KEY POINTS
- Invacuation means moving people to a safer place within your premises, including bringing people in from outside. It is one of the four public protection procedures under Martyn's Law.
- It is usually the right choice when the threat is outside or in one part of the building, and it is often followed straight away by lockdown.
- Safer areas are away from windows, external walls and entrances, with enough space for the people you expect.
- People may need to stay inside for some time, so plan for water, toilets, first aid, information and people with additional needs.
- Plan how invacuation ends: usually on the advice of the emergency services, often by moving into a controlled evacuation.
What invacuation is and when you would use it
Invacuation is the opposite of evacuation. Instead of moving people out, you move them away from danger to a place within your premises where there is less risk of harm. The Home Office statutory guidance says this can include bringing people in from outside, or moving people from one part of the premises to another, where it is safe to do so. Section 5 of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 makes it one of the four public protection procedures. See public protection procedures for the full picture.
The guidance says invacuation may be the most appropriate way to get people to safety if an attack happens outside the premises or in one part of them, or if the emergency services advise it. ProtectUK guidance adds that it is often safer than sending people onto the street when the threat is outside or its location is unknown, because fragments from an explosion can injure people at a distance.
The statutory guidance gives two useful examples:
- A high-street café with pavement seating sees a message on a local business chat group about an attack a few hundred metres away. A member of staff tells everyone outside to come in, moves them to a back room and secures the front door.
- A museum with a queue on the pavement hears an explosion nearby. Two volunteers call the emergency services, bring the queue inside and direct everyone to a pre-determined safer area.
When invacuation is, and is not, appropriate
Invacuation works when the danger is outside and the building offers better protection than the street. It is not appropriate when the threat is already inside, when there is nowhere safer to go, or when emergency services advise otherwise. The guidance gives the example of an outdoor firework display with no internal areas, where invacuation is not appropriate and evacuation is the planned response. If invacuation genuinely does not apply to your premises, the guidance suggests recording your reasons in case of an inspection by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
There is a real tension to plan for. ProtectUK notes that securing the doors may leave people locked outside, while keeping them open may let the threat in. Your procedure cannot settle this in advance for every situation, but it can make the decision quicker:
- Say who decides when to stop bringing people in and lock the doors.
- Tell door staff to bring people in fast and close the doors as soon as the area outside is clear or the threat is approaching.
- Accept that the decision maker must judge this on the information available at the time.
Choosing your safer areas
The statutory guidance suggests identifying safer areas at a distance from windows, exterior walls and entry points, with capacity for people to shelter. In smaller premises, the safer area might simply be the main room once the doors and shutters are locked. ProtectUK describes good protected spaces as areas enclosed by solid, full-height walls, away from glazing and external walls, and away from open stairwells or lift shafts that lead to street level.
| Usually better | Usually worse |
|---|---|
| Internal rooms and corridors with solid walls | Glass-fronted areas, atriums and conservatories |
| Rooms with lockable doors | Foyers and lobbies next to the main entrance |
| Back of house areas away from the street | Rooms with large external windows |
| Basements, if there is a second way out | Dead ends with only one exit and no lock |
| Spaces big enough for the expected numbers | Small rooms that will be overcrowded |
Work out roughly how many people each area can hold and compare that with your busiest times. For example, a 250-capacity restaurant might use the kitchen corridor, the private dining room and the staff room together, rather than relying on one space. If you share a building or a shopping centre, the guidance warns that several premises planning to use the same safe zones without co-ordination could overcrowd them, so agree this with your neighbours and landlord.
If people might need to stay for hours, ProtectUK suggests thinking about air, toilets, seating, drinking water, lighting and communications. For most standard tier venues this simply means knowing where the nearest toilet and water are, and having a torch, first aid kit and phone charger in the grab bag.
Managing people once they are inside
Bringing people in is the start. Keeping them calm, safe and in the right place takes planning. Your procedure should cover:
- Positioning: move people away from doors and windows, and ask them to sit or crouch below window level if there is glass nearby.
- Staff positions: put a member of staff with each group so instructions are consistent and concerns are reported.
- Keeping doors shut: stop people leaving into danger, and explain why. This is where lockdown takes over.
- Additional needs: people with disabilities, children, people with medical conditions and anyone injured. Identify a first aider if you have one.
- Numbers: a rough count of how many people are in each area helps the emergency services.
- Noise and phones: if the attacker may be close, ask people to stay quiet and silence their phones, in line with RUN HIDE TELL advice.
- Information: tell people what you know, as far as it is safe. Silence and uncertainty make people more likely to leave.
ProtectUK advises organisations not to reveal incident details on social media or to the media without first agreeing this with the police. Staff should know not to post about the incident, and it is reasonable to ask the public not to share where people are sheltering.
Communication during invacuation
Invacuation depends on a quick, clear instruction that reaches people outside as well as inside. The statutory guidance suggests messages such as moving inside and staying away from windows, or moving to the back of the building to wait for further instructions. Consider:
- How staff will reach people on terraces, in smoking areas, in queues and in car parks you control.
- Separate messages for staff (what is happening, what to do) and the public (where to go, what to do now).
- ProtectUK's advice that invacuation messages should be clear to staff while considering how an attacker might interpret them if they can hear.
- Alerting neighbours, for example through a local business radio or chat group, as in the café example above.
- Who calls 999 and what they report. See the communication procedure.
Ending an invacuation
Many plans forget the end. Ending too soon can put people back in danger; ending badly can cause a crush or panic. Plan for these points:
- Wait for advice. In most cases, the emergency services will tell you when it is safe to move people, or that they should evacuate instead.
- Confirm the instruction. The decision maker confirms it, and a clear all-clear or next-step message is given to staff first, then to the public.
- Release in a controlled way. Open one exit at a time if needed, and direct people away from the incident area.
- Check welfare. Look out for people who are injured, distressed or unable to get home, and keep staff together until they have been accounted for.
- Record what happened. Note timings, decisions and lessons as soon as possible, to support any police enquiries and your own review.
The guidance shows how procedures change in real time. In one example, volunteers at a village hall first lock down after a suspected hazardous substance release, then evacuate once the emergency services advise that the release may be inside. Your staff should expect to switch procedures.
Invacuation procedure template outline
- Purpose and scope: the premises, the outside areas and queues you control, and what invacuation means for you.
- Triggers: a threat outside or nearby, an incident in another part of the building, or advice from the emergency services.
- Decision makers: who can start invacuation, and who decides when to close the doors.
- How it is raised: the message or codeword used to staff, and the instruction given to the public.
- Bringing people in: which doors, who brings people in from each outside area, and when doors are closed.
- Safer areas: a list of areas with approximate capacity, and which groups go where.
- Managing people inside: staff positions, additional needs, first aid, information and phones.
- Link to lockdown: how and when the premises are secured.
- Emergency services: who calls 999 and what to say.
- Ending the invacuation: who confirms it, how people are released, welfare and recording.
- Co-ordination: agreements with neighbours or the landlord about shared spaces.
- Review: version, date, last test and next review.
Common mistakes and next steps
- Choosing a safer area behind a glass shopfront.
- Forgetting the queue, the beer garden or the smoking area.
- Planning for half the people you actually get on a busy night.
- Having no plan for how and when to reopen the doors.
- Assuming a neighbouring premises will take your customers without agreeing it first.
Check your tier with the free checker, then walk the building with your managers to choose safer areas. Our venue guides, such as restaurants and cafés and shops and retail stores, cover common layouts. Practise the procedure with a short tabletop exercise, as described in testing and drills.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between invacuation and lockdown?
Invacuation moves people to a safer place inside the premises, including bringing them in from outside. Lockdown secures the premises to stop people entering or leaving. They are often used together: people are brought inside, then the doors are locked.
Do I need a specially built safe room?
No. The Act does not require building works or new equipment. Most venues use existing internal rooms, corridors or back of house areas that are away from windows and entrances and can hold enough people.
Should we keep the doors open for people outside?
Bring people in as quickly as possible, but plan who decides when the doors close. ProtectUK notes that keeping doors open too long may let the threat in, so the decision maker must judge this on the information available at the time.
How long might people need to stay inside?
It depends on the incident. ProtectUK guidance notes that people may need to shelter for some time, so plan for water, toilets, first aid and keeping people informed, and wait for advice from the emergency services before ending it.
Sources
General information based on the Act and published guidance, not legal advice. Check the official statutory guidance on GOV.UK for your situation.