How Cars Can Be Used as Weapons?

The INTERCEPT EU-funded project team has developed six common security use cases illustrating the threats posed by vehicles to public safety. This milestone contributes towards defining and procuring innovative technologies that respond to major needs in this area.

Security challenges linked to stopping vehicles

Law enforcement officers and practitioners involved in the INTERCEPT project have analysed past and potential incidents involving the hostile use of vehicles against citizens and society. Based on their experience, the following use cases have been defined:

1. Vehicle Ramming Attack in a Public Market
2. High-Speed Pursuit in Urban Surroundings
3. Large Coach with Distressed Driver
4. High-Speed Pursuit Following Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Alert
5. Organised Criminal Use of High-Powered Motorcycles and Electric Bikes
6. Hostage-Taking and Vehicle Ramming

Safely stopping vehicles represents an imminent and high-security threat to citizens and society. A major challenge lies in the early detection of potentially dangerous situations, monitoring detected events, and coordinating the response of security forces.

These common security use cases illustrate specific threats, existing processes, and technological means, aiming to highlight gaps that need to be addressed and optimise the actions and coordination of security forces. The use cases incorporate several components, including:

• Geographical coverage
• Threats related to citizens and operators
• Technologies and assets involved in detecting and neutralising the threat
• Monitoring and coordination of the response

Process of use case definition

1. Meeting in Finland (1-2 October 2024) – Identification of threats and vulnerabilities, recognition of gaps to address, and definition of the basis for elaborating security use cases
2. Meeting in Athens (28-29 November 2024) – Presentation of all use cases prepared by project Law Enforcement Agencies and the User Observatory Group
3. First round of voting to define the ten use cases that represent situations faced by LEAs in their operations
4. Workshop (23 January 2025) – Online meeting to validate the use cases and vote on six common security use cases; ranking them based on importance and national priorities

From Use Cases to Procuring Technologies

These use cases serve as the starting point for identifying technologies and technology providers capable of developing innovative solutions that address one or more of the scenarios. The six use cases will subsequently be refined into three common security use cases by the project partners and members.

The final outcome of INTERCEPT will be the identification of critical threats and the creation of an environment that enables contributors to undertake a future pre-commercial procurement (PCP) of innovative solutions. Technologies developed through the PCP process will be designed to remotely stop vehicles.

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