ACT Training for SIA Courses

ACT training for SIA courses is a condition of every licence course we run. ACT stands for Action Counters Terrorism. It is free e-learning from Counter Terrorism Policing, hosted on the ProtectUK website, and the centre will ask to see your two certificates before you start a Door Supervisor, Security Guard, CCTV or refresher course. The Emergency First Aid and trainer courses do not need it.

The whole thing takes around two hours and works on a phone, a tablet or a computer. You do not have to finish it in one sitting. This page takes you through it in order, then explains what the training is for.

Before you start

Have these ready and the registration takes five minutes:

• An email address you can open straight away, because ProtectUK sends you a link to set your password.
• Your name exactly as it appears on your passport or driving licence. It is printed on the certificates, and the centre checks that it matches your ID.
• A password you will remember. ProtectUK treats capital letters as different letters in both your email address and your password.

Step 1: create a ProtectUK account

Open protectuk.police.uk and choose Log in at the top right of the page, then Signup. The form asks for your email address only.

Check your inbox for an email from ProtectUK. It holds a one-time link. If nothing arrives within a few minutes, look in your junk folder.

The link opens a short profile form where you set your password and enter your name. Use your legal name here.

Step 2: ACT Awareness, about 45 minutes

Once you are signed in, open the Learning menu at the top of the page and pick e-Learning. The two courses you need are both listed there. ACT Awareness is at protectuk.police.uk/group/130.

Press Start on the course page.

There are seven short modules. Work through each one to its last screen before you move on, because the site only records a module as complete when you reach the end of it. If you close the browser part way through, sign back in and carry on from where you stopped.

Step 3: ACT Security, about 90 minutes

Go back to the e-Learning page and open ACT Security at protectuk.police.uk/group/90. This course is written for people who work in front line security, so it goes further into spotting hostile reconnaissance, dealing with suspicious items and what to do during an attack while you are on duty.

Press Continue on the first screen and complete all five modules.

Step 4: save both certificates

With both courses finished, click the profile icon at the top right and choose User profile. The page should say that you have received two certificates.

Under Achievements, open Certificates and press download beside each one. Keep the two PDF files somewhere you can find them on the day, for example emailed to yourself or saved to your phone.

Step 5: show them on day one

Bring both certificates to the centre on the first morning of your course, either printed or on your phone. ACT Awareness is the blue certificate and ACT Security the orange one, and the trainer needs to see both. If your certificates are more than a year old, sit the courses again before your course date so they are current.

If you would rather watch than read, this video walks through the whole process on screen: how to complete the ACT training on YouTube.

If something goes wrong

The password link has not arrived. Check the junk folder, then try the signup again with the same email address. The site will tell you if the account already exists, in which case use the password reset link on the login page.

The site says I have not completed a module. Open the module again and click through to its final screen. Progress is only saved at the end.

I cannot find my certificates. Sign in, open your User profile and look under Achievements. The certificates stay on your account and can be downloaded again whenever you need them.

My course starts tomorrow and I have not done it. Start now. Two hours is enough, and the centre can refuse to let a learner continue without the certificates, which means rebooking. If you get stuck, call us on 020 8050 4108 and we will talk you through it on the phone.

What the training teaches you

ACT training is not a formality. It covers the same counter terrorism knowledge that comes up in the SIA exams and that you will use at work.

Deciding whether an item is suspicious. The HOT test asks three questions about an unattended item. Has it been hidden on purpose? Is it obviously suspicious, with wires, a battery, tape or liquid showing? Is it typical of the place, like a shopping bag by a till? Lost property is usually in plain sight and ordinary. A suspicious item is not.

What to do if it is. Confirm your suspicion with the HOT test, clear people away, communicate by dialling 999 and telling your control room, and control the area so nobody drifts back in. Move at least 100 metres from something the size of a bag, 200 metres from a car and 400 metres from a van or lorry, and keep radios and phones at least 15 metres from the item.

Run, Hide, Tell. If a weapons attack starts, run to safety if there is a safe route. If there is not, hide, silence your phone, lock or barricade the door and stay away from it. When it is safe, tell the police on 999 with as much detail as you can give.

Reporting suspicious behaviour. Someone taking an unusual interest in security arrangements, filming entrances or cameras, or asking staff odd questions may be carrying out hostile reconnaissance. Report it to your supervisor and, if it feels serious, to the police: 999 in an emergency, the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321, or online at gov.uk/ACT.

When you have finished the e-learning, try the terror threat questions in our free SIA practice tests to check what has stuck.