The future of urban security: Urban planning and adoption of advanced technological solutions

30-31 January 2023
Rotterdam Hilton Hotel, Rotterdam

We are delighted to announce that the IMPETUS Project successfully arranged these two amazing days. The Final Dissemination Event in Rotterdam, The Netherlands was an undoubted success! This event was organised with the support of the Secu4All project. Secu4All is coordinated by Efus (European Forum for Urban Security) and their members, and funded by the European Union’s Internal Security Fund — Police. Some 70 participants from IMPETUS, COSSEC and Secu4All gathered to discuss the future of urban security - how to adopt advanced technological solutions in the urban planning and city daily live.

Members of the research teams, representatives of interest organizations and representatives of the management of cities and municipal organizations discussed the progress and results of the research projects. They discussed the problems that accompany the adoption of new technologies and solutions and ways to overcome them. We also presented the Practitioner Guides, or training methodologies or exercises, and discussed how these can be suitable tools for further use of the project results.

The core theme of the event was improving safety in public spaces in urban environments. The event had three main goals:
1. Networking: To bring together actors in the field (the organising projects, other projects, municipalities, law enforcement, policy makers, …) to share results and experiences, and to establish co-operations for the future.
2. Increasing awareness: Help stakeholders understand the potential and challenges of adopting technological and non-technological approaches to urban security by presenting and discussing what we have achieved and learned in IMPETUS, Secu4All and other projects.
3. Moving forward: Explore ideas on how potential barriers to adoption of new approaches (including ethical concerns) can be overcome; identify what future steps are needed before the full potential can be realized.

The two days covering these goals were busy ones... The first day started with a meet-and-greet at the Rotterdam Hilton Hotel, which was followed by a "walk-and-talk" around the Rotterdam City Centre for invited guests. The walk-and-talk session took a look at the mitigation strategies preventing insecurity in public spaces. This afternoon session was followed by an evening project poster session that gave guests the opportunity to mingle and network with some refreshments and light snacks.

A poster presentation station for the IMPETUS Practitioners Guides

Mingling and discussions over drinks and snacks on the first evening of the Event at the Hilton

The day ended with Brazilian cuisine at Rodizio Rotterdam Brazilian Grill. The conversation and networking carried late into the night with much laughter.

Joe Gorman (SINTEF, IMPETUS Project Coordinator) introducing the IMPETUS Tools

The second day included the main agenda items of the event, and started with introductions and welcomes with presentations by both Joe Gorman (SINTEF, IMPETUS Project Coordinator) and Pilar De La Torre (Efus, Secu4All Project Coordinator). The topic of the sessions included on the second day were:

• "Adopting technology for urban security – how did it go and what did we learn?"

This session included presentations/videos about the work carried out, as well as open discussions in which experiences and views on the benefits and challenges face in introducing technology in pilot cites in the context of EU projects.

Bente Skattor from Oslo Police leading the first panel

Project participants together with people from cities and other potential users

• "Dilemmas arising at the intersection of Security, Technology and Society – and how to approach them"

This session was set up as an open discussion which covered societal, ethical, data privacy, legal and civil rights challenges that can arise when adopting hi-tech solutions for security in the context of IMPETUS and Secu4All. We also looked at how these can be addressed with respect to how public perceptions and future technology evolve.

• "Exhibition: Key results of the IMPETUS project"

These one-on-one informal discussions gave attendees the chance to engage with both the project participants and the tools that were presented. We not only spoke of the successes but also the lessons that were learnt from the challenges that we faced - and overcame! - in designing the tools.

Project partners showcasing their IMPETUS Tools at the Exhibition in an interactive and integrative fashion

• "Facilitating widespread and responsible uptake of new approaches to urban security"

In this session, we examined the factors that could stand in the way of successful adoption of new approaches to urban security for resilient cities, and consider what can be done to make things easier.

Jaroslav Pejcoch from TIEMS starts the last panel

• "Quo vadis – where do we go from here?"

In an open panel discussion, we dare to dream about what the future may hold for the technologies, IMPETUS, Secu4All, COSSEC....

A pdf of the Agenda can be download/viewed by clicking here.

This event showed what can been achieved in the organizing projects. When it comes to technology, we are proud of what we have developed and demonstrated in IMPETUS. But other tools exist, and new ones will surely emerge in the future. At this event, we looked at the broader picture – even dreamt a little – about what the future may bring.

A full report from the event will be covered in IMPETUS Newsletter 4, scheduled for publication on IMPETUS website mid-February.

Want to know more?

For IMPETUS: Contact Joe Gorman, Coordinator: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
For Secu4All: Contact Pilar De La Torre, Coordinator: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For any municipality who would like a deeper dialogue about the topics covered or about adoption of technological solutions, IMPETUS is willing to arrange an on-site visit to your location in the course of February 2023. If interested, please contact Joe.

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Last Updated: 03 May 2023

 6 October 2022

The second and final live exercise in the IMPETUS project took place in Padova on 6th October 2022.  Project partners and around 30 external guests gathered in the offices of a local police station and followed the exercise via live video links to the location of the exercise itself (Piazza del Signori in central Padova) and to the SOC (Security Operations Centre) where staff were using IMPETUS tools to monitor and respond to events as they unfolded.

The IMPETUS platform allows the same dashboard view of all the tools and alerts to be shown at multiple locations, so the guests and partners could see exactly what the SOC operators were seeing at all times.

Overall, the Padova IMPETUS Live Exercise was a successful event, and (as for the Oslo LiveEx) many important lessons were learned which will be of lasting value for project participants and future users of project results.

Welcome

The guests arrived in eager anticipation of what they were about to see, learn and experience from the live exercise.  Among the guests were councillors and representatives of Padova and other municipalities, officers of all the police forces and other first responders (firefighters, civil protection, etc.), as well as our COSSEC members. Moreover, since the Live Exercise has been planned as part of the evaluation process, there were operatives from different first responders (Local Police, National Police, Carabinieri, Firefighters).

Councillors and Representatives of Padova and other Municipalities, Officers of all the police forces and other first responders.

Bruno Bonomini, representing the Municipality of Padova as their project manager, introduced the councillor responsible for security, Diego Bonavina, representing the City Council and the Mayor, then the Local Police Commander, Lorenzo Fontolan. On behalf of the Municipality and its citizens, the representatives welcomed the participants involved and their enthusiasm and anticipation. They applauded initiatives such as these aimed to improve safety and security.

The City of Oslo IMPETUS team was present in Padova to observe and advise based on the experience gained during the Oslo Live Exercise. From the left: Magnus Borge, Willy Olsen, Juan Cabrera, Osman Ibrahim and Simon Gjetrang.

A few COSSEC members were also present at the Live Exercise to observe and provide feedback on the events of the day.

The following COSSEC Members attended the Padova Live Exercise (from left): Massimo Bosi – Faenza City Councillor for Security, Privacy and Transparency, Caitlin Bishop – Privacy International UK, Tinus Kanters – DISSS (Dutch Institute for Safe and Secure Spaces), Sandro Bologna – COSSEC Chair, Alex Townsend-Drake – CTPN London, and Emanuela Da Ruos, Maya Battisti and Lorenzo Signori from Cittadinanzattiva Italy.

An Information Package was sent to the attendees before the event, containing an overview of the IMPETUS project, a description of the exercise scenario, the agenda for the day and brief one-page descriptions of project results. The one-pagers are available on project website at:

https://impetus-project.eu/index.php/impetus-outputs/the-impetus-solution

IMPETUS Project Presentations

The day started with the Project Coordinator, Joe Gorman (SINTEF) presenting an overview of IMPETUS, the project goals and its key results. Bruno Bonomini (City of Padova Commune) explained Padova’s role in the project, introduced the context of the scenario forming the core of the live exercise and the expected outcomes; he emphasised the important role that the IMPETUS solution could have for improving a city’s resilience and safety.  The project’s Technical Manager, Matthieu Branlat, presented thereafter an overview of the exercise and what the audience could expect to observe. While noting that some of the IMPETUS tools are not designed for real-time use during an event (tools related to cyber-security and social media scanning), Matthieu explained how these had been successfully deployed the day before to detect and deal with some IT security issues, and to provide pre-warnings of the public demonstration in the square that was the focus of the live part of the exercise.

Speaking about the IMPETUS Project (Joe Gorman and Bruno Bonomini) and the forthcoming event (Matthieu Branlat)

Introducing the IMPETUS Results: The Exhibition

After the general presentations, participants were invited to move to another room to tour the IMPETUS exhibition.  This consisted of separate “stations” for each IMPETUS result where project members and guests could have interactive dialogues to learn more about the results and discuss their potential application. For some results, it was also possible to view demos. External guests mingled with project members and the exhibition added a more sociable feel to the event. For the results that were later to be used in the live exercise (i.e., the integrating platform and some of the tools), this helped guests to understand the role of each in the exercise.

Just before moving to the exhibition, developers of each IMPETUS result presented themselves and briefly summarised their result. Top row, left to right: Manuela Soccol from Studio Legale Soccol, Ron Ofer from SIXGILL, Maria Mirada from INSIKT INTELLIGENCE, and Michelangelo Ceci from CINI. Bottom row, left to right: Thomas de Groot from THALES Netherland, Paolo Mocellin from University of Padova, Simon Hudd from CINEDIT, and Radu Popescu from Software Imagination & Vision.

Project members and guests mingling and chatting about project results at the exhibition.

The exhibition was followed by lunch on a beautiful balcony overlooking the magnificent Prato della Valle  - Padova’s main square.  Then it was time for the live exercise!

The Live Exercise

The live exercise depicted a scenario in which criminals try to incite a terror attack in the city centre (Piazza del Signori Square) by taking advantage of an unauthorised demonstration against further COVID19 restrictions that the City Council was planning to adopt.

By means of a live video link, guests and IMPETUS members could watch events unfold in the square while safely seated at the meeting location. A second live video link allowed them to observe how the SOC (Security Operations Centre) personnel took charge of the situation in the square, and “chat” messages from an IMPETUS “reporter” at the SOC explained what was happening.  During all of this, guests could view the dashboard of the IMPETUS platform, seeing exactly the same view as the SOC staff, live, as they interacted with the platform.

Early indications of a demonstration in the square, prepared by some citizens, were detected the day before the live exercise using our sophisticated Social Media Detection tool. In addition, indications of vulnerabilities and possible attack on the city’s IT systems had been discovered by our advanced Cyber Threat Detection and Response tool.  Our Cyber Threat Intelligence tool had also uncovered - and solved – some potential threats from the dark web. These alerts to signs of unrest were closely monitored by IT specialists, and relayed to SOC personnel as alerts on the IMPETUS Platform. The SOC personnel could then notify local law enforcement so that the local police and other first responders could prepare for potential trouble the next day.

The IMPETUS Platform in operation.

As the local police were alerted to the impending threat in the square by the SOC personnel,  they raised the alert level on the day of the demonstration and prepared to manage an evacuation of a large group of people in the square using our Evacuation Optimiser tool to provide advice on optimal strategies for evacuation, based on simulations carried out before. Since multiple SOC operators see the same view of the IMPETUS Platform, and can use a messaging system to communicate with each other and forces on the ground, the potential risk can be quickly shared with all personnel involved.

SOC personnel then received alerts from the Urban Anomaly Detector tool: one noting an unusual flow of cars approaching the city centre, and another noting an unusual flow of citizens into the square.  The tool only detects anomalies, it is not able to explain why they might be happening: judgment on that is left up to staff.  The demonstration ensues.

While tension in the square is growing, another crisis arises when the Bacteria Detector tool raises an alert that high levels of bacteria have been detected in a municipal building in Piazza dei Signori, possibly due to a biological attack.  As personnel evacuate the building they merge with the demonstrators in the square. Panic and chaos follow, with many citizens not knowing what to do in the square, or where to go.

In the chaos, three people armed with guns prepare to shoot in the crowd! Luckily for the crowd, the IMPETUS Weapon Detection tool alerted the SOC operator to one of these guns. Seconds later, the local police and other policing units sweep in, promptly arresting the gunmen before they fire their weapons. 

The SOC operators worked long hours over these two exciting days, which can strongly impact their physical, emotional and mental workload capacity. The Workload Monitoring System was used to monitor the operators in the SOC, allowing the SOC supervisor to be made aware of any signs of stress during the live exercise.

At the end of the exercise, the innocent citizens were safe, the unrest was controlled, the SOC personnel applauded… and the “gunmen” were caught. Calm was restored in the Piazza del Signori in central Padova.

And… at the centre of this multi-system approach to improving safety and security in these public spaces is the IMPETUS Platform.

Discussion on the Live Exercises

The Live Exercise was followed by a Q&A session.

Valuable feedback from the SOC operators was gathered about how they experienced practical use of IMPETUS, and its potential usefulness for their city. COSSEC members also gave valuable feedback.  All of this will be an important input to the structured validation activities that will now be carried out by the project team.  This will influence the strategies being developed in the consortium for the longer-term development and promotion of project results.

The feedback from local police and by the SOC operators was gathered by IMPETUS members.

The Social Events

A demonstration and exercise like the Padova IMPETUS Live Exercise is an excellent opportunity for networking and for one-on-one discussions and making professional connections. The lunch and evening dinner – with excellent Italian food! – was a great way to conclude the Padova Live Exercise. 

Those of the IMPETUS team who had energy left after a very exciting and busy day continued social activities late into the night.

The IMPETUS Partners Preparations and Summing Up

The following day, IMPETUS members gathered to discuss the live exercise, one-on-one demonstrations, attendee feedback, and ways to improve the use of the IMPETUS solution for the future.

The Ethics team assessing the data gathered from the Ethics survey prepared for the guests in Padova (top left), while the rest of the IMPETUS team discuss the events of the Live Exercise (middle, right and bottom).

A Word of Thanks

Thank you to everyone involved, including the IMPETUS team, the City of Padova staff and first responders, and to our very helpful external guests, whose valuable contributions made this event a success!

Details

Last Updated: 24 October 2022

17-21 October 2022

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Last Updated: 10 January 2023

 18 August 2022

Oslo City Hall

A comprehensive IMPETUS scenario was prepared and implemented at Oslo City Hall on the 18^th of August for the first live exercise of the IMPETUS platform and tools. After careful planning and preparation, all the IMPETUS tools supporting the processes of the city's Security Operations Centre (SOC) were brought into one place. There were about 30 project participants, five COSSEC members and  about 60 external guests (from various actors in Oslo responsible for emergency response, representatives from other cities in Norway and representatives from other related projects in Norway and internationally). The scenario included testing of the individual roles and functions of the IMPETUS platform and integrated tools.

Observers on the balcony

Live exercises are essential to the development and evaluation of the IMPETUS technologies and approach. The hands-on experience of safety practitioners in live exercises in the  pilot cities of Oslo and Padova helps us to assess what works well and what needs to be improved, and to learn how technologies can be effectively integrated in working processes.

Demonstrators outside the Oslo City Hall

In the Oslo live exercise, the SOC staff needed to prepare for a cyber-attack discovered on the dark web, interpret signals of possible unrest detected on social media, analyse unexpected anomalies in public transport movements, respond to a person with a weapon in the middle of a demonstration outside the City Hall, and finally contain a biological attack on the City Hall and manage the subsequent evacuation.

Narration being given on the balcony by Matthieu Branlat (SINTEF)

The ‘gunman’ being arrested

The exercise was followed by a de-brief session where all participants were invited to provide feedback on the IMPETUS solution and make suggestions for how it could be improved.  They also provided feedback on the live exercise itself and proposed ideas for how to plan the next live exercise in Padova.

Magnus Devik Borge (City of Oslo) in one of the de-briefing sessions

The day ended with an informal poster/demo session that provided detailed demonstrations of the tools and Practitioners Guides.  External guests could move freely between the “stations”, and there were many fruitful one-on-one dialogues between external guests and project members. 

The poster/demo session

Thanks to the good preparation and involvement of both the IMPETUS team and the City of Oslo staff, and to the valuable contributions of our very helpful external guests, we consider that the event was highly successful in promoting the IMPETUS approach while also helping the project team learn of things that need to be improved.

The next live exercise is planned for October in the city of Padova in Italy.

Details

Last Updated: 24 October 2022