London, UK

"We knew from the outset that Counter Terror Expo would be an important event for professionals working in the field, but never imaged quite how important it would be," comments event director, Peter Jones. "The high attendance has clearly been driven by the potent threat we face from terrorism, as was most recently evidenced by the horrendous attack against multiple public targets in Mumbai late last year."

Counter Terror Expo featured two days of high level conference debate, multiple specialist seminars and workshops and an extensive exhibition of specialist security technologies.

The atmosphere on both days of the event was electric, with a real buzz of interest amongst delegates dodging in and out of main conference and the seminars. The multiple strands of the event effectively melded together to form a knowledge centre par excellence, in which the leading exponents in the counter terrorism field shared best practice and debated current and emerging threats. Amongst the 140 or so exhibitors, the greater majority reported brisk business and important sales leads captured. This despite difficult trading conditions generally, which have been brought on by the credit crunch.

BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, who survived being shot six times at close range by Al Qaeda terrorists in 2004, delivered an inspirational keynote presentation on the first day of conference, which set both tone and direction for many of the debates that followed. Chaired by Chief Inspector, Chris Phillips, Head of National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO), conference heard fascinating insight  into what makes suicide bombers tick, the physcology of terrorism generally, intelligence sharing, and consequence  management in the aftermath of an attack. The second day of conference, chaired by Peter Ryan, former Commissioner of Police, New South Wales, offered absorbing discussion on on extremist recruitment, counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation strategies as well as human rights and powers of arrest.

"Countering the threat all nations face from terrorism demands a concerted and combined stakeholder effort. In bringing the esteemed speakers at conference together in a single venue for two days of debate, it was our intention to provide a knowledge sharing forum which furthered this goal. We're indebted to the team of experts who gave their time to make the conference an exceptional part of Counter Terror Expo," adds Mr. Jones.

With London both the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games and remaining firmly in the crosshairs of terrorist extremists, Hugo Rosemont, Security Policy Advisor for the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SABC) and a contributor to conference debate on the role of the private sector in countering terrorism, sounded a warning bell and questioned how well essential UK national infrastructure is protected against a terrorist attack.

"With facilities such as power stations and transport hubs in private hands - thus required to focus on getting the best return for shareholders - there needs to be a debate about whether further regulation is needed to ensure that these vital facilities are adequately secured," Mr Rosemont told conference.

This is a theme likely to be pursued with vigor at Counter Terror Expo 2010. It is recognised that government cannot tackle security challenges alone and that industry is a key component in the fight against terrorism. However, a very large question hangs over just how well the private sector is prepared in fulfilling its role and particularly so given the current economic climate.

ICTS-GIS, a division of ICTS (UK) Ltd, delivered on-site security for Counter Terror Expo, providing a four-day presence with explosive search dogs as well as screening and access control during the event. ICTS-GIS, a conference sponsor, last year launched their new Combined Operations, Research and Training Centre near Abingdon in Oxfordshire for it's canine teams which are involved in aviation cargo screening for the RASCargO programme.

John Franklin-Webb, for ICTS, commented, "We believe in the next few years there will be a greater liaison and co-operation between government agencies and the private security sector as vigilance increases leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games and the demand grows for protective security services."

ICTS-GIS offer a 'one stop shop' canine service to support the establishment, development and maintenance of canine facilities to Police Forces, Customs Services, Defence Forces, Homeland Security, Border Control, Immigration, Port Authorities and Forensic Teams to combat terrorism and drug related crime.

A total of 130 of the world's leading security system vendors exhibited at Counter Terror Expo, with the exhibition space buzzing with activity throughout the two days of the event.

Such was the success of Counter Terror Expo that the decision has been taken to move the event to the new and much larger home of the National Hall at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in 2010.