Invacuation means bringing people inside, or to a safer place within your building, when the danger is outside. It's the opposite of evacuation, and it's one of the four kinds of plan Martyn's Law asks venues to have.
The Home Office describes it as moving people away from danger "to a place within the premises" where there is less risk (standard duty factsheet). Its guidance adds that this can include bringing people in from outside, where it's safe to (statutory guidance, para 7.39). The Act itself doesn't use the word: it asks for procedures for "moving individuals to a place" on the premises where there's less risk of harm (the Act, section 5).
New to the law? Start with what Martyn's Law is.
Three plans that work together
Three of your four plans are about where people go. They sound alike, so here they are side by side:
| Plan | What it means | When you'd use it |
|---|---|---|
| Get everyone out (evacuation) | Moving people out of the building, or part of it, quickly and safely. | The danger is inside the building. |
| Bring everyone in (invacuation) | Bringing people inside, or to a safer room, away from the danger. | The danger is outside: in the street, the car park or the garden. |
| Lock down (lockdown) | Stopping people getting in or out, for example by locking doors. | You need to keep the danger out, or keep people where they are. |
The fourth plan, keep people informed (communication), runs through all three: how you tell people what's happening and what to do.
Bringing people in and locking down often happen together. You bring people inside, then close and lock the doors behind them. The difference is the focus: invacuation is about where people go, lockdown is about the doors.
When you'd use it
The Home Office's guidance says the main question is where the threat is coming from (para 7.17). If it's inside, getting people out may be best. If it's outside, bringing people in or locking down may be more suitable (para 7.18).
Leaving the building isn't always the safest choice. If there's an incident in the street, the car park or the beer garden, sending everyone out could send them towards it. Bringing them in moves them away.
The guidance also says decisions may need to change as you learn more or as the emergency services advise you, and that acting quickly is generally best (paras 7.17 and 7.18). So your plan should say who decides, and let them decide fast.
What to write in your plan
Keep it short and in words your volunteers would use. A good plan for bringing people in answers these questions:
- Who decides? The person in charge on the day, with a named back-up. Include hirers, who are often the ones in charge when the building is busy.
- How do you tell people? An agreed phrase or announcement. The guidance says to avoid the normal fire alarm where possible (para 7.36), because it sends everyone outside.
- How do you reach people outside? The garden, the car park, a queue at the door, a smoking area. Who goes to bring them in?
- Which doors do you close, and who closes them once people are inside?
- Where do people go? The guidance suggests safer areas away from windows, outside walls and entrances (para 7.40). Think of an inner room or a corridor without glass.
- Is there room for everyone? Check the space can hold the numbers on your busiest day, and have a second room if not.
- Who helps people who need it? Someone who uses a wheelchair, an older person, young children. See helping everyone out.
- Who calls 999, and who keeps people calm and up to date while you wait?
- When is it over? Only when the police or emergency services say so.
ProtectUK, the police's advice service, also suggests thinking ahead about water, toilets, seating, lighting and how you'll keep in touch, because people may need to stay put for some time (ProtectUK).
Keep the details that matter to an attacker, such as where people shelter and where keys are kept, to the people who need them. Not on a public page or a noticeboard.
You don't need to write it from scratch. Our free Martyn's Law templates include a page for bringing everyone in, with the questions to answer for your building.
A worked example
This example is made up. The gurdwara, the street and the day are fictional.
It's Vaisakhi at a made-up gurdwara in Millbrook. The prayer hall is full, the langar hall is busy, and a few hundred people are in the car park and the courtyard by the front gate. The committee's plan names the duty secretary as the person in charge, with the head of the volunteers (sevadars) as back-up.
A volunteer at the gate sees a disturbance in the street and tells the duty secretary. The duty secretary decides it's safer to bring everyone in, and says the agreed phrase over the radios the volunteers carry.
- Bring people in. Two volunteers go to the car park and the courtyard and bring people in through the side door, which is furthest from the street. Nobody goes out of the front gate.
- Close the doors. Once everyone is in, the volunteer named in the plan closes and locks the front doors. This is where bringing people in meets locking down.
- Move to the safer place. People move to the langar hall at the back, away from the street and the big front windows. The prayer hall faces the road, so the plan uses the langar hall instead.
- Help those who need it. Volunteers named in the plan help older members and anyone with young children, and stay with them.
- Call 999. The duty secretary calls the police and gives the address and what's happening.
- Keep people informed. A volunteer explains calmly, in Punjabi and English, what's happening and asks people to stay inside. They give updates every few minutes, even when there's no news.
- Wait for the all clear. Everyone stays in until the police say it's safe. Then the committee notes what happened and what it would change.
The same plan would work at a busy match day at a sports club, with the clubhouse bar as the safer room and the pitch side as the area to clear. Only the rooms and the names change.
Your other three plans
- Get everyone out (evacuation). Your fire risk assessment already covers some of this, but an attack is different from a fire.
- Lock down (lockdown): which doors lock, who has the keys, and where people keep out of sight.
- Keep people informed (communication): how you raise the alarm and keep people updated.
For the whole list of what the standard tier asks, use the Martyn's Law checklist. To see whether your venue is in scope, check your venue. Unfamiliar words are explained in the glossary.
Sources
- Standard duty requirements factsheet, Home Office
- Statutory guidance, Home Office: paras 7.17, 7.18, 7.36, 7.39 and 7.40
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, section 5, legislation.gov.uk
- ProtectUK: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and protected spaces, practical advice
General information, not legal advice.