David Veness

Sir David Veness CBE QPM is Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at New Scotland Yard. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1964, and is an expert on counter-terrorism and security.

He has called for greater collaboration between public and private sectors in the fight against terrorism. The remarks were made in a speech to the think-tank Demos on February 2005, one of his last public appearances before taking up his new post as Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security at the United Nations. [www.demos.co.uk/ VENEfinalreleasewithlogo_pdf_media_public.aspx]

Veness is a proponant of Project Griffin:

“Great strides have already been made in strengthening the existing counter-terrorist partnership; for instance, more than 1,000 security personnel have already been trained under Project Griffin, which better equips them with the knowledge of the type of suspicious activity they should be looking for and how they could help the emergency services if an incident should occur. The active

support of this initiative from a wide range of private organisations is very encouraging, but it is just one element in an enterprise which is far reaching and enduring.”

Vaness is also a member of the National Crime Squad Service Authority downloads/ServicePlan2001_02.pdf