At the heart of Martyn’s Law sit four public protection procedures. Every premises in scope prepares them. Every staff member needs to know them. The regulator will expect to see them working.

This page walks through each of the four, in plain English.

1. Evacuation
2. Invacuation
3. Lockdown
4. Communications

Each procedure must be specific to your premises (not a generic template), trained out to staff, tested through an exercise, and evidenced.

What it is: Getting people out of the premises by the nearest safe exit, away from the threat.

How it differs from fire evacuation: – Fire evacuation: use any available exit, gather at a known muster point. – Terrorism evacuation: use the nearest safe exit (not any exit), do not gather at a predictable point.

What the procedure covers: – How staff identify the location of the threat (or partial information about it). – How staff direct customers/pupils/congregants to the appropriate exit. – Where people go once outside (flexible, not a fixed muster point). – How staff communicate the evacuation decision across the premises. – Specific considerations for disabled access, vulnerable individuals, children.

Training implications: Staff need to know that terrorism evacuation is decision-based, not rote. The procedure gives them the framework; they apply judgement in the moment.

What it is: Getting people inside the premises and securing it, when the threat is outside.

Why it exists: For threats outside the premises (for example, an incident on the street near your premises), getting people out would mean sending them toward the threat. Invacuation reverses that: bring people in, secure the doors, prevent further entry.

What the procedure covers: – How staff recognise an external threat and decide to invacuate. – How entrances are secured (locked, blocked, staffed at). – How to communicate with customers/pupils/congregants to move inside. – How to stop additional people entering the premises during invacuation. – What happens once inside (lockdown may follow).

Training implications: Invacuation is often the procedure staff are least familiar with. It runs counter to the “evacuation is always the answer” instinct. Training needs to build confidence in the invacuation decision.

What it is: Stopping all movement on the premises, barricading rooms, and preventing access to specific areas.

When to use it: When an intruder has entered the premises, or when the risk of entry is immediate. Lockdown isolates groups of people in secure rooms until the threat passes.

What the procedure covers: – How staff recognise the need for lockdown. – Which rooms serve as safe rooms (ideally not first-visible rooms). – How to barricade a room: what furniture to move, how to block doors, how to make the room look empty. – Lights off, phones silenced, staying quiet. – Who stays where: staff with specific students/customers, managers in specific rooms. – When to end lockdown (typically only on police instruction).

Training implications: Lockdown procedures are sometimes familiar from intruder drills, particularly in schools. They often still need upgrading to meet Martyn’s Law standard. Regular exercising matters: muscle memory is the goal.

What it is: The system and procedure for alerting everyone on the premises to an incident, with clear instructions, quickly.

What “quickly” means: From the moment an incident is detected, your communications need to reach every person in every area of the premises within the time it takes the incident to develop. For most premises, this means under 60 seconds.

What the procedure covers: – The communications channels available (PA system, bell, SMS to staff, apps, verbal relay). – The redundant channel if the primary one fails (power cut, signal loss). – The specific messages to use for each procedure (a clear “evacuate now” differs from a clear “lockdown now”). – Who is authorised to initiate a communication. – How communications extend to outdoor areas, multiple buildings, and remote staff.

Training implications: Communications often breaks under pressure, not because the system fails but because staff hesitate about authorisation or wording. Clear procedures and practised messages reduce hesitation.

In a real incident, the procedures aren’t used in isolation. A typical sequence:

1. Detection (staff notice something, or are alerted).
2. Communication (initiate the alert to all staff).
3. Decision (evacuate, invacuate, or lockdown, based on the nature of the threat).
4. Execution (the chosen procedure is enacted).
5. Ongoing communication (updates as the situation develops).
6. Transition (from one procedure to another if the situation changes).
7. All-clear (communicated once the threat has passed, typically on police instruction).

Exercising the procedures means practising all four, individually and in combination, so staff respond fluently under pressure.

After procedures are prepared and exercised, two ongoing duties:

• Keep evidence current. Training records, exercise outcomes, procedure versions, all dated and stored.
• Iterate based on learnings. Exercises often reveal improvements. Procedures update. Staff are re-trained.

A purpose-built platform handles the evidence loop automatically. Without one, this is where readiness decays over time.

The fastest way to know is our free Am I in Scope? tool. A handful of questions, a clear answer, no account needed.

If you already know you’re in scope, Get Started with Prova Risk to prepare your public protection procedures, train your staff, and keep the evidence you’ll need if inspected. £399 per year per site.

• Procedures vs Measures Explained
• Standard Tier vs Enhanced Tier
• Why Health and Safety and Fire Legislation Don’t Cover Martyn’s Law
• Does My Existing Health and Safety Policy Cover Martyn’s Law?
• Martyn’s Law for Schools