Escape room used to trial new terror attack tool

An escape room has been used to trial a new method of obtaining life-saving information from people caught in terror attacks.

The Time-Critical Questioning (TCQ) protocol, developed at Portsmouth University, was carried out during a controlled trial at Other World Escapes.

After completing puzzles to escape the room, 142 volunteer participants were questioned using either the TCQ method or a more standard approach.

On average, there was a 97% accuracy in the answers given by those asked questions using the TCQ method.

That is compared to 87% achieved by those in the other group, which Counter Terrorism Policing South East said "cannot be underestimated".

Failing to extract accurate intelligence from shocked witnesses and victims in fast-moving situations can put lives at risk, the university said.

But the research team said early results showed the new method ed "better decision-making" and cut the chances of "missing vital information".

Prof Lorraine Hope explained emergency responders needed to find out key information about perpetrators, weapons, locations or escape routes "as rapidly as possible".

She said in these kinds of "high-pressure situations" response teams may have only a few minutes to question the escapees.

"Quick-fire questions often miss important information and don't make the most of what the interviewee knows," she said.

Her team's TQC method was developed in collaboration with the UK's Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (Crest).

It involves quickly building a rapport with people who may be scared, upset and confused, to help them "focus and recall important details more easily", without overwhelming them.

Prof Hope said it did not require specialist knowledge or years of training, and early results suggested it was "easy to adopt in a variety of professional settings".

Originally designed for emergency responders, the method is now being explored for use in healthcare, cybersecurity, transport and other high-pressure settings.

"We're keen to explore this further," Prof Hope said, adding that her team was also harnessing virtual reality to design new trials of the protocol.

Counter terror officers have been trained in the method and tested its use during a hostage taking scenario training exercise for emergency response teams in Hampshire.

Ch Supt Claire Finlay, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, described the research as "ground breaking".

"The operational utility of it cannot be underestimated," she said.

"It provides an innovative solution to a very real and challenging problem facing policing today - how to get as much information as possible from someone when both the interviewer and the interviewee are under pressure."

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