SUBCOP sets out to develop technologies and procedures that can be applied by the Police Security Forces when responding to a suspected PBIED (Person Borne Improvised Explosive Device). It addresses the course of action to take when an alert to a possible PBIED has been issued, and an attack may be imminent. SUBCOP is insensitive to how the alert is raised, should it be based on detection of explosives or explosive devices, informants’ reporting, or other intelligence sources. It is however sensitive to the fact that the alert only gives cause for suspecting the presence of a PBIED, and that this suspicion can be of lower or higher confidence. SUBCOP will develop guidance as to what response to a PBIED that is ethically and socially justifiable for a given situation.

The core objective of SUBCOP is to consider:

• the available technological tools for less than lethal PBIED intervention,
• the novel procedures for their application, and
• the development of new less than lethal capabilities

These together will fit to the highly set requirements; to avoid injuries on the suspect yet control the situation to such an extent that no harm will come to innocent bystanders or first responders, should the suspicion of a PBIED presence be accurate. The SUBCOP consortium is well equipped to address this complex and challenging task, encompassing small scale and large scale security focused and technology developing enterprises, security and defence research organisations, medical and ethical expert organisations and end users with first hand experience in PBIED situations.