prevent partner newsletter - rbsab...prevent winter 2017-18 if you have any comments or feedback...
TRANSCRIPT
Prevent
Winter 2017-18
If you have any comments or feedback about this newsletter, please contact
Partner newsletter
In September we distributed the first police internal
newsletter and received really positive feedback from
our colleagues, but also external partners.
So, in response we’ve created a specific partner
newsletter with relevant content and news.
We hope you find it useful and a good read!
Prevention is better than cure!
In my experience, every discussion about
safeguarding has some common themes. One of those
themes is passion; we and our communities and partners
care about what we do, because we see harm and hurt all
the time and want to do all that we can to reduce that harm
and hurt. Another theme is accountability; it's crucial that we
are as transparent as we can be, even if that can feel tough
at times. The biggest, perhaps most omnipresent theme, is
prevention; how can we get upstream of problems and stop
things from happening?
I often quote Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He said (well
Wikipedia says that he said!) 'There comes a point where
we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need
to go upstream and find out why they're falling in.'
I believe passionately that he was right, and that for Prevent
that time is very much now. The good news is that many
other people are engaged in that finding out. Community
groups, local mentors, social workers, housing officers,
teachers, university staff and local councils are all heading
upstream together. We have also seen recent government
data being released that helps us to explain what we are all
finding upstream; people who are often vulnerable,
sometimes mentally ill, sometimes disadvantaged, and who
need help and support children who have been shown
beheading videos, young adults exposed to a pernicious
extreme right wing narrative, adults motivated by a
misguided sense of injustice.
This is not an easy journey.
The risks are as high as they can be, as the attacks this year
have shown. The scrutiny is, rightly, intense. However, the
alternative route, one where we sit just waiting by the river
to arrest those who have fallen in, cannot be the right one.
In three decades of policing I have yet to find any issue that
you can simply arrest your way out of: arrest will be a
necessary part of the approach, but diversion and
safeguarding have to have a role too.
So, as a challenging year draws towards its end we can
reflect on the fact that through our work we have stopped
some people from falling into that river. We have stopped
them travelling, prevented them from harming themselves
or others, helped them to make better choices for
themselves. As NPCC Prevent lead I am immensely
grateful to you all for the enormous efforts that have been
made this year. You have all made a positive difference,
and been prepared to work where it is very complex, and
the risks are significant. Thank you! I shall see you all further
upstream in 2018.
Chief Constable Simon Cole QPM Leicestershire Police and NPCC Prevent lead
“
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Prevent figures For the first time, data has been published by the Home
Office. The figures are from 2015/16 with a view to more
up to date numbers being published early next year.
The Security Minister, Ben Wallace said “The Government
has been determined to bring greater transparency to the
programme and by publishing these figures we can help
inform the debate around the policy. There is still a way to
go to improve the approach and awareness of how to better
safeguard our children and vulnerable adults, but the policy
is going in the right direction.”
The figures revealed that Prevent has diverted hundreds of
people away from violent extremism, yet the number of
Prevent referrals is very small compared to other forms of
safeguarding. In 7,631 individuals were referred to Prevent
whereas 621,470 children were referred to social services
in the same period. Of those, 35.3% resulted in no further
action before or after assessment; similarly 36% of Prevent
referrals required no further action.
Full details of the data can be found at the Home Office.
SAFE project: 0800 917 5541
Faith Matters are a trusted police partner in trying to
raise awareness and increase reporting of hate crime.
Now they are also working with Prevent.
The SAFE project aims to prevent
extremism and safeguard vulnerable
individuals. Michael Evans, brother of
Thomas Evans who was killed in
Somalia fighting for Al-Shabaab, is a
fundamental part of the project.
They have created a helpline 0800 917 5541 for people get
advice regarding extremism, particularly those who may be
reluctant to report to the police or authorities.
Faith Matters are working on future projects including
internet safety advice; a long term support network for
families who have lost loved ones to extremism; and a
young leadership programme to equip young people to be
more resilient to extremism dangers. More information can be found at www.safetogether.org
**** Some may remember that Active Change Foundation
listed a helpline in 2015, this number has ceased and it’s
important that it is removed from police and partner
websites and literature (020 8539 2770) ****
Let’s Talk About It CTPHQ is adopting LTAI as its national asset and will
no longer be using Prevent Tragedies. As such, this
website will be closed and redirected to a new CTP site.
LTAI was originally created by Bedfordshire Police and has
been given a new look and re-launched in November. LTAI
has a new combination of animations and films and an
added news section which will allow for the site to be more
regularly updated with relevant and evolving topics.
The aim of the site is to give people a clear understanding
of both Prevent and Channel, while providing signposting
support for people who are concerned that someone they
know may be vulnerable to radicalisation.
LTAI is perfect to signpost people to for useful information
around how to spot the signs that someone may be being
radicalised, providing tips for parents and professionals.
The website and Twitter platforms continue as usual, but
there are also new platforms on Facebook, YouTube and
school resources on the TES website.
ACT for Youth: RUN HIDE TELL Protect and Prepare CTPHQ have collaborated with
specialists from the PSHE Association and Girl Guides
to take terrorism safety advice into classrooms and
youth organisations for the first time.
The lessons include an animated film designed to teach
young people how to react if caught up in a gun or knife
terror attack. Aimed at 11-16 year olds, it also shows them
what to do if they see suspicious behaviour or an item.
Lessons can be downloaded from the NPCC website
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Cross the Line app ECTIU has created an interactive app called Cross the
Line as part of the national Prevent initiative.
The app's purpose
is to highlight how
easily anyone can
be influenced by
radical behaviour
and to educate
young people about
the consequences
of being drawn into
extremist ideology.
Since its launch in
July the app has
been accessed by over 26,000 young people. Cambridge
University has utilised the app as part of their awareness
work with students and Probation Services are keen to
implement it into their long term strategy.
Finally, the app was nominated for Partnership Marketing
Campaign of the Year at the Drum Network Awards.
Unfortunately they were pipped to the post by Virgin Media,
but nonetheless a fantastic achievement. Well done!
For more information go to www.crosstheline.co.uk
WRAP training for lecturers NHS England Prevent’ Coordinator for the Midlands,
Andy Smith, has been working with the University of
Wolverhampton’s nurse lecturers.
A unique collaboration with NHSE, university staff and
CTPHQ has resulted in 15 trained lecturers to be able to
deliver WRAP to their 500 student nurses. CTPHQ provided
a deeper insight to the current threats and Prevent from a
police perspective. The sessions were well attended and
positively received. Student nurses will have the first
sessions delivered in the new year and a long term strategy
in place for the new academic year.
Andy Smith said “The university have been really supportive
and receptive since day one. This partnership demonstrates
how important Prevent is to safeguarding and what can be
achieved when we come together. It has been an exciting
project to be part of, and in 2018 we want to get more HE/FE
course providers taking part”.
CTLP workshop A joint national workshop was held by CTPHQ and
OSCT in October at New Scotland Yard, London.
Over sixty people attended, many of which partners, in
order to review and improve the process of Counter
Terrorism Local Profiles (CTLPs). CTLPs have been
produced since 2009 to enable local partners to carry out
Prevent activity from an informed position, and are a key
part of local information sharing regarding terrorism risk.
Over time the network has grown and combined with a
rapidly evolving threat, information needs to be shared more
dynamically than is possible using CTLPs alone. As such,
OSCT are building a new process with a revised minimum
standard and supporting joint guidance.
RICU research Graham Dixon, Head of Research Analysis at RICU is
running a qualitative research programme with the UK
Kurdish diaspora in order to understand the perception
of organised immigration crime within the community.
He is looking for individuals working in the police and local
authorities who have an understanding or work with the
community and would be will to take part in this research.
For more information please contact:
NHS Prevent conference The third annual NHS North Prevent conference took
place in December with over 140 health representatives
attending from across the NE and NW.
This event has gained popularity since its inception
providing the opportunity for partners to network and share
good practice across the sector. This year was
exceptionally well attended and included inputs around
CTLP's, Mental Health and anticipated future of Prevent as
it moves forward in light of recent events. A speech from
security minister Ben Wallace recognised the importance of
the Prevent strand and sectors working together in
partnership to defeat all forms of terrorism and extremism.
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Regional police news
Here is a selection of the great work being achieved
across the country by Prevent police teams.
Counter Terrorism Policing HQ
T/Chief Inspector Chris Jones recently presented to the
Pakistan Punjab region senior CT police delegation and the
CTPLO for Pakistan. The aim was to better understand
Prevent within the UK and learn how aspects could be
adopted in the Punjab region, which in recent years has
suffered a number of major terrorist incidents. Closer
working with the FCO and CTPLOs is planned for 2018 to
disseminate UK Prevent practices internationally.
West Midlands
PC Ian Powell from Coventry
Prevent team has worked
hard to build strong links with
Coventry City FC and the
LA co-ordinator. This working partnership has delivered
sessions to young people at community football sessions;
trained coaches and staff working at the club; and created
a direct referral process for the club to report concerns. This
engagement work led to the referrals of young people
through the Channel Programme attending Kicks sessions,
and thanks to staff at Coventry City FC, they have
subsequently received intervention support they needed.
The club have also reciprocated by accepting young people
onto their programmes, including a young man who fell out
with his mentor attended Kicks and is now a club
ambassador and a role model to other young people.
This partnership, and some similar great work by PC Charlie
White with Leicester City FC has initiated a new project with
the Premier League. The aim is to link local Prevent teams
and local policing with the 68 football clubs across the UK.
East
The Prevent team have worked with filmmaking students at
Luton Sixth Form College. They commissioned them to
create a film to raise awareness and understanding of
Prevent. The content reflects the students’ own experiences
and highlighted some of the challenges faced by authorities
in terms of Prevents perception and image. The film is on
YouTube and is a valuable engagement resource.
****
In November Suffolk Prevent and Lowestoft Sixth Form
College held a conference called ‘Bridge the Gap between
Knowledge and Fear’. Approximately 300 students
attended and listened to key speakers about terrorism and
community cohesion with several breakout sessions and
stands. It was a fantastic engagement opportunity and we
were able to dispel some of the myths and negative press
regarding Prevent with the students.
South West
Prevent Officer DC Julie Barnes has worked with a Bristol
college and a film company to create an excellent new
resource for schools called Fat Face aimed at Year 6+. The
story is of a young man who becomes radicalised by an
extreme right-wing group.
The funding was
provided equally
by SWCTIU and
Bristol’s Prevent
board, ‘Building
the Bridge’ and
consultation with
local education
professionals.
The lesson resources are now on the TES and Educate
Against Hate websites and can be downloaded from here.
North East
An initiative between led by DI Daniel Yates has seen the
Prevent team deliver to Army Commanders at Catterick.
The aim of this is to highlight the importance of Prevent and
CT awareness to commanders with the objective to get their
support for staff to attend a wider training event in February.
The RAF have also shown an interest in the event and
building closer relations.
Also, NECTU are sharing relevant CTLPs with Military
intelligence to ensure they can assess their threat and risk
against their establishments.
****
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NECTU and Bradford Children’s Social Care brought
together partners to discuss the potential issue of families
returning to the UK from conflict zones, such as Syria.
Attendees were given a current intelligence picture in Syria;
an understanding of the support plans for Bradford based
families who are believed to have travelled to conflict zones;
and an opportunity to discuss Home Office guidance to
assist safeguarding partnerships support children and
adults who return. The meeting raised some interesting
learning points and helped build stronger partnership
networks to support as families return to the area.
North West
This year we held the second Prevent Cup, an inter faith
tournament at the Fire Fit Hub in Toxteth. Teams from
different religious backgrounds entered including Quilliam
Mosque, Lawrence Road, St Nicks, Asylum Link, Fire Fit
and our very own police Prevent team. Unfortunately the
Prevent team didn’t win a game and Fire Fit romped to
victory. It was a great day and there was a real sense of
community spirit and helped build valuable relationships.
****
Merseyside’s Prevent Team held a Webinar with a local
college. People from across the globe interacted and asked
questions, giving the team the opportunity to bust myths
about Prevent and Channel. Feedback has been excellent
and more webinars are being considered in the future!
East Midlands
Leicester Prevent held an awareness day in December
attended by around 50 Prevent Champions of non-CT
officers and staff. Guest speakers included an Extreme
Right Wing intervention provider, NCTPHQ and DI Gareth
Witcombe from Pursue. Attendees also completed an
interactive exercise using a recent case study.
Leicester Prevent are holding awareness days every six
months and producing a monthly newsletter for Prevent
SPOCs. So far feedback has been very positive and more
people are requesting to participate. As a result, referrals
from non-CT officers and staff have increased.
****
CTPHQ representatives attended a multi-agency training
day for statutory partners in the East Midlands. Attendees
included practitioners from NHS, education, housing,
prisons, youth offending, police, social care adults and
children's services and other voluntary sector groups. The
event hosted by Leicester police Prevent team, was
designed to run through a Prevent scenario using hydra
type feeds. The purpose of this day was for professionals
not only to network but to make decisions on when to act
following information received around a vulnerable family.
The program included guest speakers from CT who
dispelled myths around what they do. A school assistant
head attended and said "This is a good opportunity to
understand Prevent better and to network with those you
may only ever speak to on a phone".
The L&D team will be consulting with the East Midlands
team to look at the program being rolled out on a similar
basis to other parts of the country.
London
PC Bridget Ford from the MPS Community Engagement
team organised a safeguarding seminar for women at New
Scotland Yard, London. Attendees from 14 different London
boroughs, represented communities from Latin America,
Somalian, Tamil, Bangladeshi, Christian and Yemeni.
There were a variety of guest speakers discussing key
issues including hate crime, mental health, FGM, Domestic
Abuse, Forced Marriage and Radicalisation. The event was
well received with many requests for further information and
future events “great event, lots of information on all of the
topics discussed” and “we should have this kind of seminar
on each borough”.
Every attendee said they would share what they had learnt
with their communities and felt more confident in reporting
to police.
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Spotlight on…
Extreme Right Wing The 16th December marks the first anniversary of the
proscription of National Action. CTPHQ are currently
producing a range of materials to help non-CT staff
better understand the threat and for Prevent officers to
be able to discuss in their communities.
PC Will Aherne, an expert in Extreme Right Wing, works
in the CTP National Operations Centre (CTPNOC)
discusses his work within Domestic Extremism Unit
and details a case study involving Blood and Honour.
A day in the life of a CTPNOC intelligence officer is
far from dull, usually starting at 7am to keep abreast of
overnight news and developments and how it affects our
area of business. Each desk officer has their own
specialism across Domestic Extremism thematics, including
the extreme and far right, extreme left wing, environmental
and animal rights extremism, and potential lone actors. We
also have a team who coordinate intelligence investigations
to ensure uniformity across the UK. It’s not unusual for a
news article from the other side of the world to impact on
our business and to cause a flurry of excitement and
activity.
Our day can vary hugely from gatekeeping intelligence as it
arrives into our unit; meeting with partners – including
Prevent; to attending meetings with anyone from frontline
Police teams to the Home Office; or delivering presentations
to Police and partners covering areas that concern them.
My role is as a Desk Officer on
the Extreme Right Wing, and
2017 has proved to be a
challenging year. The year
started with the XRW group
National Action having been
proscribed in December 2016
by the Home Secretary as a
terrorist organisation, the first
right wing group to be
proscribed since the British Union of Fascists in 1940. As
the British Union of Fascists didn’t cause anyone any issues
in over 70 years this has been unchartered waters for all in
the unit, and has relied on the professional judgment of the
Desk Officer to assess what the group would go on to do.
While we were waiting to see what the group would do next,
a simple piece of information took us all in a different
direction with the realisation that the group had links with
the UK military. Some fantastic work by the unit working in
partnership with the military and the West Midlands Counter
Terrorism Unit led to two soldiers being charged with
membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation who will
appear in Court in January 2018. This demonstrates how
important it is to share information, and to never be
complacent and think to yourself that what you’ve just done
isn’t important to someone somewhere.
As you will see from the case study on the next page,
working in partnership is key to our unit. As Desk Officers
we are in a privileged position to have an in-depth
knowledge of our thematic areas, however we cannot do
our role without the support of those on the front line, so it
is key that we share what we know to empower others to do
their jobs, and those who are most likely to encounter an
extremist.
More recently we have launched a project to look at how we
work with Prevent, and how we can improve our
relationship. The most recent figures suggest that 10% of
all Prevent referrals are from Domestic Extremism – the
vast majority being related to right wing extremism, and
some 25% of all Channel cases being right wing extremist
related.
From our perspective we want to be able to assist as much
as we can, whether it is in helping to identify those who
should be referred, or in ensuring that national processes
are followed which can help with the management of threat
and risk. I am in the process of reviewing ‘Extreme Right
Wing Signs and Symbols’ a visual aid for the insignia used
by ERW, helping put practitioners in a position of
knowledge when working with referrals. My colleague is
leading on a project so that we can better understand what
our footprint within Prevent looks like, and is already
working with the CTP Prevent team to assist with the risk
management process.
I hope you have a better understanding of the unit and if
you have suggestions of how we could help you or what
you need from us, then please get in touch!
“
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Spotlight on…
Blood and Honour are an International neo-Nazi music
network, founded and run from the UK, involved in the
organisation of XRW music events and the sale and
distribution of XRW material including CDs, publications
and clothing.
To mark the death of their founder Ian Stuart Donaldson in
1993, an annual concert is held. These regularly attract
1000 people, with nearly half the attendees coming from
overseas. The concerts significantly raise community
tensions in the area, and have on occasion seen scenes of
anti-social behaviour, disorder and riots. In recent years
disorder has largely been avoided by Blood and Honour by
advertising the concerts only to those in the know, and not
revealing concert venues until the last moment.
CTPNOC reviewed what lawful challenges could be made
to disrupt the concerts to reduce community tensions, and
safeguard the public from extremism. Two avenues were
key; the licensing of these concerts; and the extremists
attending from abroad.
The majority of concerts are inside licensed premises; pubs,
clubs or snooker halls. The owners are either oblivious to
who they are letting premises to, or they are themselves
supportive of the ideology. However the difficulty with the
annual memorial concert is it’s held in a field. This type of
location requires a temporary licence and by working in
partnership with the local licensing team it became apparent
that the concerts were breaching terms and conditions of
the licence and had been deceived on previous
applications. By sharing information and working together,
the organiser of the 2017 concert saw three licence
applications refused. Consequently, this forced the concert
into an indoor venue, significantly reducing the attendance
to and the profit. Around 400 people attended, a significant
reduction on the average 1000, and way below the 6000 in
Germany a month earlier.
Our research showed that a number of attendees from
abroad held significant criminal records for violence or
weapons offences, or were linked to various groups who
held a violent ideology. In 2016 the law changed giving
Border Force increased powers to refuse entry to the UK for
a number of reasons, including involvement in terrorism or
extremism, or if a risk to public order or social harms
existed.
Knowing a concert was planned in January 2017 in the
West Midlands, we assessed that Birmingham Airport
would see a movement of right wing extremists attempting
to enter the country. We worked with the Ports Team and
Border Force to raise the issue and ensure appropriate
training was delivered to staff so that they could identify
common signs and symbols that might be seen in tattoos or
worn on clothing.
The day before the concert we had intelligence desk officers
waiting to assist all ports if they encountered extremists.
Birmingham Airport deployed officers from the Ports team
and Border Force together to identify potential extremists. A
flight from Germany arrived with a group of nine men were
seen to come off the plane together and then try to pretend
that they didn’t know each other. At passport control,
officers spotted many attempting to conceal tattoos which
they recognised from the training. The group were stopped
and were found to be in possession of t-shirts bearing
extremist slogans - ‘Hitler was Right’ and celebrating the
Nazi invasion of Europe. Enquiries with our office showed
that the majority of the group were believed to have
previously attended extremist concerts in the UK. Border
Force decided to refuse entry and they were returned to
Germany. Whilst in a waiting room for their return flight, they
drew swastikas throughout a Koran they had found in the
room, and thrown a prayer mat in the bin, proving to us that
working together to help Border Force refuse them entry
was the right decision.
This work has carried on throughout the year with 39 people
refused entry by Border Force to this year’s annual
memorial concert. To date 2017 has seen 70 people
refused entry to the UK who had links to extremism, not only
to extremist concerts, but also extremist speakers who were
intent on stirring up hatred and fomenting community
tensions.
Did you know… The number 28 stands for the name
"Blood & Honour" because B is the 2nd letter of the
alphabet and H is the 8th letter.