Exercise Hearbeat - Building owners play vital role in helping tenants prepare for terror threats

1. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), supported by the Ministry of Manpower, together with Mercatus Group, held a counter-terrorism exercise codenamed ‘Heartbeat’ on 19 April 2018 at Jurong Point Shopping Centre. The exercise is to better the cooperation and coordination between the SPF, SCDF and business stakeholders in dealing with a terror attack.  
2. A terror attack has the potential to disrupt businesses. Therefore, it is important for building owners like Jurong Point Shopping Centre to put in place measures and develop a preparedness plan with their business partners. This includes putting in place effective communication channels to enable swift dissemination of information during crises and to equip staff with knowledge and capabilities to identify and mitigate terror risks. Security personnel at Jurong Point Shopping Centre are also trained to apply improvised first aid for the injured prior to SCDF’s arrival. The Eco-Rider, a personal mobility transporter, also enables security personnel to conduct frequent patrols and respond swiftly to incidents.
3. In the run-up to the exercise, the building owner has engaged more than 400 tenants to download the SGSecure app and brief them on the SGSecure advisories and resources. To date, all tenants have appointed their SGSecure representatives, and over 350 tenants’ employees have signed up for the bizSAFE programme.
4. During the exercise, representatives from other shopping centres under the Mercatus Group took the opportunity to learn how they can also prepare for a terrorist attack. The General Manager of Jurong Point Shopping Centre, Mr William Seet said, “We are honoured to support this counter-terrorism exercise. Being one of the largest suburban malls in Singapore, Jurong Point offers public spaces to the residents of Singapore and has an important part to play in ensuring our staff and tenants are well prepared for unexpected situations. We will remain vigilant and continue to work closely with the authorities in adopting relevant measures to ensure the safety and security of our shoppers.”
5. Our collective response as a community matters. Exercise Heartbeat and the SGSecure@Workplaces programme serve to enhance community preparedness to handle any emergency situation effectively. Through exercises, seminars and outreach activities jointly organised with industry partners, we hope more companies will be SGSecure ready. Companies can take the first step by registering their SGSecure representative with MOM at www.mom.gov.sg/sgsecure.