4.3 Bomb Threat Protocols and Suspicious Packages

4.3 Bomb Threat Protocols and Suspicious Packages

Handling Telephone Bomb Threats

Although Qatar is globally recognized as one of the safest countries in the world, security personnel must remain fully prepared for high-impact threats, including bomb threats. Most bomb threats are received via telephone. If a security guard receives a bomb threat call, they must follow a strict, calm, and systematic procedure. The caller may have vital information, and every detail must be documented.

Critical Immediate Actions

1. Do Not Hang Up: Even after the caller hangs up, keep the line open. Do not put the phone down, as law enforcement and telephone companies can use the open line to trace the call.
2. Attract Attention: Signal a colleague silently or write a note to alert a supervisor, who can notify the police immediately while the call is ongoing.
3. Listen and Document: Write down everything the caller says. Use a standard bomb threat checklist to record details.

The Telephone Bomb Threat Checklist

During the call, the guard must try to gather as much information as possible. Ask the caller the following questions:

• Where is the bomb located right now?
• When is the bomb set to explode?
• What does the bomb look like?
• What kind of bomb is it?
• What will cause it to detonate?
• Did you place the bomb?
• Why did you place it?
• What is your name and location?

Analyzing Caller Characteristics

In Qatar's diverse, multicultural work environment, paying close attention to the caller's language and voice characteristics is vital:

• Language/Dialect: Is the caller speaking Arabic, English, Urdu, Hindi, Tagalog, or another language?
• Accent: Note if the accent is local Qatari, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, Western, etc.
• Voice Qualities: Is the voice male or female? Does it sound young, middle-aged, or old? Is the tone calm, angry, excited, coherent, or slurred?
• Background Noise: Listen for street traffic, machinery, aircraft, music, office noise, sea waves, or animal sounds. These details are critical for the police and Lekhwiya (Internal Security Force) investigators.

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Identifying Suspicious Packages

A suspicious package is any item (bag, box, envelope, or container) left unattended or delivered under unusual circumstances that suggests it may contain explosives or hazardous materials. To assess whether an unattended item is dangerous, guards use the HOT protocol:

• H - Hidden: Is the item deliberately hidden or placed out of public view in a sensitive location (e.g., behind a support pillar, near a gas valve, or in an electrical closet)?
• O - Obviously Suspicious: Does the package have warning signs? Are there visible wires, batteries, stains, oily residues, chemical odors, excessive tape, or uneven weight distribution?
• T - Typical: Is it typical for its environment? For example, a student backpack left in a university study hall is typical, but a taped metal container left under a petrol station pump is highly atypical and suspicious.

Key Indicators of Mail or Package Bombs

Guards handling deliveries or mail at corporate receptions in West Bay or Lusail must watch for:

• Excessive postage stamps or no return address.
• Misspelled words or poorly written addresses.
• Strange odors, grease stains, or oily discolorations.
• Protruding wires, aluminum foil, or ticking sounds.
• Lopsided, heavy, or rigid packaging.
• Restrictive markings like "Confidential" or "Personal - Open by Hand."

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Isolation and Evacuation Protocols

Once a threat is deemed credible or a suspicious package is identified, the security team must execute immediate containment and evacuation procedures.

Rule of Non-Intervention

• Never touch, move, open, or shake a suspicious package.
• Never use two-way radios or mobile phones within 15 meters (50 feet) of the package. The radio frequencies (RF) emitted by communication devices can trigger electronic detonators.

Isolation Procedures

• Evacuate the room and immediate area where the package is located.
• Establish a physical perimeter using barrier tape.
• Leave doors and windows in the immediate room open to vent the explosive blast wave, but close doors along the evacuation path to contain fire and debris.
• Turn off local ventilation systems if a chemical or biological agent is suspected.

Safe Evacuation Distances

Evacuation distances depend on the size and type of the suspected device. The table below represents the standard standoff distances recommended by security protocols:

Guards must direct evacuees to assembly points that are located beyond the outdoor standoff line and out of the direct line of sight of the threat, protecting them from flying glass and shrapnel.