Public protection procedures: a template for each of the four

The standard tier asks for four written procedures. Not a policy, not a risk assessment: four short sets of instructions that someone on site could follow in the first minutes of an incident. Below is a template for each, with a worked example for a village hall. Fill the blanks from a walk round your own building.

The rule that makes these work: every line must be true of your building. A procedure that says "lock the main doors" when the main doors do not lock is worse than one that says "the main doors cannot be locked; hold them shut with the bar and move everyone to the back hall".

Before you write anything: the walk round

Take a pen and walk the building once, answering these as you go. The answers are most of the content.

• Every way out, and which ones are kept locked during the day.
• Which doors lock from the inside, with what, and who holds the key.
• The room furthest from the street with the fewest windows.
• Where people would gather outside, and whether that is still sensible if the danger is outside.
• How you would make 200 people hear you: a PA, a microphone on the stage, a loud voice.
• Where the nearest phone signal is reliable.

1. Evacuation: getting people out

Start from your fire plan. The difference is the direction: in a fire you leave the building; in an attack you leave the area, away from the threat, which may mean a different exit and a different gathering point.

Worked example. "The person running the event decides. Tell people from the stage microphone. Use the side fire exit and the kitchen door; avoid the front doors if the threat is on the road. Gather at the playing field gate, or if that is towards the danger, the church car park. The duty volunteer checks the toilets and store. The hirer's lead calls 999 from the field, where the signal is good."

2. Invacuation: bringing people in and moving them to safety

For a threat outside the building. People who are outside come in; everyone moves away from windows and outside doors to the most protected space. This is the procedure halls find least familiar, and it needs the walk round.

Worked example. "Bring everyone from the car park and field into the main hall, then through to the committee room at the back, which has one small high window. Close the front doors and the kitchen door. The caretaker holds the fire exit bar. The hirer counts their group. The person running the event calls 999 from the committee room."

3. Lockdown: keeping a threat out

Which doors can be secured, by whom, how quickly, and what you do about the ones that cannot. Be honest about the building. Nothing in the standard tier requires you to install locks.

Worked example. "The front doors deadlock from inside; the key is on the hook by the hatch. The side fire exits push open from inside and cannot be locked; two people hold each bar. The kitchen door bolts. Everyone moves to the far end of the hall, out of line with the doors. The duty volunteer calls 999. The person on the stage keeps everyone quiet."

4. Communication: telling people what's happening

Who speaks, how, and what they say. Also how you reach the emergency services and, if you have one, the organisation's own contacts.

Worked example. "The person running the event speaks, using the stage microphone; if it fails, from the centre of the hall. The duty volunteer calls 999 and reads the address from the card by the phone. The hirer's lead gathers their group leaders. The chair is told by phone once people are safe."

Finishing them off

1. Read each one as the newest volunteer. Could they do it with no other help? If not, add the missing detail.
2. Name roles, not people. Add a line at the top saying who fills each role on an ordinary day.
3. Have a named person confirm each one, with a date. That is the moment it stops being a draft.
4. Give them to everyone who runs the building, and keep a record of who has read them.
5. Walk the building with them once a year, and rewrite whatever no longer matches.

Common questions

What are the four public protection procedures under Martyn's Law?

Evacuation (getting people out), invacuation (bringing people in and moving them to safety inside), lockdown (keeping a threat out) and communication (telling people what is happening). Standard tier premises must have all four in place so far as is reasonably practicable.

How long should a public protection procedure be?

One side of paper each is enough. It has to be followable by a volunteer in the first minutes of an incident, so short, specific and written for your building beats long and generic.

Can we use our fire evacuation plan?

As the starting point for the evacuation procedure, yes. Check the assembly point: a fire assembly point in the car park may be the wrong place if the threat is outside. The other three procedures have no fire equivalent and need writing.

Should we name people in the procedures?

Name roles, not individuals: the duty manager, the person on the door, the hirer's lead. Then the procedure still works when the committee changes.

Is there an official Martyn's Law template?

The Home Office statutory guidance describes what each procedure must cover but does not supply a form. The templates on this page follow the guidance and are written for a typical hall; adapt them to your building.

These templates follow the Home Office statutory guidance on what each procedure should cover. They are a starting point for your own procedures, not legal advice.