Expert comment Terror attack in France

Dr Simon Bennett (pictured) from the University of Leicester Civil Safety and Security Unit has commented on the recent terror attack in Nice, France.

He said: “In recent months there have been several attacks against aviation interests, including airports. Numerous journalists have asked me whether airport security should be tightened further. My response has been that we should look at the problem of security through the prism of crime displacement: as soon as one hardens one type of target (like airport terminals), terrorists will start attacking non-hardened targets, like famous boulevards. Academics call this phenomenon crime displacement. Today Nice. Tomorrow London (Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road)?

“While there is understandable shock at the Nice attack, one should be mindful of the fact that, as David Cameron put it, the West is in an existential struggle with global terrorism. Put simply, free societies are at war with global terrorism. In war, casualties - both military and civilian - are to be expected. The prism of Total War lends events like Paris, Brussels and Nice a certain macabre perspective.”

Dr Simon Bennett is Director of the Civil Safety and Security Unit in the University of Leicester School of Management.