Suspicious Activity
Suspicious activity is any observed activity which appears to indicate signs of criminality or terrorism-related activity.
Take the time to understand your working environment, your regular commute, your daily routine and the activities you see most often, which should help you learn to spot the difference between normal and unusual or suspicious activity.
If you see someone acting suspiciously, you should calmly approach and interact with the person whilst maintaining a safe distance, and politely ask them to account for their actions. Remember, engaging with someone acting suspiciously may ultimately help save lives.
If you are not satisfied with their answers, or the individual leaves or does not respond, report it.
In an emergency, or if the person is still present and you need an immediate police response, dial 999. You can also report any concerns in confidence online or by calling the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321. If necessary, use the Suspicious Activity Reporting Form template to help you record key information about the encounter that may be useful to your business and the police.
ACT Awareness e-Learning is a free online course that you can undertake to help improve your site’s safety and security. It contains an introduction to See, Check and Notify (SCaN) principles to help you to correctly identify suspicious activity and know what to do when you encounter it.
More details about suspicious activity and how to disrupt it are available on ProtectUK.
The ACT Early campaign, can provide support if you are worried that someone close to you is becoming radicalised. Reaching out early will help the police protect that individual from being groomed and exploited by extremists.