A guest lecture by Professor Dr. Paul Betts, Professor of the Rabdan Academy of the UAE, was recently held at the State Tax University, which was attended by students of bachelor's and master's programs in the specialties "Law Enforcement", "Law" and "International Law". The event brought together a wide audience of applicants and teachers interested in modern approaches of different states to ensuring security and countering terrorism.

Professor Betts highlighted key aspects of the activities of the British police and the features of the legal response to terrorist threats. He gave relevant examples, in particular, the incident on a British train in November 2024, which was not qualified as a terrorist act, as well as the attack in Southport in July, which actualized the issue of terrorism and became one of the factors for updating national security policy.

In his speech, the professor focused on the UK government’s measures to combat knife crime, including the creation of coalitions to counter violence, the banning of certain types of weapons and increased security requirements in public places. He paid particular attention to the new Terrorism (Security of Premises) Act 2025, also known as the Martin Act, which introduces mandatory security standards for organizers of mass events and owners of facilities with large gatherings of people.

The professor also outlined the international dimension of the fight against terrorism. In particular, the UK government has joined global initiatives to counter the financing of terrorist organizations, in particular within the framework of the Task Force on Combating the Financing of Terrorism in Israel after the events of October 7. He also called raising public awareness through ProtectUK resources and the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) campaign an important element of the British strategy.

The event was moderated by the Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Procedure, Doctor of Law, Professor Maksym Maksimentsev, who noted the relevance of the issues discussed and thanked Professor Betts for his valuable knowledge and practical examples.