Time in Responding to Terrorist Attacks in Cities

Terrorism is one of the most serious threats today. The perpetrators of the attacks use newer and newer tools and apply new methods of operation. Their goal is to cause fear; therefore, for the media message to be more and more attractive, the terrorists began to attack even more spectacularly. Considering the above, cities conducive to forming clusters of people are attractive places to carry out an attack. To meet the emerging challenges, cities increasingly use modern information and communication technologies, transforming into smart cities. One of the basic assumptions for this is to ensure high safety and public order. Antiterrorist protection is a particular challenge for city authorities. Considering the above, the aim of the research, the effects of which are presented in the article, was to identify and describe the basic features distinguishing selected categories of terrorist attacks carried out in cities. In the course of the research, the duration of the terrorist event was analyzed and the critical relationships between the time and the effectiveness of neutralization and rescue operations at the scene were identified. The research method used, in addition to the observation and analysis of the literature, was a descriptive case study.