Operation Kratos

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Operation Kratos is the code word used by the SO13 (Anti Terrorism branch) branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service to refer to policies surrounding and including "shoot-to-kill" tactics to be used in dealing with suspected terrorists and suicide bombers. The tactics were developed shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and are claimed to be based in part on consultation with Israeli and Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies on how to deal with "deadly and determined" attackers. Little has been revealed publicly and officially about the policies, which were apparently first activated after the bombings of July 7, 2005 in London, and were only exercised in the mistaken shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes on July 22, 2005.

1 Background
2 History of Operation Kratos
3 Details of Operation Kratos
4 The law
5 Notes
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Background

After the terrorist attacks of 11th of September, 2001, many police agencies worldwide seriously considered for the first time the possibility of terrorist activities in their own home countries and cities. Operation Kratos is said to be "based on guidance from Israeli and Sri Lankan officers on how to combat suicide bombers or 'deadly and determined attackers' as they are called officially." ^[1]

The name Kratos (Greek: κράτος), translates as 'power' or 'strength'. Significantly, it is etymologically linked with the Greek word κράς, meaning 'head'. Kratos is also a demi-god in Greek Mythology. It is unknown if this name was chosen for any other special Classical significance.

[edit] History of Operation Kratos

Operation Kratos was created 6 months after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Other secret Anti Terrorist Policies of the British Police include Operations Lightning, Trammel, Camion, and Rainbow. Allegedly, Kratos policy initially only dealt with guidance for officers on how to confront terrorism suspects. Based on later research into the threat of suicide bombers, guidance was added which modified policy by suggesting that suicide bombers must be shot directly in the head to kill them, as the only means to prevent their detonation of a bomb.^[2]

In a document entitled "Redbridge Borough Policing Plan 2003-2004" document, apparently produced by the Met in early 2003, it is stated that "Supervisors and CAD staff were recently briefed on [Operation] Kratos". ^[3]

Operation Kratos was apparently officially activated to some extent immediately after the precipitous London Tube and Bus bombings of July 7, 2005. Members of SO19 (since renamed to CO19) , the Armed Response division of the Met, were advised at parade after the July 7 bombings that "they should expect a Kratos call." Also, a secret email was sent out after the attempted bombings of July 21 reminding officials of the Kratos policies. ^[4]

Operation Kratos and the "shoot to kill" policy was first mentioned publicly by the British Government on July 15, 2005. It was asserted that "Armed police officers could be given more aggressive shoot-to-kill orders, telling them to fire at the heads of suicide bombers."^[5]

There is little indication that the British public took particular notice of this policy or its implications until one week later, when Brazilian immigrant Jean Charles de Menezes was killed in Stockwell Tube station on July 22, 2005. Menezes was initially suspected of being an agent in the failed bombings of July 21, 2005, and Operation Kratos policies were activated to deal with him as a suspected bomber. Menezes was followed by surveillance officers from a block of flats mistakenly suspected of being linked to the bombings, onto a bus, to Stockwell Tube station where he was confronted and shot several times in the head by SO19 (now called CO19) firearms officers while one of the surveillance officers held Menezes in a bear hug, clamping his arms to his side. Menezes died instantly.

Upon investigation, it was found that Menezes was entirely innocent and had been targeted and killed by mistake. The accidental killing of an innocent person brought the Operation Kratos policies to national and international attention, with some members of the public decrying the policies as unnecessarily violent and ineffective, and others supporting the difficult decisions made by the police in fighting terrorism.^[6] Sir Ian Blair, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, indicated that there were nearly 250 incidents between July 7, 2005 and July 22, 2005 where Kratos policies were implemented, 7 of which were serious enough that the "shoot-to-kill" policy was nearly utilized.

The Met made minor changes to Operation Kratos after the shooting, but declined to elaborate on the nature of those changes. ^[7]

[edit] Details of Operation Kratos

Details of Operation Kratos are extremely speculative, due to the fact that officials have stated very little on record about the policy. In Britain, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) claimed that details must remain secret "for operational reasons" but that "the tactics are intended to be used on an intelligence-led basis. They are not implemented at random but as a result of intelligence and backed up by senior decision-making.^[4]

Some details of Operation Kratos based on "off the record" quotes from authorities:
- According to a Metropolitan Police document authored January 4, 2005, "There are 4 phases of Operation Kratos, each designed by SO13 as a co-ordinated response to suicide attacks".^[8]
- Part of Operation Kratos is training on identifying potential suicide bombers.^[9]
- "A senior officer is on standby 24 hours a day to authorise the deployment of special armed squads, who will track and if needs be, shoot dead suspected suicide bombers."
- "The officer can open fire only if authorised to do so by a chief police officer - either at the start of a pre-planned operation ... or by police radio during a "spontaneous" incident."
- "The guidance states that in extreme circumstances an armed officer can shoot a suspect in the head if the intelligence suggests that he is a suicide bomber who poses an imminent danger to the public or police. This is to avoid setting off any explosives that might be attached to his body. Five shots are deemed necessary to render a terrorist incapable of detonating his bomb."

[edit] The law

For a general discussion on the policy and theory underlying the defence of self-defence and the defence of others, see the Theory of Self-Defence. For a more detailed discussion of the right to use deadly force in the prevention of crime, whether as a private citizen, police officer or member of the armed forces, see self-defence in English law and use of force.