times to incidents, enables better decision-making and provides a clear picture of the incident to brief emergency services so that action plans can be instigated quickly and effectively. In doing this, we can help prevent tragedies like Manchester Arena from happening again and swiftly assist in minimising their impact and maximising safety if they do manifest.”