London and Manchester terror attacks led to surge of suspect extremists reported
TERROR attacks in London and Manchester led to a surge in the number of suspect extremists being reported to the Government’s Prevent scheme.
Audience rush out of Manchester Arena after 'explosion'
Police were alerted to 200 potential terrorists from April to July compared to 100 in the first four months of the year.
Senior officers welcomed the increase in referrals to Prevent which aims to stop people being drawn into the clutches of Islamic State and other groups.
But Simon Cole, the national policing lead for the initiative, appealed for even more support.
London and Manchester terror attacks led to surge of suspect extremists reported
We have recently seen the devastating effects of what can happen when radicalisation is allowed to fester unchecked
He urged relatives, friends and community leaders with concerns about potential extremists not to wait until after a major incident to raise the alarm.
Mr Cole said: “We have recently seen the devastating effects of what can happen when radicalisation is allowed to fester unchecked.
“On the one hand, it is encouraging that more people are contacting police with their referrals.
The surge in referrals began soon after the Westminster Bridge atrocity in London on March 22
Westminster attack mapped
“But if we are to successfully stop vulnerable people from being drawn into violent extremism, then family members, friends and community leaders must trust us sooner with their concerns.
“Not only will that possibly stop another lethal terrorist attack from taking place, it will also potentially prevent vulnerable people from being drawn into criminal activity from which there is no coming back.”
The surge in referrals began soon after the Westminster Bridge atrocity in London on March 22.
It continued following the attacks in Manchester, London Bridge and the Finsbury Park mosque, north London.
The surge stretched to the Finsbury Park mosque attack as well
Prevent has been branded “toxic” by some critics who claim it unfairly targets Muslims.
Mr Cole, the chief constable of Leicestershire Police, defended the scheme but acknowledged there are people with genuine concerns.
He said: “This notion of Prevent as a ‘toxic’ brand is simply incorrect and is borne from misunderstanding.
“What I would like to hear more of is constructive dialogue about how we can all work together to stop innocent people being killed.
“On occasions, it feels like people are sniping for the sake of it and that what they’re talking about doesn’t reflect the reality of local delivery of the voluntary safeguarding that I see going on all across the country.”
Figures show hundreds of under-18s have been flagged up to Prevent.
Mr Cole said: “What do we do with a child who’s been sat down and shown beheading videos?
“I’m aware of cases where children who are five, six, seven years old, have been sat down and shown videos of people being beheaded.”