Preventing radicalisation

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Keeping our communities safe

Peterborough is a safe city, and the risk of a terrorist incident is low. Most people, in all our communities, need no convincing that terrorism is wrong and want to see it prevented. However, we have a duty as a local authority to safeguard and protect children, young people and vulnerable adults in our city from being drawn into terrorism, extremism and radicalisation.

Prevent

Prevent is about us all keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe and making sure they do not get influenced or led into doing something criminal. The aim is to raise awareness of the signs of radicalisation, explain what we can do to help protect vulnerable members of our community and prevent them from being drawn into extremism.

Although Prevent is a national programme it is run locally by experts who understand the risks and issues in our area, and how best to support our communities. We work with police, parish councils, charities and community organisations to disrupt radicalising influences and prevent vulnerable individuals being drawn into terrorism.

This partnership working helps to ensure that vulnerable children and adults of any faith, ethnicity or background receive support before they are exploited by those that want them to embrace terrorism or they become involved in terrorist activity.

Channel

Individuals will be offered targeted and appropriate voluntary support. Taking part in Channel does not go on someone’s criminal record. It means getting the right kind of help for the person who needs support.

Some of the help offered Channel includes:

Mentoring and ideological interventions
Mental health support such as counselling
Education or career development support
Online safety training for parents

Channel is a multi-agency process, involving partners from the local authority, the police, education, health providers and others. Channel has been operating successfully in Peterborough for several years.

In an emergency, if you think there is an immediate danger to life, and you need immediate support, call 999 now. If you suspect that someone is involved in terrorism or becoming radicalised in any way you should inform the police. More information is available on the Cambs Police website.

Terrorism has a devastating impact on victims, their families and communities. Many lives have been lost to terrorist attacks in the UK, and even more people have been injured. People can commit a terrorist offence even if they have not carried out a terrorist attack. Downloading terrorist materials from the internet or joining a terrorist group could be a terrorist offence.

By getting advice or support from Prevent, you can help to stop the person you are worried about becoming a danger to themself or others.

The Prevent strategy has three main objectives:

Ideology - to respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it.
Individuals - to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support.
Institutions - to work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address.

Find out more about the Prevent Programme (gov.uk).

Terrorism is the use or threat of action, both in and outside of the UK, designed to influence any government organisation or to intimidate the public. To be considered as terrorism these acts must be for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. Examples include: serious violence against a person or damage to property; endangering lives; or creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public.

Extremism is the ‘vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, tolerance and individual liberty’ and respect and tolerance for different beliefs and faiths. This includes calls for the deaths of a member of the armed forces, both in the UK and overseas.

Radicalisation is the process of making someone sympathise with and support terrorist or extremist views. There is no obvious profile of a person that is at risk of radicalisation, and the process itself can be different for each individual. For some radicalisation can be a short process whereas, for others, it can occur gradually over a period of year.

Violent extremist groups can become attractive to individuals that are vulnerable or lonely. They can be drawn to these groups by being made to feel like they have found a place they belong with a sense of adventure, where they feel empowered. For some, it can even feel like they have found a new family to share their lives with.

The following factors have been identified as increasing an individual’s risk of radicalisation:

Struggling with their sense of identity
Questioning their place in society
Family issues
Experiencing a traumatic event
Experiencing discrimination
Difficulty in interacting socially and lacking empathy
Difficulty in understanding the consequences of their actions
Low self-esteem

Radicalisation can happen both in person or online. Everyone is different, and there is no checklist that can tell us if someone is being radicalised or becoming involved in terrorism.

Here are a few signs which may mean someone is being radicalised:

Ignoring or demonising viewpoints that contradict their own
Expressing themselves in an ‘us’ vs ‘them’ manner
Justifying the use of violence or expressing a desire for revenge
Increasingly secretive about how they are talking to
Changing their circle of friends
Losing interest in activities they once enjoyed
Becoming socially withdrawn or spending a lot of time online
Belief in conspiracy theories and distrust of mainstream media

What to do if you are worried about someone

If it’s somebody that you know well, try talking to them about what you’ve noticed if you feel comfortable doing so.

for talking to friends and family on the ACT Early website
for those working in schools on the Educate Against Hate website

Be aware that your concern might not be welcome at first, and the person may get angry or defensive. You could try talking to other family and friends to see if they have noticed anything similar before getting expert advice.

If you are worried about someone you can call the ACT Early Support Line on
0800 011 3764. The Support Line is open 9am to 5pm every day. You can share your concerns with the specially trained officers in confidence.

Government Prevent programme poster image

See it and say it

Everyone has a role in Prevent and tackling radicalisation. If you observe individuals displaying signs of radicalisation it is really important you act early and report any concerns in confidence. You won’t be wasting time and you won’t ruin lives, but your reporting might help to save them.

Concerns about adults

You can pass on concerns by phoning 101 or use the online referral form on the Cambs Police website.

You can also report a concern anonymously via Crimestoppers or call 0800 555 111.

Concerns about children (under 18)

If you have a concern that a child or young person is at risk of becoming involved in extremist activity, you can contact Children’s Services by calling 0345 045 5203.

You could also speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead at the child’s school or college who can make a Prevent referral for you.

Case studies

Peterborough Police Boxing Club and eastern region’s Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) unit regularly held evenings of amateur boxing at Queen Katharine Academy, alongside ACT and England Boxing to ‘knock out extremism’

The campaign provides training for boxing coaches on how to spot the early signs of radicalisation, as well as providing a diversion for people who may be at risk of being drawn into extremism.

Peterborough police officers receive commendation for ‘Knock Out Extremism’ campaign (Peterborough Today).

Mohammed Tahir, 20, of Peterborough; Muhammed Saeed, 23, of Manchester; and Mohamed Ismail, 24 of north London, were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday, 20 May, 2022.

Between August and December 2019, the three men spoke to each other on internet chat groups, and sent messages which showed their Islamic extremist mindsets. They posted extremist material - Daesh propaganda material, including execution videos and publications showing different ways to commit terror attacks.

Peterborough man jailed after admitting terrorism offence (Peterborough Today)