Why building a safer society requires more than intelligence, policing and the instruction to “See it. Say it. Sort it.”
There are moments when a speech should make us stop and think about our own responsibilities. In his annual speech on 13 October 2026, MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum highlighted a significant shift in the security landscape facing the United Kingdom: the domestic security service is now countering as many state threats as terrorist threats.
It is a sobering reminder that the threats facing our country are evolving. It should also prompt a wider conversation about how we prepare our society to respond. For too long, our conversations about national security have understandably focused on the work of intelligence agencies, the police and the armed forces. These organisations have a vital role to play, and their expertise and capabilities are essential. My question is: can we afford to think of national security as something that belongs exclusively to them?
I don’t believe we can.
Your country needs you. Not necessarily to become a security expert, but to become a more informed, confident and active member of society. That means looking again at what we expect from ordinary people, and what we do to prepare them for the challenges they may encounter.
From Seeing To Acting
“See it. Say it. Sort it.” is a familiar message. It encourages people to recognise something suspicious and report it. There is value in that. But awareness alone is not enough. We also know that the ‘Say it, ’the doing’ something is easier said than done. Science confirms that.
What happens when someone sees behaviour that concerns them but isn’t sure what it means?
What happens when misinformation is shared repeatedly within a community?
What happens when a person is targeted because of their background, or when somebody attempts to exploit existing divisions between groups?
and what happens when people recognise that something is wrong but remain silent because they fear getting involved, being ridiculed or making matters worse? These are not simply questions for the security services. They are questions about human behaviour.
We know that people don’t always act on what they see. Sometimes they are uncertain. Sometimes they assume somebody else will take responsibility. Sometimes they lack the confidence, skills or social permission to intervene. The gap between recognising a problem and doing something about it is where we need to focus more attention.
This is where active bystandership has an important role to play.
Understanding The Threats Around Us
The threats described by McCallum are not confined to traditional espionage or terrorism. Today’s security landscape includes hostile state activity, sabotage, cyberattacks, attempts to influence democratic processes and the exploitation of social divisions.
Some of these activities are deliberately designed to operate below the threshold at which people might recognise them as a security concern. That is why an informed and resilient society matters. We need people who can pause before sharing a sensational online story, question information that appears designed to provoke hatred, recognise attempts to manipulate them and understand when a concern should be passed to someone with the expertise to assess it.
This isn’t about creating suspicion or encouraging people to view their neighbours with distrust. Quite the opposite. It is about developing the confidence to question what we encounter while protecting the trust, relationships and shared values that make our communities strong.
A resilient society cannot easily be divided against itself.
The power of active bystandership
Active bystandership is about recognising when something needs attention and taking appropriate action rather than assuming someone else will deal with it. It is a concept often discussed in relation to bullying, harassment, discrimination and preventing violence. But its principles have a wider application. It asks us to consider three questions:
What am I seeing?
What responsibility do I have?
What can I safely and constructively do about it?
Sometimes the answer will be to challenge a harmful comment. Sometimes it will be to support a person who is being targeted. Sometimes it will mean checking a source before sharing information, or reporting a credible concern through the appropriate channels and sometimes it will mean asking for help because we are uncertain about what we have witnessed.
We should never expect members of the public to investigate suspected espionage, confront potentially dangerous individuals or decide for themselves whether someone poses a national security threat. Those responsibilities belong to trained professionals, but we can help people understand the difference between taking matters into their own hands and taking appropriate responsibility.
The aim is not to turn everyone into an intelligence officer. It is to make it easier for people to do the right thing when they encounter something concerning.
From Awareness To Action
If we want people to act, we must do more than tell them that they should.
We need to equip them. That means helping young people develop critical thinking skills, giving communities the confidence to challenge harmful narratives, supporting workplaces to encourage people to raise concerns and helping leaders create environments where speaking up is welcomed rather than punished.
It also means recognising the barriers that prevent action: fear of getting it wrong, uncertainty about what to do, concern about social consequences and the belief that somebody else will intervene. These barriers don’t disappear simply because we tell people to be responsible. A recent story in Scotland backs this up. A Story I also wrote about.
A person who dressed up in medical scrubs and carried a stethoscope was able to remain unchallenged for up to 6 weeks. He was able to access medical records. Imagine if his actions were terror related?
Barriers to action diminish when people have the knowledge, skills, confidence and support to act. This is where schools, universities, employers, community organisations, sports clubs and public services all have a part to play. Each can help develop the habits and relationships that enable people to respond constructively when something is wrong and leaders have a particular responsibility. They shape the environment in which people decide whether speaking up is safe, valued and worthwhile.
We need to build a culture in which looking out for one another is normal.
Your Country Needs You
There is something powerful about the words Your country needs you. They speak to collective responsibility, shared purpose and the contribution each of us can make. That contribution cannot be built on fear alone. Nor should it depend on expecting people to act courageously without preparing them for the challenge.
We need to invest in the everyday behaviours that make a society more resilient: curiosity, critical thinking, compassion, constructive challenge and the willingness to act when it matters.
National security is rightly the responsibility of our intelligence services, police, armed forces and government, but the resilience of our society is something we all help to create. We cannot eliminate every threat. We can, however, build communities that are better prepared to recognise concerns, resist manipulation, support those at risk and share information responsibly.
“See it. Say it. Sort it” remains a useful starting point. Now we need to go further.
From awareness to action.
From individual responsibility to collective capability.
From telling people to speak up to creating the conditions that help them do so.
Your country needs you, but it needs us to be ready.
