This is reason number one why process – and not material – is the key to beating terrorism:
There is concern among ministers and police at how long officers can continue such an intensive operation to “lock down” London while a threat remains. Although reinforcements have been brought in and leave has been cancelled, resources are stretched to keep up the guard on the capital, which is costing £500,000 a day. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, admitted that his officers were “very, very tired.”
Men get tired. Processes do not tire. By developing good, solid processes designed to make terrorist attacks more unlikely (random bag checks, police presence vs. police saturation, checkpoints, ground-truth intelligence, etc.) and ultimately more planning-intensive for the perpetrators of terrorism.
It’s the old hat-trick used against drug cartels; interdiction, interference, and incarceration. It works when given a chance to do so.