PARTY CONFERENCES SECURED

The Home Office and British police forces wanted a rapidly-deployed high-security temporary fencing solution that would resist forcible attack by crowds or vehicles and with no below-ground foundations to help cut the cost of policing party political conferences.

The solution had to pass Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) and crowd control/mob attack testing and offer protection normally only available from permanent fixed installations. It also had to be installed and removed quickly within tight timescales.

The Solution

Zaun developed its RDS Fence and RDS PAS68 and then worked with the Home Office and Sussex Police to take it through testing against attack by 2.5 and 7.5-tonne vehicles to PAS68:2010 V2500 (N1G)/48/90:4.7/0.0 and PAS68:2010 V7500 (N2)/48/90:6.0/0.0 standards.

RDS, which won the Security Innovation Award 2013, uniquely provides HVM up to 30mph in a rapidly deployed temporary fencing solution and was tested on- event for the first time at the European Committee of Ministers meeting.

It was such a success that Sussex Police advised it was bought for the autumn party conferences, estimating a saving of 90% of police time when it was next used at the Lib Dem Conference.

The Home Office initially bought 600 metres of RDS fencing, including access portals, turnstiles and gates, which was then used for the Labour and Conservative conferences that followed. It has since quadrupled the amount.

RDS Fence is Secured by Design. It goes up to 3m and can include CCTV, PIDS, vehicle gates and pedestrian portals. It suits sites with moderate undulations in ground levels and differing standards of ground standings.