A new safety campaign guides New Zealanders on what to do to stay safe during an armed offender incident in a crowded place, but international opinion is divided as to its efficacy, writes Nicholas Dynon.
Symbolically, the launch took place at Wellington’s 34,500-seat Sky Stadium, a venue that has had some involvement in the campaign over several years.
In 2022, the stadium drew media attention for releasing a safety video that featured the “Escape. Hide. Tell.” messaging. The video was released on YouTube, but visitors to the stadium were not played the full version on the stadium’s big screen due to airtime constraints.
“The campaign communicates three easy steps for people to follow that will help them stay safe in the unlikely event of an active armed offender incident in a crowded place,” said Police Minister Mark Mitchell, who was not able to be present at the launch.
“In the US, the official messaging is “Run. Hide. Fight.”, and in the UK it’s “Run. Hide. Tell.”, while in Australia it’s “Escape. Hide. Tell.” Ultimately, New Zealand settled on the Australian version.”
“New Zealanders love to get together and this is all about being prepared in public spaces, such as a sports and events venues, transport hubs or places we shop,” he said.
“I want to be clear that we are not expecting increased danger or risk in New Zealand, and while the advice may seem obvious, similar campaigns overseas have been helpful at guiding people.”
The three simple words to remember are: Escape. Hide. Tell.:
- ESCAPE. Move quickly and quietly away from danger, but only if it is safe to do.
- HIDE. Stay out of sight and silence your mobile phone.
- TELL. Call the Police by dialling 111 when it is safe.
Among launch attendees were Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello, Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson, Director-General of the NZ Security Intelligence Service Andrew Hampton, Sean Bolton, Executive Director of the National Security Group at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and representatives from Queensland Police and several advisory and expert groups, including the New Zealand Security Association.
On Message: Local stakeholders in agreement
The safety of crowded places is a shared responsibility, said NZ Police Senior Prevention Adviser Richard Scott. “Whether you’re a business owner, event organiser, security professional, or member of the public—everyone has a role to play in helping detect and prevent attacks,” he stated in relation to the launch.
They are sentiments backed by the security industry’s peak body, the New Zealand Security Association (NZSA), which just weeks earlier had funded and hosted an event supporting the Crowded Places strategy for police and private and community sector stakeholders in Auckland.
“We strongly encourage all members to embed this training into staff inductions and health & safety processes, ensuring every team member is familiar with the strategy,” stated the Association in an ‘Escape. Hide. Tell.’ LinkedIn post.
Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner, a key supporter of the Crowded Places strategy over several years, concurred that the safety and wellbeing of people in stadiums, markets, transport hubs, and public spaces is a shared responsibility.
“I have been part of the Crowded Places Business Advisory Group since its inception and during this time I have seen the collective commitment of Police, government agencies, and industry leaders to this important work,” he said.
“Eden Park is proud to contribute to these conversations and to continue doing our part in protecting the shared experiences that bring people together.
“… there is evidence that the ‘Run, Hide, Tell’ message may lead to increased likelihood of passivity in situations where more pro-active reactions would be beneficial.”
“As New Zealand’s national stadium, we play a key role in supporting initiatives that strengthen public safety and community confidence. Every event, whether sport, culture, or community, is underpinned by our commitment to ensuring people feel safe, welcome, and connected.”
“Safety and security are essential to everything we do at Sky Stadium. That’s why we’re supporting with the launch of Escape. Hide. Tell.,” announced Sky Stadium via a LinkedIn post.
“We work closely with NZ Police, intelligence agencies, and emergency services at every event to ensure best-practice safety and security for our visitors. While initiatives like this may be difficult to think about, we recognise the importance of being prepared to protect our fans, staff, and community.”
The stadium’s General Manager Events & Operations, Mat Hellyer, leads the Crowded Places Business Advisory Group that works with the police to promote the government’s Crowded Places strategy.
Experts divided internationally
As simple as it sounds, the three-word call to action has been the subject of fierce international debate between security specialists over many years.
In the US, the official messaging is “Run. Hide. Fight.”, and in the UK it’s “Run. Hide. Tell.”, while in Australia it’s “Escape. Hide. Tell.” Ultimately, New Zealand settled on the Australian version.
The fact that the messaging has undergone the evolution that it has from the UK to the US and Australia is indicative that there are diverging views and that it is an object of contestation among practitioners, policy makers, and academics.
In the US, both the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) endorse the “Run. Hide. Fight.” Approach, which advocates attempting to disrupt and/or incapacitate an armed attacker “as a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger.”
According to the DHS, efforts could include acting as aggressively as possible towards the attacker, throwing items and improvising weapons, yelling, and “committing to your actions”.
But, as this CNN article highlights, there is much practitioner debate around the ‘Run. Hide. Fight’ messaging. A number of jurisdictions in the US, for example, have moved away from the “hide” aspect in favour of less passive options. Doing things like creating distance and barriers – rather than hiding – is viewed by some practitioners as more useful.
In 2018, Norwegian Security Services released guidance that attempted something of a compromise, advising the public to ‘Run’, ‘Hide’ and if no other choice ‘Fight’.
In an article published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, researchers compared the impact of “Run. Hide. Tell.” and “Run. Hide. Fight.” messaging on behavioural intentions in two different hypothetical terrorist scenarios.
They noted that critiques of the ‘Run. Hide. Tell.’ guidance characterise it as ‘limp’ and argue that it leads to passivity in situations where a more active response would have been advantageous, whereas its supporters “argue that the encouragement of active resistance will lead to unhelpful ‘heroism’, which will put the ‘hero’ and others in more danger”.
Their comparative research found that while there is no evidence of the ‘Run, Hide, Fight’ guidance leading to unwarranted ‘heroism’, there is evidence that the ‘Run, Hide, Tell’ message may lead to increased likelihood of passivity in situations where more pro-active reactions would be beneficial.”
