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Improvised Explosive Devices

NCJ Number
215986
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 54 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 28,31,33
Author(s)
Jim Dowle
Date Published
September 2006
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the basic "bombs" package training received by street constables in the Hertfordshire Constabulary's Policing Serious Incidents Course (England).
Abstract
All patrol officers with 12 months of service receive the training. Initial lessons present military videos that depict bomb-making technique used by the IRA (Irish Republican Army), including the use of terrorist mortars. Officers handle "dummy" improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which range from simple pipe bombs to under-vehicle booby traps and sophisticated timer-operated, cassette-sized incendiaries. Once the basics have been learned, student officers are instructed in the various ways IEDs can be used by terrorists. Various means of detonating IEDs are also taught. Instruction is provided in improvised mortars, because these were developed by terrorists in Northern Ireland when customary terrorist targets were hardened. The instruction in various types and detonations of IEDs is reinforced with Exercise Vigilant, which requires that groups of officers deal with different types of IEDs in an attack plan. Such training is crucial for patrol officers, because the current terrorist threat facing British cities is small groups of terrorist cells that mutate from support roles to attack cells. These groups receive training and logistical support in designing and building their own IEDs for deployment in places where they can cause a significant number of fatalities and injuries. These are the places patrolled by street constables.

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