POLICE in North Yorkshire have taken the step of encouraging members of the public to undertake counter terrorism training to help protect the county and the country.
The force says citizens can do an award-winning counter terrorism training course online. It's being made available to the public for the first time and North Yorkshire police are urging people to sign up for the course so they can learn how to spot the signs of suspicious behaviour and understand what to do in the event of a major incident.
The course was originally devised by Counter Terrorism officers in partnership with retail giant Marks and Spencer. At that stage anybody who wanted to take part had to be signed up by their employers. Now the online learning is available free of charge to anyone who wants to take part.
They say the move to offer the training to the public has not been made in response to the recent attack in London. But police admit that the tragic events which took place just ten days ago, when two people lost their lives after the attack at Fishmongers Hall, were a stark reminder of the ongoing threat and the need for vigilance.
"Action Counter Terrorism Awareness eLearning is especially useful for anyone working in or regularly visiting crowded places," said North Yorkshire Police’s Detective Superintendent Sue Jenkinson.
"Each stage has been developed alongside industry experts and to date over one and a half million modules have been completed.
"The course has been so popular, with nine out of 10 users saying they would recommend it, we want to open it up to as many people as possible.
"The threat level remains at Substantial, meaning an attack is likely, so giving everyone the chance to be extra eyes and ears for police and local security teams help to keep all communities across the North Yorkshire area safe.
"The festive period is obviously a very busy one, so this is a good time to join up and become a CT Citizen," added Det Supt Jenkinson.
The 45 minute course is made up of seven modules which the police say takes a few minutes each to complete, with the opportunity to pause and re-join when people want. To register follow the link https://ct.highfieldelearning.com/
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