Martyn’s Law:

What Being Prepared Looks Like in Practice

As Martyn’s Law moves closer to implementation, a lot of organisations are focusing on compliance. That is understandable. New regulation always creates pressure to make sure the paperwork is right.

However, for those responsible for security in education, stadiums and other large events, compliance is only half the job.

Vismo is already supporting organisations in these sectors to manage real-world incidents. From our perspective, this legislation does not introduce new problems so much as formalise challenges you are already facing.

These environments are open by design. They are busy, complex, and rely on people moving freely rather than being funnelled through tight security controls. That makes the challenge less about policy and more about practicality.

If something happens, how do you tell the right people, quickly, and know they have understood what to do?

What the Law Actually Asks of You

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act introduces a tiered approach.

• Standard Tier (200-799 capacity): Includes most schools, colleges, and mid-sized venues.

• Enhanced Tier (800+ capacity): Includes universities, stadiums, and large public events. These venues must have documented security plans and demonstrated measures to reduce physical harm.

Crucially, the law is outcome focused. It asks:

• What happens when a threat appears?

• How do you warn staff immediately?

• How do you give clear instructions?

• How do you know those instructions were received?

Link to the Home Office’s Martyn’s Law fact sheet here.

Showing you’re compliant is easy. Being ready is harder

The Home Office has stated that venues can comply without specialist tools. In a strict legal sense, that is true. A radio, a loudspeaker, a clipboard, and a folder technically meet the requirement.

In a small office, that is probably acceptable. In a university campus, a stadium on match day, or a live event with tens of thousands of people moving at once, it could quickly break down. Also, paper patrol logs do not tell you where someone is now. Radios only reach the people listening to the right channel and fire alarms do not explain whether people should evacuate, lock down, or stay put.

This gap between compliance and real-world response is where most risks can be found.

• Turning Plans into Action with Vismo - Vismo is not about replacing judgement or training. It is about giving organisations a practical way to see what is happening and communicate clearly when it matters.

• Cutting Through the Noise - When an incident occurs, real time intelligence feeds appear directly in the Vismo Monitor and Locate & Protect Apps. Security and operations teams can see where something is happening and immediately understand which staff or event teams are in proximity.

Broadcast messages can cause confusion. Our mass notification tool, Vismo Notify, allows you to be more precise. You can send specific instructions, such as "Lockdown Zone B", to the staff in that area, while telling others to stand by. Crucially, Vismo also tracks acknowledgements. You stop guessing who has heard the message and start seeing exactly who has confirmed they are safe.

This visibility changes how you manage the first few moments of a crisis. Learn how Vismo Notify mass notification streamlines emergency alerts.

Proving Presence

For Enhanced Tier venues, you must demonstrate active monitoring of your premises. In reality, this can mean relying on paper sheets behind doors which are hard to verify. Vismo Checkpoints provide a simple alternative. Staff confirm presence by scanning QR codes placed at key locations. This creates a time-stamped digital record for the regulator. Practically, it also means that if an incident occurs, you know exactly when a specific gate or exit was last checked, and by whom. Click here to learn more about Vismo Checkpoints.

Protecting Staff and Reporting Risk

Martyn’s Law expects staff to play an active role in identifying and reporting risk.

Vismo supports this in a variety of ways. First, staff can raise a panic alert discreetly through the Vismo Locate & Protect App. This shares an audio recording and location data with the control room, allowing teams to understand what is happening without escalating the situation unnecessarily.

Second, lower-level concerns can be reported directly. A suspicious package. Unusual behaviour. Information arrives with context and location, rather than as a rushed phone call.

But if they spot a threat, they might not have time to unlock a phone or send a message. For this situation, Vismo offers a dedicated Bluetooth Panic Button, the Vismo Alert. This creates a discrete, physical way to raise an alarm without drawing attention.

Learn more about the Vismo Alert here.

The Challenge for Education providers

Schools and colleges generally fall under the Standard Tier, but expectations from parents, understandably, often exceed the minimum compliance.

• If a PE lesson is taking place on the sports field, how does the teacher receive an alert?

• If a school hall is hired out for a public evening event, how do security arrangements change?

Manual processes slow information down. With a live system, teams can see acknowledgements coming in, understand who has responded, and focus attention where it is needed most.

That is the difference between confusion and coordination.

In Summary

Martyn’s Law is forcing organisations to review their security plans. Whether you are responsible for a school, a university, a stadium, or a major event, the underlying question is the same:

Do you trust your plan to work when it has to?