In the wake of a spate of severe terrorist attacks in England this year, a senior City of London Police Commissioner came to Israel this month to seek advice on counter-terrorism measures.
“We have to look to world experts in the realm of protective security, and Israel would be in that realm,” Assistant Commissioner Alistair Sutherland told reporters.
This was Sutherland’s sixth visit to Israel.
Sutherland met with Israeli government officials during his stay, and also with security technology companies as the London police force aims to upgrade its monitoring and surveillance systems.
The City of London force is responsible for protecting the “square mile” of central London which houses the financial district and major sites like London Bridge. Indeed, the City of London police cover the Westminster and London Bridge areas, where two separate horrific terrorist attacks took place earlier this year.
Sutherland said he wanted the City of London police to have “the most technologically smart control room and camera system in the world. That’s our ambition.”
In addition to consulting with Israeli experts, Sutherland was a key note speaker at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism’s (ICT’s) 17th World Summit on Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya in central Israel. This was the second time he had accepted an invitation to address the annual conference.