Prevent
What is PREVENT?
In order to mitigate against terrorism in the UK the government launched the Counter Terrorism Strategy CONTEST in 2011, and the model has since been replicated across Europe as a ‘world leading’ approach. The strategy was revised in 2018 in response to the number of attacks taking place in the UK during 2017, as well as the rise in threat from the Extreme Right Wing and reduction in travel to conflict zones.
The Government recognises that the threat of terrorism is constantly evolving, coupled with the learning from recent enquiries and the Independent Review of Prevent, which evidences that the previous strategy needs to be amended in line with current intelligence.
“To respond to the challenge of an enduring and evolving terrorist threat, our efforts will go beyond continuous improvement within each work-strand of CONTEST. We will work across the whole of CONTEST to make transformational improvements to our counter-terrorism response designed to meet the key challenges of the current and future terrorist threat and national security context:
- a domestic terrorist threat which is less predictable and harder to detect and investigate
- a persistent and evolving threat from Islamist terrorist groups overseas
- an operating environment where technology provides both opportunity and risk to our counter-terrorism efforts”
The aim of Prevent is to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Our Prevent work also extends to supporting the rehabilitation and disengagement of those already involved in terrorism.
Prevent has three main objectives:
- tackling the ideological causes of terrorism
- intervening early to support people susceptible to radicalisation
- enabling people who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate
Safeguarding Factsheet 10
A collaborative piece of work produced by Kirklees Safeguarding Adults Board (KSAB), Kirklees Safeguarding Children Partnership (KSCP) and Community Safety Partnerships (CSP).
This Safeguarding factsheet will inform you about:
- The basics
- Legislation
- The Kirklees perspective
- Channel
- More information and contact details
Prevent Duty
Section 26 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 placed a statutory duty on specified authorities to have due regards to the need to Prevent People from being drawn into terrorism.
Specified authorities outlined within this duty include Local Authorities, Police Schools, Further and Higher Education, Health, Prisons and Probation.
The Prevent duty was introduced on 1 July 2015 to ensure that authorities have a consistent approach to the delivery of Prevent across the UK and to enhance efforts to prevent terrorism by responding to the ideological challenge of terrorism and to safeguard people who may be susceptible to radicalisation to terrorism.
The Kirklees Approach to Prevent
The Kirklees Prevent Strategy tackles all forms of extremism and contributes towards the delivery of the “Building Inclusive & Resilient Communities” theme within the Kirklees Community Safety Partnership Plan. This theme requires significant collaborative working between the Community Safety Partnership and the Safeguarding Boards for Adults and Children. In common with other areas (such as Hate Crime, Inclusive Communities & Migration) within this theme, the Kirklees Prevent Strategy recognises that there is no single factor to radicalisation and that vulnerabilities in individuals, along with a lack of protective factors can make an individual vulnerable to radicalisation.
What is Channel
“Channel is a multi-agency safeguarding programme run in every local authority in England and Wales. It works to support vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism and provides a range of support such as mentoring, counselling and assistance with employment support etc. Channel is about early intervention to protect vulnerable people from being drawn into committing terrorist-related activity and addresses all types of extremism.
If an individual is referred to Channel, participation is voluntary. It is up to the person, or their parents (for children aged 17 and under), to decide whether to take up the support it offers. Channel does not lead to a criminal record.
The Kirklees Channel panel is co-chaired by Sarah Mitchell, Head of Communities, and Ian Mottershaw, Head of Contextual Safeguarding, and meetings are held every four weeks. For more information on the Kirklees Channel Panel or to discuss a concern please email Kirklees Prevent on prevent@kirklees.gov.uk.
Local resources
If you have a Prevent concern or any enquiries including training, please contact: prevent@kirklees.gov.uk.
If you would like to make a Prevent referral please complete our online form – Making a Channel referral | Kirklees Council
Further resources are available on the Kirklees Prevent website – Prevent projects and resources | Kirklees Council
National Resources
The internet and social media provides many opportunities for those with extreme views to target young or vulnerable individuals. The Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit put considerable effort into removing terrorist and extremist material however communities defeat terrorism, which is why we must maintain the strong relationship between the public and police. Police depend on information from the public in our efforts to keep us all safe and we are asking anyone who has concerns about online content to report it by clicking the STOP Terrorists’ & Extremists’ Online button.
You might also be interested in…
Upcoming Training evets
Click on the link to register and book your place
Online Courses
Channel general awareness
The National College of Policing has produced a Channel e-learning guide that provides information on how Channel links to CONTEST through the Prevent strategy, provides guidance on how to identify people who may be vulnerable to radicalisation and how to refer them into the Channel programme.
The free training module will take about 25 minutes to complete
Channel general awareness online course
The Home Office e-learning Prevent
The free training module will take about 45 minutes to complete.
The Home Office e-learning Prevent resource is aimed at individuals with responsibilities under the Prevent duty. The e-learning package is designed to help raise awareness of radicalisation and will help individuals to identify the signs that someone may be at risk of radicalisation and where to go for support.