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Great response to first Project Griffin training day

More than 30 members of staff from businesses based at East Midlands Airport are attending the first ‘Project Griffin' training morning.

‘Project Griffin' was launched in Leicestershire on Wednesday 25th February 2009 at a hotel on the site of the airport in Castle Donington.  Local business leaders spent the day learning about the benefits of working in partnership with the police to deter and detect terrorist activity and crime.  They were then encouraged to send employees on a series of bi-monthly training days.  As a result, 34 employees will be attending the first training morning on Thursday 30th April 2009 at the Holiday Inn Express.

The local MP, David Taylor, is hoping to join the delegates who will receive presentations and training designed to;

  • Share and gather intelligence and information;
  • Build and maintain effective working relationships;
  • Seek solutions to defeating terrorism and crime;
  • Maintain trust and confidence in the Police and other authorities;
  • Give them the confidence to report suspicious activity and behaviour.

Project Griffin was developed by the City of London Police in April 2004 and is now considered good practice and is well established in a number of Police Force areas around the country.

Inspector Tony Marson, from Leicestershire Constabulary said; "The uptake for the first training day has been unbelievable and far exceeded our expectations.  Every person who comes on the course will give us another pair of ‘eyes and ears' in the local community and the day will give them the skills to recognise and report suspicious activity and behaviour.  This could be key in helping to foil a terrorist plot.  We are not running Project Griffin as a result of any specific threat but, in this day and age, we cannot afford to be complacent.   

"There will also be a number of delegates from businesses elsewhere in Leicestershire who are coming along to see for themselves what Project Griffin is about with a view to launching it in their area of work such as in shopping centres."

There will be a series of training days, the next one will be held in June.