Prevent
We prevent vulnerable people from being drawn into extremism
Police have a long history of working to prevent vulnerable people being drawn into criminal behaviour. The government-led, multi-agency Prevent programme aims to stop individuals becoming terrorists and police play a key role.
We work with local authority partners and community organisations to help find solutions and work to support and protect vulnerable people.
Following assessment, many referrals to Prevent do not result in any further police action. In some cases other organisations such as health, forensic mental health, housing or education step in to provide support.
All referrals to police are handled with sensitivity and in confidence. If a person is assessed as being a terrorism risk, they may be referred to Home Office’s Channel Programme and maybe given help from a mentor.
UK Policing has a proud history of community engagement, and the success of Counter Terrorism Policing – just like other areas of policing – relies on the trust, confidence and support of all communities.
Prevent: scale and outcomes
While our Pursue work focuses on managing the threat posed by the thousands of people described above, CTP also delivers policing’s contribution to the Prevent programme – the preventative arm of the Home Office-led CONTEST strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists.
CTP carries out risk and vulnerability assessment and management on behalf of the rest of the system, and works alongside other agencies – from health and education, to local authorities and others – to deliver multi-agency case management.
Every year, around 7,000 people are referred for initial assessment. Each one of these cases is assessed by specialist officers and staff, who decide whether a vulnerability to radicalisation exists, what multi-agency support – if any – an individual might require, and how best to manage any risks that are identified. More than 31,000 cases have been assessed by officers since 2019, meaning our Prevent teams play an integral role in the fight against terrorism, as well ensuring the thousands referred each year are getting any support they need.
In around 65% of those 7000 cases, it is decided that other services such as mental health, education, policing, local authorities and others are better placed to support these individuals. In these cases, officers revisit decision-making after six and 12 month periods to re-assess whether any other action is needed to be taken.
In around 500 cases every year, individuals are assessed as being at risk of being drawn into terrorism, and are offered bespoke support through the ‘Channel’ programme. This consists of a multi-agency panel of specialists from policing, health, education, local authority and other services, who identify people at risk, assess the nature and extent of that risk, and develop the most appropriate support plan for the person concerned.
Channel has supported 5,000 people to move away from terrorism since the introduction of the statutory Prevent duty in 2015.