This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary’s (CNC's) participation in Project Servator
Originally developed by the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the City of London Police in 2014, Project Servator is a specialist policing tactic that aims to disrupt a range of criminal activity and provide a reassuring presence for the public through unpredictable and highly visible deployments.
The CNC first implemented Project Servator at the Sellafield Operational Policing Unit (OPU) in 2016, gradually expanding the delivery of the tactic across the sites the CNC protects.
To become Project Servator officers, Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs) are specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that someone may be carrying out hostile reconnaissance – information gathering that may help individuals plan or prepare to commit a crime.
Over the past 10 years, the CNC’s Project Servator officers have completed over 23,000 deployments, speaking to thousands of members of the public, site workers and local businesses about the importance of remaining vigilant and reporting anything suspicious.
These deployments have resulted in arrests for offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the Road Traffic Act, and immigration offences.
Chief Superintendent Ian Davies said: “Project Servator is an important aspect of the CNC’s ability to disrupt threats to our sites and local communities.
“By engaging with the people who work and live near our sites and giving them the confidence to report suspicious activity, we are able to create a difficult environment for those with malicious intent to operate.
“Thank you to our partners, the site workers and members of the public who have worked with us to grow our network of vigilance over the past 10 years; your reporting of anything that doesn’t feel right is vital to Project Servator.”
You know the sites and communities that you are working in, living in and visiting best. If you see or hear something that seems out of place, unusual or does not seem to fit in with day-to-day life, trust your instincts and ACT by reporting it to a member of staff or a police officer. You can also report in confidence at gov.uk/ACT. In an emergency, always dial 999.
The CNC is one of 29 police forces across the UK who have adopted Project Servator and CNC officers often work alongside colleagues from other forces on joint deployments to disrupt criminality and provide a highly visible policing presence. Project Servator deployments can involve a range of resources, including firearms officers, police dogs and less visible measures such as plain clothes officers.
Nigel Murdock, Sellafield Ltd Head of Security and Resilience, said: “Servator has been an important element among the layers of protection we use to keep the Sellafield site safe and secure.
“Working alongside our Guardforce security personnel, CNC officers are always proactive about challenging and investigating anything that doesn’t look or feel right. Added to this, we have the vigilance and caution of those working on the site and living around it. Servator has helped focus and embed this approach.”