Reaction from Bath residents and businesses to police terror and crime disruption operation

Bath residents and businesses have given their views on a new police operation designed to disrupt a range of criminal and terror activities.

On Wednesday (June 12), Avon and Somerset police officially launched Project Servator, choosing Bath as the launchpad for it.

As a result, police dogs, police horses, armed police officers and drones were seen patrolling the city centre.

The idea was to create an uninviting environment for potential terrorists considering their targets and individuals looking to commit crime.

Officers on horses in Bath city centre as part of Project Servator (Image: Paul Gillis)

Throughout the day, police were stationed by Bath Abbey, Stall Street and then Queen Square as well.

So what did Bath locals think about this?

Bath locals react to the extra police presence:

Ismayil Ibrahim, manager of Fancy That of London in Abbey Courtyard, was completely behind the operation.

"It is good to have one or two officers on the streets here," he said.

"If someone needs help it is good that the police are there. People feel safe when that happens.

"The tourists really enjoyed seeing the horses as well. They took lots of pictures and the police were very friendly.

"But when police are all over, people may think that something is wrong. It is good that the police were here though."

Police officer and a police dog deployed in Bath city centre (Image: Paul Gillis)

Nicholas Scheckter, shop assistant at Bath Aqua Glass in Abbey Courtyard, concurred with Mr Ibrahim.

"I think it is quite reassuring to see the police here," he said.

"Also, when you see all the tourists stroking the magnificent horses it must have felt like they were getting a very British experience.

"People were just stopping and staring at them. It was wonderful.

"But I think that these unexpected and random deployments from police, maybe two to three times a month is a decent showing."

Cars being stopped near Queen Square as part of Project Servator (Image: Paul Gillis)

A Bath resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said she wished that more police were patrolling Bath on a regular basis.

"I do feel we have a police presence in Bath. You do see them on the streets but there could always be more," she said.

"It is nice to have that police presence around, especially when it is so busy. I wish this happened more often."

A member of the public added: "Hopefully this will happen a lot more. We wish they were here more often.

"The police were very approachable. It would be good to have more police here, especially in the summer when it is very busy."

Police close off Bath city centre park for special operation (Image: Paul Gillis)

More on Project Servator

Project Servator, which is funded by Counter Terrorism Policing, was developed by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and the City of London Police, and has been fully adopted by 13 other UK police forces.

Nationally, between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, officers carrying out Project Servator deployments across the country have:

• Gathered 2,413 pieces of intelligence about suspected criminal activity, 170 of which related to suspected hostile reconnaissance and terrorist activity.
• Carried out 3,331 searches, leading to 1,228 positive outcomes (arrests or drugs seizure). This means 37% of all searches resulted in a positive outcome.
• Made 891 arrests for various offences, including firearms and weapons offences, drugs, money laundering, robbery and theft, and immigration offences.

Police have been testing the tactic at Bristol Airport since May last year and have also since implemented it at a number of different locations and events across our local force area.