Key threats to national infrastructure and their impact

Power outages pose one of the most immediate risks. A clear example came in August 2019, when a widespread National Grid outage left nearly one million customers in England and Wales without power. The loss of electricity disrupted rail travel, traffic signalling and communications, which in turn caused delays to prisoner escort schedules, affected police deployment, and added pressure to agencies reliant on digital and transport infrastructure. Large-scale outages like this show how a single power failure can quickly ripple across multiple justice services.

Water supply failures bring a different set of risks. Thames Water has warned that rainfall levels in parts of the UK have dropped to less than half the seasonal average, with reservoir storage running well below normal. Hotter, drier summers are becoming more frequent, raising the likelihood of drought-related restrictions. In the future, this could mean phased limits on water use, from temporary bans on non-essential activities to longer-term supply disruptions. Without water, sanitation in custody and detention areas, catering and laundry services, fire safety systems, and staff facilities all become severely compromised, making early planning essential. Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) routinely plan for these scenarios, recognising that reduced water availability can quickly affect operations and require coordinated multi-agency responses.

Telecommunications failures add another layer of risk. A loss of phone lines or internet connectivity can leave organisations without the ability to coordinate teams, manage incidents, communicate with partner agencies or support the public. When telecommunications fail, organisations can find it harder to mobilise multi-agency responses, escalate risks and provide timely information, adding pressure at exactly the point when clear communication is most needed.

Finally, cyber threats remain highly prevalent with 43% of businesses and 30% of charities reported having experienced any kind of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. For justice organisations, a single successful attack can disrupt access to case files, compromise sensitive information, hinder digital evidence management or interrupt scheduling and coordination systems. The operational and safety implications can be significant, making cyber preparedness essential.

Planning for 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week

A simple but effective way to start building preparedness is the 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week rule. This framework helps organisations explore not only the operational impact of losing critical services over different timeframes but also the workforce capacity and skills needed to respond effectively.

The principle is simple: ask what your organisation would do if a critical service, i.e. power, water, gas, communication lines or IT systems failed for one hour, one day, or one week. Each timeframe brings different challenges and thinking them through in advance helps you understand where your operations are most vulnerable.

  • One hour: Would essential services keep running if a sudden outage hit? Could frontline services continue safely while you waited for systems to come back online?
  • One day: How would you manage staff welfare, public access to services and operational coordination if key systems were unavailable for a full working day?
  • One week: What long-term alternatives would you need to keep services safe and compliant if there was no clear end to the disruption?

To turn that planning into meaningful results, our Scenario Informed Resilience Assessment takes this a step further. It’s:

  • Immersive and scenario-based, so you don’t just plan on paper, you test your response in realistic disruption scenarios.
  • Integrated with workforce planning insights, helping you understand the skills and capacity your teams would need in real crises.
  • Designed to give you practical recommendations and a readiness rating tailored to your organisation’s context, supporting your emergency preparedness response and recovery planning and overall resilience objectives.
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