by Ian Rutterford
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8 August 2022
IPR Managing Director, Ian, worked in partnership with Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 2016 as a Workshop Raising Awareness of Prevent (WRAP) facilitator, delivering the workshops to staff supporting vulnerable groups in Fenland. Currently as a company, IPR are exploring how we can start supporting Police Prevent teams across the country by donating our time to deliver further workshops as part of our Making a Difference Pledge. What is Prevent First introduced by the UK government in 2011, and introduced into law in 2015, the Prevent Duty is part of the governments Contest counter-terrorism strategy. Prevent aims to stop vulnerable people being drawn into terrorist activity by adopting a multi-agency approach to recognise the signs of vulnerable people becoming radicalised and putting interventions in place to stop them from going on to commit acts of terrorism. The four elements of Contest: Prevent – stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism Pursue – to stop terrorist attacks Protect – to strengthen our protection against terrorist attacks Prepare – when attacks occur, to mitigate the impact The majority of referrals into the Prevent program are investigated and closed without any need for further police action, however some may be passed on to a multi-agency panel called Channel. During a Channel meeting, cases would be discussed, and action plans put in place to support the vulnerable person. Prevent works in the non-criminal space. It is about supporting and protecting those people that might be vulnerable to radicalisation, ensuring that the interventions are put in place before any crime is committed. Who is vulnerable to radicalisation? The types of people at risk of radicalisation are broad in nature, and there is no single profile for a person that would be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. Here are a few of the vulnerability factors to consider, but this list is by no means exhaustive. Those with a strong sense of injustice Having suffered loss/grief Significant life events, loss of job, victim of attack Those with a strong desire for political or moral change Lonely people that have a desire to feel wanted and seek a sense of belonging Thrill seekers Those that feel under threat Mental health You will see by the above list that we all know someone that falls into one of those categories, but this does not mean that they are about to become terrorists, otherwise we would all be doing it. Here are a few of the signs to be aware of. Unusually depressed Withdrawn Change of appearance Shows sign of fixation on certain topics Having a new friend or group of friends Speaks in a discriminatory way about specific groups No longer able to hold conversations on broad subjects, repetitive and limited topics of conversation Unusually arrogant, acting out of character If you have a friend or family member that has shown a combination of these vulnerabilities and the signs, then it may be time to have that conversation. In the first instance it may be worth speaking to the person yourself as their friend or family member to determine if there is something they want to talk about, and if there is any support, they need from you. This conversation could be all it takes to put your fears to rest, or it may leave you feeling even more concerned about the person, if this is the case then speaking to your local Prevent team would be the best thing to do. Remember, Prevent works in the non-criminal space. It is about supporting and protecting those vulnerable to radicalisation, to ensure that they are supported, and interventions are in place before any crime has been committed. Definition of terrorism The Terrorism Act 2000 defines terrorism, both in and outside of the UK, as the use or threat of one or more of the actions listed below, and where they are designed to influence the government, or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public. The use or threat must also be for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause. The specific actions included are: serious violence against a person serious damage to property endangering a person's life (other than that of the person committing the action); creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public; and action designed to seriously interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system. The use or threat of action, as set out above, which involves the use of firearms or explosives is terrorism regardless of whether or not the action is designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public. Types of terrorism Although the ways in which terrorist attacks are delivered have changed considerably over recent years, and continue to be ever changing; more recent attacks seeing lone-wolf attackers using vehicles, or bladed weapons to unleash terror on unsuspecting city streets, the motivating factors tend to fall into one of the two following categories. Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism – hate groups that tend to be focused on racial hatred, and encourage extremist ideology International Terrorism - terrorism that goes beyond national boundaries in terms of the methods used, the people that are targeted or the places from which the terrorists operate. International terrorism, largely synonymous with Islamist terrorism with probably the most commonly known being Al Qaida. Terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, including Al Qaida, have the intention and the capability to direct attacks against the West.