Prevent and Counter Terrorism

What is Prevent?

The Counter Terrorism strategy involves many organisations, including the Police, emergency services, local authorities, businesses, voluntary and community organisations and other partners - working together across the UK to protect the public.

The Home Office have published a useful factsheet on Prevent which we would encourage you to read and share in your communities and networks.

Prevent is a core part of the UK Counter-Terrorism strategy.

The strategy has four elements:

• Pursue - to stop terrorist attacks
• Protect - to strengthen our protection against terrorist attack
• Prepare - where an attack cannot be stopped, to lessen its impact
• Prevent - to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism

What does this mean?

Prevent is about identifying people who may be at risk of radicalisation and supporting them to change direction in a way that will help them.

It is about working with communities to help them support vulnerable people and build resilience against groups or individuals who seek to create divisions and cause harm.

There are only a very small number of people who support terrorist activity, or are likely to. The vast majority of people, in all communities, want to see terrorism prevented, and want to play their part as good citizens in helping to make that happen.

Prevent work covers all forms of extremism and terrorism and operates in the non-criminal space.

Prevent strategy has three specific strategic objectives.

• tackle the ideological causes of terrorism
• intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation
• enable people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate

What is happening in Lincolnshire? 

Community engagement

Lincolnshire's approach to Prevent will be to help communities to identify and challenge violent extremism in an appropriate way. Community engagement will also help to identify the local, national or international issues and events that may drive people to support violent extremist causes.

Training

Prevent work includes training staff who work in communities or with individuals and families to spot people who may be at risk of supporting terrorism or extremism and refer them for support (for example to Channel). This is similar to safeguarding people who may be at risk from abuse or grooming.

Opportunities for communities to debate issues relating to extremism

Prevent work will include opportunities for people to learn about, debate and question issues that can be linked to extremism. As the UK faces a continuing threat from both international and domestic terrorism, no one is better placed than members of the public to notice extremist activity within their own community.

Running a support programme

The programme, called 'Channel' assesses people who are vulnerable to terrorism or supporting terrorism and are provided with multi-agency support. Individuals referred to this programme are not criminals, but may be at risk of committing an offence if not supported.  Participation in Channel is voluntary and requires consent to be given by the individual (or their parent/guardian in the case of a child) in advance of support measures being put in place.

For more information on the Channel process, please read the guidance on Gov.UK.

Terrorist or extremist activity can be recognised in a variety of forms and just a few of them include:

• Giving out leaflets or displaying posters that carry a violent extremist message
• Looking at violent extremist forums or websites, perhaps in internet cafes
• Extremist groups meeting in private or community centres
• Watching terrorist or violent extremist promotional videos

Report it

What should you do?

If you are concerned that someone you know is being drawn into terrorism or extremism, report it to the Lincolnshire Police Prevent team or call 101 and ask for the Prevent Team.

You can also use the Prevent referral form on the Lincolnshire Police Prevent website (in the links section).

Report online material promoting terrorism or extremism on the GOV.UK website (in the links section)

For immediate threats, such as a suspicious package or vehicle, always call 999.

Additional Information

If you suspect terrorist activity then report it in confidence to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 or go to the government webpage for recognising the terrorist threat.

For further information please visit the government's National Counter Terrorism Security Office webpages.