Martyn’s Law: A Guide to Security Compliance for UK Premises and Venues
Adhering to mass notification codes and mandates is an important key to ensuring public health and safety standards are met. This guide covers the scope of Martyn's Law, detailing the types of public venues affected and the steps premises must take to mitigate the risk of violence.
What is Martyn’s Law?
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, or Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on April 3, 2025, to strengthen security of public event venues and decrease their susceptibility to targeted attacks. It was named in honor of Martyn Hett, one of the 22 victims killed in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017. Figen Murray, Martyn Hett’s mother, was instrumental in advocating for more robust security measures, ultimately generating the necessary public and political support for the bill.
Key Requirements
The UK Government implemented a 24-month implementation period from April 3, 2025, ensuring organizations have enough time to plan and roll out improved safety measures. Certain premises and events must meet conditions in the act, including:
Nightclubs
Conference centers
Museums
Hotels
Places of worship
Concert halls
Arenas and sports grounds
Schools and universities
Shops
Restaurants
The UK Government will provide communication and active engagement during the implementation period to support premises in achieving compliance, as non-compliance may result in compliance notices, monetary penalties, and restriction notices.
Tiered Approach
Martyn's Law uses a tiered approach, based on venue size and capacity, to determine how requirements are met.
The Standard Tier for premises expecting 200-799 people present at an event must develop clear protection procedures. The event organizer must notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) of their duty-holder status and ensure that they have security measures in place, proportional to the number of attendees. The venue must be prepared with clear protocols, including evacuation or lockdown measures, staff training, and a response readiness plan. No physical measures are required for the Standard Tier.
The Enhanced Tier covers premises and events expecting 800 or more people (including staff) to be present at the same time. In addition to the standard requirements, duty holders must consider how to reduce the likelihood of a terrorist attack, and mitigate the potential for physical harm to individuals if an attack occurs within the venue or nearby. Protective measures can include implementing surveillance systems, bag search and screening, stand-off zones, safety glass, and vehicle checks.
Both large and small venues can make reasonable assessments of how many people to expect based on historical data and safe occupancy calculations.
How Organizations Can Prepare
Keeping people safe is the priority, and that can be done through careful and effective planning.
Determine who is responsible for ensuring compliance: The person in charge of the premises where the event takes place is responsible for ensuring compliance.
Conduct an assessment of current security measures: Event organizers should assess existing security measures and address any gaps in communication or weaknesses that may pose a risk before, during, or after an event.
Implement enhanced security procedures: Once potential threats and gaps are identified, event organizers can deploy technology that supports enhanced security, such as CCTV and access control integrations. Increased security measures, such as the implementation of audible/visual notification systems and wide-area outdoor speakers, will broaden the reach of emergency notifications.
Collaborate with local authorities: Working with local law enforcement enhances your emergency response capabilities, ensuring a more rapid and effective response to critical incidents.
Provide training: After implementing new security measures, it is essential to train your staff on their use during an emergency. This training should include documentation that specifies emergency contacts and demonstrating the proper use of security features, along with the correct actions to take.
How Can Alertus Help?
Martyn’s Law emphasizes the ability to assess risk, prepare, and communicate clearly during an incident. Alertus supports these requirements through integrated, multi-channel alerting that helps ensure messages reach everyone on-site when it matters most.
Alertus Solutions:
Allow for rapid execution of predefined emergency plans with clear, scenario-specific instructions.
Empower staff to act quickly and confidently with intuitive, low-friction alert activation tools
Deliver real-time, multi-channel communication to reach everyone on-site with clear, actionable instructions.
Support interoperability with public alerting standards and external response systems.
Provide a centralized, auditable platform to support ongoing compliance and readiness.
Together, we can:
Help you map how alerts are delivered across physical spaces.
Ensure coverage across indoor, outdoor, and high-traffic areas.
Support integration with existing infrastructure.
Contact us to see how we can support your organization in meeting the unique requirements of Martyn’s Law.