Southwark Prevent programme Alex Irvine Community Support Manager alex.irvine@southwark.gov.uk

UK counter terrorism strategy Prevent is part of “CONTEST”, the UK government’s 2011 counter-terrorism strategy, The strategy has four strands: Pursue: to stop terrorist attacks Protect: to strengthen our protection against terrorist attacks Prepare: where an attack cannot be stopped, to mitigate its impact Prevent: to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

UK counter terrorism strategy Prevent is focused on all forms of terrorism The violent extremism promoted and carried out by supporters of the so-called Islamic State poses the biggest current threat to UK security. However, the UK also faces threat of far-right extremism.

The “Prevent” duty The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 placed the Prevent programme on a statutory footing. Under the Act, ‘specified bodies’ such as local authorities, schools, further and higher education colleges, health, and the police, had a duty to: “pay due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” This is referred to as the ‘Prevent Duty’.

Southwark Prevent programme Southwark was assessed by the UK government as a priority borough for Prevent. The Home Office has allocated funding to the Council for a Prevent Coordinator and for Prevent projects. Funding will be for projects which directly target vulnerable individuals and institutions, as well as activities which tackle extremist ideology related to terrorism. Cases relating to concerns about individuals are addressed under the separate designation of Channel, a multi-agency partnership that evaluates referrals of individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism, working alongside safeguarding partnerships and crime reduction panels.

Southwark Prevent programme continued… In September 2016, the Council agreed a Prevent Action plan which included three main objectives; Objective 1: Build resilience amongst organisations and people responsible for public spaces to deny extremists fundraising opportunities as well as platforms to propagate their extremist ideologies (focused activity on ideological/fundraising events and activities, hall/ premises hire, internet cafes)

Southwark Prevent programme cont… Objective 2: Support other organisations in the borough with the “Prevent duty” (includes commissioned children, adult and healthcare services that have a safeguarding function)

Southwark Prevent programme cont… Objective 3: Identify, engage and seek active participation of key community influencers to drive the Prevent programme at a local level (delivered through a strong community cohesion focus)

Safeguarding children and adults… Risk of being drawn into extremist activity that may lead to terrorism is a safeguarding issue. Prevent is about safeguarding people to keep them safe. Prevent is not about preventing people from having political and religious views and concerns…..but about supporting them to discuss those concerns and act on them in non-extremist ways.

Safeguarding children and adults… Engaging the person at risk, and all those around them, in an open and honest way is vital to success. Only by being candid about the issues, open about how they are being tackled, and by delivering a strong and positive message, can efforts to prevent terrorism be expected to make a difference.

For discussion… What are the key challenges for implementing a Prevent strategy in the borough and how do we mitigate these? How do we strengthen and mainstream the Prevent agenda into day-to-day workings of the Council and other organisations with the Prevent Duty, including communication with vulnerable groups? How can communities in the borough play a greater role in preventing violent extremism?