The Government strategy to combat terrorism is known as CONTEST. Within this wider strategy is the Prevent agenda which has three specific strategic objectives:
- respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it
- prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support
- work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to address
The Government has defined extremism in the Prevent strategy as: “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.
Terrorist groups often draw on extremist ideology, some people who join terrorist groups have previously been members of extremist organisations and have been radicalised by them.
Prevent
Prevent work is intended to deal with all kinds of terrorist threats to the UK. The most significant of these threats is currently from terrorist groups linked to Far Right and Islamist extremists, who pose a continued threat to our safety and security. There is also concern about other extremist groups, for example, extreme left wing or environmental extremism, and extreme misogynist ideology. In 2020-21, for the third consecutive year, there were more accepted referrals to Channel for concerns related to extreme right-wing radicalisation than for Islamist radicalisation.
The Prevent programme is early intervention support provided to address the personal and social factors which make people more receptive to radicalisation, and to divert them away from being drawn into violent ideologies and criminal behaviour. It works in partnership with front-line professionals such as teachers, health workers, social workers and others, and is delivered by local authority teams, local policing teams, community organisations, and charities. It does not target any one community and is not limited to any age group. The programme provides training for educators, etc. to help them understand and implement the Prevent Duty and protect vulnerable children in their care.