Government Facilities

A Government Asset is infrastructure focussed towards the delivery of government services required within an urban area.

Description

Government administration facilities can be located in a wide range of locations, depending on their primary function. Local government offices will occur in most large urban areas to administer the running of such areas. At a national level, the way which government administration facilities have been located within capital cities has led to them becoming concentrated within small or compact geographic areas; this can be seen as an important weakness in the event of a large scale attack.

Functions

Social

The key social functions of government administration facilities is in the provision of the necessary services to those who require them.

Economic

The primary economic function of government administration facilities is the provision of government services. Moreover, government administration facilities create direct employment (economic impact) for public professionals. As a secondary economic impact, government administration facilities create jobs and income by purchasing goods and services from other supplying businesses and organisations.

The impact of security threats is related to crime and terrorism. Both crime and terrorism generate costs in anticipation of the event (e.g. locks, physical infrastructure, surveillance, etc.), as a consequence of the event (loss of property), and in response to the event (police investigation, legal system, etc.). The security measures that aim to mitigate or prevent crime/terrorism also impose economic impact.

Mobility

The mobility associated with the different government administration facilities will vary significantly depending on the type of facility, its location, the availability of public transportation modes, and the primary users of the services provided.

Safety

Government assets do not have specific safety issues, other than those for Office Employment buildings in general.

Security Issues

Government building after the Oslo bombing on 22 July 2011. The bomb car was placed right in front of the beam that is now on the ground, behind the two walking/running persons.

Security issues associated with government assets, are related with the fact that it can be an attractive object for fanatics. This is related with the symbolic value of the object, with the fact that many government assets have public access areas with a high volume of transiting people and with the presence of valuables. This makes these kinds of urban objects vulnerable for the following security issues:

• Security issue: Destruction by fanatics
• Security issue: Mass killing

Government administration facilities, in particular office buildings which have high volumes of people transiting through them, have shown themselves to be especially susceptible to targeting by radical groups pursuing a specific political or terrorist agenda. These can be at risk of attack as they are frequently perceived as being “softer” targets than larger or more prominent government buildings.

Measures

The measures for each type of security issue can be found on the respective pages. There are few measures they are specifically suited or unsuited to this kind of urban object, but some general considerations can be mentioned:

• Cultural facilities are generally very public, which makes measures that restrict access less suited for the publicly accessible parts of the building. On the other hand, at the border between public and restricted area, these measures are often suited.
• Cultural facilities are generally meant to be inviting, which makes very visible and impressive measures less suited (at least in the publicly accessible areas)
• As threats against government assets can also encompass large explosives (as was demonstrated by the attack on the government buildings in Oslo, 2011), measures that would separate flows of traffic (pedestrians, cars, trucks) and establish a separate security zone (with their own set of measures) for each type of traffic, would be especially well suited for high-risk government assets.

Footnotes and references

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