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Prevention of extremism and radicalisation

Our aims are to prevent people being drawn into terrorism and to support the local communities and institutions to challenge and reject the message of extremism.

What are our current concerns?

The internet and social media have proven to be powerful tools for extremists to radicalise individuals. We, therefore have a concern that radicalisers may especially influence vulnerable people.

Without support, a person, who might have questions about their own identity and place in society, might become a target for grooming.

What are we doing to prevent extremism and radicalisation?

We are working to embed the Prevent agenda into our Council activities by supporting families, individuals, schools, colleges, fostering services and safeguarding services.

What is Prevent?

Prevent tackles terrorism by intervening early to safeguard people at risk of radicalisation and offering them appropriate interventions.

Radicalisation means someone developing extreme views or beliefs in support of terrorist groups and activities.

To spot the signs of radicalisation please visit Get help if you’re worried about someone being radicalised.

Prevent is part of the Government’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

It does not target any one community and deals with all forms of radicalisation, including extreme right-wing and Islamist.

Prevent works in partnership with services including local authorities, teachers and healthcare practitioners to protect individuals in their care.

If those referred are found to need support they are invited to participate in the multi-agency Channel programme to help guide them away from danger.

We all need to together promote strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and within neighbourhoods.

In an emergency, or where there is a risk to life, please call 999.

How to make a referral

A referral can be made by anyone concerned that they, or someone they know is susceptible to radicalisation.

Being referred is not a punishment and will not show up on any criminal record checks, it is about connecting people to the support they need to get their lives back on track.

Make a referral online

Or complete the national referral form (PDF) and email to: ctu_gateway@westmidlands.police.uk

If you would like more advice about making a referral, please contact your local community safety team, the police or designated safeguarding lead in your organisation.

What happens after a referral is made?

The West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) looks at each referral first. They check if there is an immediate security threat. They will also check if there is a genuine risk of radicalisation.

If the person isn’t at risk of radicalisation, they are not a case for Prevent. Where appropriate, the person may instead be offered other support, for example being referred to mental health services or social services.

Where the panel decides that a person is at risk of radicalisation, they’ll be invited to join a support programme called Channel. This is voluntary, so a person can choose whether to take part.

If agreed, bespoke Channel Support is implemented with six month and 12-month post-support reviews.

This could include mentoring and ideological interventions; mental health support such as counselling; education or career development support and online safety training for parents.

Training

The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 places a legal duty on specified authorities to have "due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". This includes ensuring frontline staff have a good understanding of Prevent and how to refer when concerns are raised.

The Home Office online training should be completed based on your role and training requirements.

This training service is for people working in sectors covered by the Prevent duty, such as education, health, local authorities, police, prisons, probation and youth justice. Other sectors that are not covered may also complete this training.

Information for schools

Schools also have an important role to play in early intervention and trusted resources can be found via these links:

What to do in a terror attack

While the chances of being caught up in a terrorist incident remain rare, it is important to be prepared.

Counter Terrorism Policing has released guidance that sets out three key steps for keeping safe in the event of a firearms or weapons attack.

If you are caught up in an incident the advice is to ‘Run, Hide and Tell’.

RUN to a place of safety
- this is a far better option than to surrender or negotiate
- if there’s nowhere to go, then…
HIDE It’s better to hide than to confront
- remember to turn your phone to silent and turn off vibrate
- barricade yourself in if you can
- then finally and only when it is safe to do so
TELL the police by calling 999

Watch the video

Find out more on the Counter Terrorism Policing website about how to stay safe and how both the public and industry can help report suspicious activity.

Advice for employees of the Council

Are you concerned about how someone is behaving? If you are, talk to someone such as your colleague about your worries first.

For the next steps please download our Prevention of extremism and radicalisation – Referral Process (PDF) document.

Submit a referral as outlined above.

Watch this short video that helps to explain the prevent referral process