International Opportunities for Area Protection Solutions

In June of this year HSD took the initiative to stimulate cooperation with other European regions that are strong in safety and security. Aim is to jointly enhance the cooperation between public and private parties, academia and R&D organisations and stimulate innovation and economic growth. First steps have been made, connecting to security regions in France, Denmark, Finland and Germany. During the SRIE2016 in The Hague this cooperation was invigorated. As part of this cooperation the French partner clusters SAFE and SCS are looking to identify providers of existing solutions or Research & Technology (RT) projects addressing one or several of the needs listed below. SAFE and SCS have placed a call for expression of interest - Rail station security.

1 – Verification of passengers’ possession of a valid ticket ahead of boarding the train with the aim of tackling fraud;

2 - Detection of concealed weapons, explosives and other dangerous materials on individuals and in luggage at the entrance to public sites and/or at the entrance to the platforms with the aim of preventing malicious acts;

3 - General indoor surveillance of a public site (such as train station, airport and other buildings accessible to general public) for detection of suspicious and antisocial behaviour, aggressions, crowd movement and acts of vandalism with the aim of ensuring global security;

4 - Perimeter surveillance of restricted areas (perimeter fence and tracks) against unauthorised intrusion with the aim of ensuring global security;

5 - Real time surveillance of the carriage interior for detection of suspicious behaviour, aggression and acts of vandalisms with the aim of ensuring global security;

6 - Increasing the overall sense of safety;

7 - User involvement in the overall process of increasing safety & security.  

This call is launched in the framework of a study on all-inclusive solutions for ensuring safety and security of regional train stations. Its implementation could result in a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) between a local public authority and a private consortium.

How to Apply?

Should you consider your solutions to be in the scope of this call, you are kindly invited to summarise and present them on 3 slides. Please contact guillaume.riou@safecluster.com  and hand in the application before the 22nd of December 2016. After examination, the most suitable solutions will be presented to the authority in charge of ensuring the safety and security of regional train stations with the objective of having them tested under real conditions. The economic aspects of the proposed solutions will be examined with a particular attention.

HSD's Vision on Integrated Area Protection

Currently, in most cases, security measures are aimed at protecting a single building or premises (fences, buffer zones, guards). By adopting an integrated approach for all objects in an area, using modern technology and by innovating the security processes, the desired security level could be achieved more efficiently, with less inconvenience to residents in the area. To facilitate innovations in this field, HSD will foster an innovation environment for comprehensive area protection where companies, knowledge institutions and security services can test new solutions in practice .This ‘living lab’ will primarily be used as an experimental facility in the programme ‘security innovation in the international zone’. By developing the concept of integrated area protection in more depth and by experimenting ‘real time’, a tangible contribution is made to reducing the vulnerability of sensitive areas and to improving response in the event of emergencies.