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The terrorist attacks in London during the last months apparently brought about a greater awareness to the need to prepare the public for such an event. Counter-terrorism experts have started training staff at hospitals, schools and public buildings across the North-eastern region Scotland, so that the staff know how to react in the event of an attack.

Police Scotland officers are offering courses under Project Griffin, which aims to prepare people for terrorist attacks, and under the Prevent strategy, which aims to teach people to spot the signs of people becoming terrorists.

Police Scotland has said the workshops are not being held due to any particular threat to hospitals or other organisations. The intention is to raise awareness of the current terrorism threat level and give staff advice on how to stay safe and what they should do if they see suspicious activity.

One organisation embracing the training is NHS Grampian. Its spokeswoman said: “We have certain responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act and one of these is to ensure staff are appropriately aware of security issues. “Training similar to this is delivered across the UK and not indicative of any particular threat to hospitals in Grampian.”

Police Scotland offers the same training to venues across the UK including shopping centres and cinemas.

According to eveningexpress.co.uk, officers also provide advice to other businesses and organisations – some of which employ training consultancy firms to prepare their staff for security situations.

Schools across the region are also taking precautions.