Counter-terrorism awareness is not about expecting employees to become security experts.
It is about helping people recognise when something does not look right, understand how concerns should be reported and know how to respond appropriately if a serious incident occurs.
For security professionals, that awareness is clearly important. But the same principle applies much more widely. Reception teams, facilities managers, event staff, contractors and employees can all find themselves in a position where recognising suspicious activity or understanding the correct response makes a difference.
That is why Copeland Group Services is encouraging organisations and individuals to make use of the free ACT Awareness and ACT Security training available through ProtectUK.
What is ACT Awareness?
ACT stands for Action Counters Terrorism.
ACT Awareness is designed to improve general understanding of potential terrorist threats and help people recognise and respond to suspicious activity. The training covers practical subjects including identifying suspicious behaviour and items, dealing with bomb threats and understanding what to do during different types of attack.
Importantly, it is not limited to people working within the security industry.
The training can help employees across an organisation develop a better understanding of situations they might otherwise never have considered.
ACT Awareness was refreshed in 2026, with updated guidance and more scenario-based learning designed to make the material relevant to real working environments.
For businesses, that makes it a useful and accessible way to introduce counter-terrorism awareness without expecting employees to have specialist security knowledge.
ACT Security goes further for security professionals
ACT Security builds on that awareness with training aimed specifically at people working within the private security industry.
Security officers can be particularly well placed to notice activity that appears unusual because they understand the normal routines of the environments they protect. They may recognise an individual repeatedly observing access points, unusual behaviour around a perimeter or something that simply falls outside the normal pattern of activity.
Training helps provide a framework for understanding what they are seeing and how concerns should be handled.
At Copeland Group Services, we believe professional security is about more than responding when an incident has already happened. Awareness, observation and good decision making are fundamental parts of preventative security.
ACT training supports that principle.
Awareness extends beyond the security team
One of the most useful aspects of counter-terrorism awareness is that responsibility does not need to sit entirely with security officers.
An employee working in reception may notice something unusual about a visitor. Facilities teams often have an excellent understanding of how buildings normally operate. Event staff may recognise behaviour that appears inconsistent with the environment around them.
None of these people need to make assumptions or investigate situations themselves.
What matters is knowing what could warrant attention and understanding the appropriate route for reporting a concern.
Creating that awareness across an organisation adds another layer to the wider security culture.
Training is one part of preparedness
Counter-terrorism training should not be treated as a standalone solution.
Effective security still depends on appropriate physical measures, professional people and clearly understood procedures.
Depending on the organisation, that might include manned guarding, access control, monitored CCTV through Virtual Guard, mobile patrols or procedures for managing visitors and restricted areas.
Technology can provide greater visibility, while trained security professionals provide the judgement needed to understand what is happening and determine an appropriate response.
The purpose of awareness training is to strengthen that wider picture by helping more people recognise when something deserves attention.
Encouraging wider awareness
Copeland Group Services encourages security professionals, clients and other organisations to make use of the counter-terrorism resources available through ProtectUK, including ACT Awareness and ACT Security.
The courses are free and provide practical guidance that can help people understand potential threats without creating unnecessary fear or alarm.
The objective is simple.
People who understand what to look for are better placed to recognise something unusual, report it appropriately and contribute towards a safer working environment.
Counter-terrorism awareness should not begin when an incident occurs.
It begins with making sure people know what to do beforehand.
No.
ACT Security is particularly relevant to people working within private security, but ACT Awareness is designed for a much wider audience.
Employees working in areas such as facilities management, reception, events or other public-facing environments can all benefit from understanding suspicious activity and knowing how concerns should be reported.
Counter-terrorism awareness works best when it forms part of a wider organisational security culture rather than being considered solely the responsibility of security teams.
ACT Awareness provides broader counter-terrorism awareness that can be useful to employees across many different roles and sectors.
It covers areas such as suspicious activity, suspicious items, bomb threats and responding appropriately during an incident.
ACT Security is aimed more specifically at professionals working within the private security industry and develops the knowledge relevant to their responsibilities.
Both support the same principle: helping people recognise potential threats and understand how to respond appropriately.