On 22nd May 2017, a terrorist attack at Manchester Arena claimed 22 lives and injured hundreds more. Among those who died was Martyn Hett, a passionate, vibrant individual whose loss, alongside those of the other victims, devastated families and communities.
In tribute to Martyn and all those affected, new legislation aims to ensure that public venues and events are better prepared to protect people should such terrible circumstances arise again.
On 3rd April 2025, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, received royal assent. With a 24-month implementation period, qualifying premises and events will need to meet new protective security requirements by April 2027.
This guide explains what Martyn’s Law requires, who it applies to, and how venue operators and event organisers can prepare to meet these important obligations whilst keeping people safe.
What Is Martyn’s Law?
Martyn’s Law (officially the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025) represents a significant shift in how public venues approach protective security.
Named in tribute to Martyn Hett, one of the victims of the Manchester Arena attack, the legislation requires certain public premises and events to be prepared to protect attendees in case of a terrorist attack.
The law received royal assent on 3rd April 2025, with the government setting an implementation period of at least 24 months from this date before the Act comes into force. This means qualifying venues and events must be compliant by April 2027, though preparing well in advance of this deadline is strongly advisable.
The Regulator: Security Industry Authority
The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has been confirmed as the regulator for Martyn’s Law, bringing significant enforcement powers to ensure compliance.
The SIA can authorise inspectors to examine premises and events, obtain compliance information from duty holders, and issue civil notices addressing non-compliance. Crucially, the SIA also has powers to apply financial penalties for failures to meet requirements.
Martyn’s Law represents a fundamental change from reactive response to proactive preparation.
Rather than waiting for incidents to occur and responding afterwards, the legislation requires venues to consider and plan for potential terrorist incidents before they happen. This creates consistent protective security standards across public venues and ultimately protects both public safety and the organisations responsible for venues and events.
Does Martyn’s Law Apply to Your Venue or Event?
For Martyn’s Law to apply, premises or events must meet all four of the following criteria. It’s important to assess these carefully, as many venues may fall within scope even if they don’t initially recognise themselves as qualifying.
Used for Qualifying Activities
The first criterion concerns what your premises or event is used for.
Qualifying activities include:
- Entertainment (concerts, theatre, cinema, sporting events).
- Retail (shops, shopping centres, markets).
- Food and drink (restaurants, cafés, pubs, nightclubs).
- Museums and galleries.
- Places of worship (churches, mosques, synagogues, temples).
- Health services.
- Education (schools, colleges, universities).
- Government services
- Community centres and halls.
This list is intentionally broad, as the legislation aims to cover most venues where members of the public gather for organised activities.
Capacity Threshold
The second criterion is straightforward but critical: it must be reasonable to expect that 200 or more individuals may be present on the premises at the same time.
This threshold includes both attendees and staff, and it’s based on the premises’ maximum capacity rather than typical attendance.
Premise Type
Martyn’s Law applies to both permanent premises (buildings or defined outdoor spaces used regularly) and temporary events with controlled access (such as festivals, outdoor concerts, and sporting events).
The key is that some form of access control exists, whether through ticketing or physical barriers.
Public Access
Finally, premises must be accessible to the public, whether for free or with paid entry. Private events in otherwise public venues may still qualify if they meet the other criteria.
What Isn’t Covered
Certain premises and situations fall outside Martyn’s Law’s scope.
Premises or events with a capacity below 200 people are not covered. Premises already subject to comprehensive protective security requirements under other legislation may also be exempt.
Understanding the Two-Tier System
Martyn’s Law operates through a two-tier system, with obligations scaling based on venue capacity. Understanding which tier applies to your premises determines what you must do to comply.
Standard Tier: 200-799 Capacity
The Standard tier applies to premises with capacity between 200 and 799 people. This might include:
- Community centres and village halls.
- Small theatres and performance spaces.
- Independent cinemas
- Medium-sized retail outlets.
- Smaller places of worship.
- Local leisure facilities.
Many venues in this category may not have considered themselves “high-risk” targets previously, but Martyn’s Law recognises that protective security preparedness matters regardless of size.
Standard Tier Requirements
Standard tier venues must meet three core requirements.
First, they must register with the Security Industry Authority, providing basic premises information, designating a responsible person, and maintaining up-to-date registration.
Second, venues must develop public protection procedures covering multiple scenarios. These might include evacuation procedures, lockdown procedures and invacuation procedures. All procedures must be documented and accessible to staff who might need to implement them.
Third, venues must maintain documentation of their procedures and any training provided, keep these records available for inspection by the SIA, and review and update them regularly as circumstances change.
Enhanced Tier: 800+ Capacity
Who This Applies To
The Enhanced tier applies to premises and events with a capacity of 800 or more people. This includes:
- Stadiums and arenas.
- Large shopping centres.
- Major concert venues and theatres.
- Large nightclubs and entertainment complexes.
- Major festivals and outdoor events.
- Large places of worship.
These larger venues face more comprehensive obligations, reflecting both their higher capacity and the potentially greater consequences should an incident occur.
Enhanced Tier Requirements
Enhanced tier venues must meet all Standard tier requirements (registration, public protection procedures, and documentation) plus additional obligations.
First, they must conduct terrorism risk assessments. These assessments identify vulnerabilities specific to the venue, consider potential attack methodologies, evaluate current security measures, and document findings and mitigation strategies.
Risk assessments must be reviewed regularly and updated after significant changes to premises or the threat environment.
Second, venues must implement appropriate security measures. This might include physical security infrastructure such as CCTV, access control systems, and protective barriers. It also encompasses screening and search capabilities for people and bags entering premises.
The number of security personnel must be adequate for the venue’s size and risk profile. Crucially, measures must also be proportionate to identified risks. There’s no one-size-fits-all requirement, but rather an expectation that security responds to the premises’ or event’s actual vulnerabilities.
Third, enhanced tier venues must develop and maintain detailed security plans. These comprehensive documents outline protective security strategy, integration with emergency services, communication protocols, and regular review processes. Security plans should be living documents that evolve with the venue and threat landscape.
Fourth, venues must appoint a designated senior individual with authority and responsibility for Martyn’s Law compliance. This person must have sufficient seniority to implement required measures, be accountable to organisation leadership, and ensure ongoing compliance through regular reporting and review.
Preparing Your Venue for Martyn’s Law Compliance
Step 1: Determine Your Tier
Begin by calculating your maximum capacity. Reviewing building regulations, licensing documentation, and fire safety assessments will help with this. You should also identify which qualifying activities occur at your premises.
This initial assessment is foundational. Everything that follows depends on accurately understanding your obligations.
Step 2: Assess Current Security Measures
For Standard tier venues, review existing emergency procedures to understand what you already have in place.
Identify gaps in evacuation, lockdown, and invacuation planning: you may have strong evacuation procedures but nothing addressing lockdown scenarios. You should also assess staff awareness and training needs honestly, as many venues discover their existing procedures exist on paper but aren’t well understood by the people who would need to execute them.
For Enhanced tier venues, the assessment must be more comprehensive. Conduct a thorough vulnerability assessment examining how your venue could be targeted and where weaknesses exist. Evaluate existing physical security measures to understand what’s already protecting your premises and what gaps remain.
Enhanced tier venues should strongly consider engaging Counter-Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs) for professional assessment. CTSAs are police specialists who provide free, confidential advice on protective security. Their expertise can identify vulnerabilities that venue operators might miss and provide guidance on proportionate, effective security measures.
Step 3: Develop Required Procedures and Plans
Create clear, documented procedures appropriate to your tier. Procedures must be practical and executable by your team, and they should work alongside fire safety, first aid, and other emergency protocols you already maintain.
Test procedures through drills and exercises. The only way to know whether evacuation, lockdown, or invacuation procedures actually work is to practice them. Regular drills also keep procedures fresh in staff minds and build confidence in executing them under pressure.
Step 4: Implement Security Measures (Enhanced Tier)
Enhanced tier venues must move beyond procedures to physical security implementation.
Access Control involves managing entry and exit points effectively, controlling who enters your premises and under what circumstances, and monitoring and logging access where appropriate. This doesn’t necessarily mean expensive electronic systems. Effective access control can be achieved through well-trained staff, clear signage, and appropriate physical barriers, depending on your venue and risk profile.
Surveillance typically includes CCTV coverage of critical areas such as entrances, exits, and public spaces. Monitoring capabilities during events allow security teams to observe developing situations and respond appropriately. Recording also provides evidence for investigation purposes should incidents occur.
Security screening allows personnel to detect threats concealed on people or in bags. This might include bag searches at entry points, either manual or technology-assisted. Metal detection helps identify concealed weapons, and X-ray screening reveals threats hidden in bags and packages that visual inspection would miss.
Step 5: Train Staff
All staff need awareness training covering the terrorism threat and Martyn’s Law, understanding of their personal role in protective security, how to execute evacuation, lockdown, and invacuation procedures, and how to recognise and report suspicious behaviour or items.
Security teams require more specialised training, including operation of screening equipment such as metal detectors and X-ray systems, threat recognition and assessment skills, response protocols and coordination with emergency services, and managing incidents calmly and effectively under pressure.
Regular refresher sessions, particularly before high-risk periods or major events, maintain proficiency and ensure new staff understand their responsibilities.
Step 6: Establish Communication Systems
Effective security requires reliable communication. This includes internal communication systems for coordinating during incidents, public address systems for providing evacuation or invacuation instructions to attendees, established channels for coordination with emergency services, and post-incident communication plans for informing stakeholders and managing public information.
Communication systems should be tested regularly to ensure they function when needed most.
Step 7: Register with the SIA
When the SIA registration portal becomes available, complete registration promptly. Provide all required premises and duty holder information accurately. Maintain registration currency as your circumstances change.
Step 8: Regular Review and Testing
Compliance is an ongoing responsibility. Schedule periodic review of procedures and security measures to ensure they remain current and effective, and conduct regular drills and exercises to test whether plans work in practice.
How Security Screening Technology Supports Martyn’s Law Compliance
Security screening forms part of the layered approach that venues in the Enhanced tier may implement to meet their obligations.
Whilst no specific technology is mandated by Martyn’s Law, effective screening capabilities can help venues detect concealed weapons before entry to premises, identify suspicious items in bags and packages, deter potential threats through visible security presence and demonstrate due diligence in protecting attendees.
Walk-Through Metal Detection for Entry Screening
Walk-through metal detection makes sense for high-volume entry points requiring fast throughput and venues needing consistent and objective screening that doesn’t rely solely on human judgement.
The AXIS™-A33 Archway Metal Detector provides 33 independent detection zones with pinpoint accuracy, showing security staff exactly where detected metal items are located on a person’s body.
High-brightness LEDs make detection clear even in bright outdoor conditions, and fast throughput of up to 100 people per minute means the system doesn’t create unacceptable queues even during peak entry periods.
This makes the AXIS™-A33 suitable for stadiums, arenas, and large venues with controlled entry points where thousands of people must be processed efficiently.
The Walk-By Metal Detector offers a different approach using ferromagnetic detection for covert screening. This system is ideal for locations where traditional archways aren’t suitable or where discrete security is preferred.
It effectively detects weapons and contraband whilst maintaining a less obtrusive presence, making it appropriate for facilities requiring security without the intimidating appearance of traditional metal detectors.
X-Ray Screening for Bags and Packages
X-ray screening makes sense for venues accepting bags but needing to screen their contents and events where attendees bring personal items that must be checked for safety.
The AXIS™-CXi Cabinet X-Ray System delivers aviation-standard materials discrimination technology in a compact footprint suitable for space-constrained entry points.
The large 580 × 498 × 688 mm chamber accommodates varied bag sizes from small handbags to cabin-sized luggage, and Advanced Powder Detection technology specifically identifies concealed powdered substances that could represent chemical or biological threats.
The system is ideal for permanent venue installations where consistent, high-quality screening is required.
Common Questions About Martyn’s Law
When exactly does Martyn’s Law come into force?
The implementation period is at least 24 months from the 3rd April 2025 royal assent date, meaning April 2027 at the earliest. The government will confirm the exact commencement date closer to implementation. However, venues should begin preparing now rather than waiting for the final deadline announcement.
Do we need to hire security companies?
Not necessarily. Standard tier requirements focus on procedures and training that existing staff can implement. Many Standard-tier venues will achieve compliance without external security contractors.
Enhanced tier venues will need to assess whether their current resources, both personnel and expertise, are adequate for their obligations. Some may need external security support, whilst others can build internal capability. The determining factor is whether you can meet your obligations effectively.
How much will compliance cost?
This varies enormously based on tier and current security posture. Standard tier venues may achieve compliance primarily through procedural development and staff training, a modest cost for most organisations.
Enhanced tier venues face more substantial investment in risk assessments, physical security measures, and ongoing security resources. However, costs can be managed through phased implementation and prioritisation based on actual risk. Early planning provides time to budget appropriately and avoid panic-driven overspending as deadlines approach.
Can we get help with compliance?
Yes. Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs) provide free, tailored guidance to venues preparing for Martyn’s Law. These police specialists understand protective security and can offer practical advice specific to your venue and circumstances. Contact your local police force to request CTSA support or submit a request through the online form.
Many industry associations also provide sector-specific guidance for their members.
What if our capacity fluctuates?
Martyn’s Law applies based on whether it’s reasonable to expect 200 or more people at the same time, not on typical attendance.
If your premises could reach 200+ capacity, even if this rarely occurs, you likely fall within scope.
Do temporary events need to comply?
Yes, if they meet the four qualifying criteria, including controlled access and capacity thresholds. Event organisers bear responsibility for ensuring temporary events comply with Martyn’s Law. This includes festivals, outdoor concerts, sporting events, and other time-limited gatherings.
Resources and Further Guidance
Official Government Resources
Martyn’s Law on GOV.UK provides the official legislation text and government guidance. This is the authoritative source for understanding the law’s requirements and should be consulted for definitive information.
ProtectUK offers comprehensive guidance, advice, and training for businesses on Martyn’s Law and protective security best practices. The platform includes free online training modules, practical guidance for different venue types, and regularly updated information as implementation approaches.
The Security Industry Authority will provide detailed compliance guidance as the regulator. As implementation approaches, the SIA will publish specific requirements for registration, documentation, and compliance demonstration.
How 3DX-Ray Supports Martyn’s Law Compliance
Martyn’s Law represents a significant responsibility for venue operators and event organisers. Our role is to support organisations in meeting their protective security obligations effectively.
Our Approach
We work with venues to understand their specific security challenges, capacity, tier requirements, and operational constraints before recommending any technology. A community centre in the Standard tier has completely different needs from a 50,000-seat stadium, and our advice reflects these differences.
We provide comprehensive solutions that integrate with broader protective security measures. Screening equipment works best as part of coordinated security, including trained personnel, clear procedures, and appropriate physical security. We help venues understand how technology fits within their overall security approach.
Compliance doesn’t end with installation. We provide ongoing technical support, maintenance, and consultation as your security needs evolve. Martyn’s Law compliance is a long-term responsibility, and we’re committed to supporting venues throughout.
Getting Started
If you’re preparing for Martyn’s Law compliance and believe screening technology may support your protective security measures, contact us for a consultation. We’ll discuss your venue, capacity, tier requirements, and current security planning. We’ll provide honest guidance about whether and how our equipment might support your compliance efforts.
Most importantly, we’re here to help you protect people. Your compliance and the safety of your attendees are what matter.
Preparing Now for April 2027
Martyn’s Law represents a fundamental shift in how public venues and events approach protective security. The legislation emerged from tragedy, and its implementation is about ensuring that venues are prepared to protect people should terrible circumstances arise.
For venue operators and event organisers, the coming months provide the opportunity to assess obligations, plan implementation, and prepare properly as the deadline approaches.
The legislation’s purpose is clear: better protection for people attending public venues and events. Technology, training, procedures, and planning all contribute to achieving this. At 3DX-Ray, we’re committed to supporting venues in meeting these important obligations whilst keeping their focus where it belongs: protecting people.
Ready to discuss how screening technology might support your Martyn’s Law compliance?