With the recent capture of the final 2 Jihadists known as the “Beatles” the radicalisation agenda rears its head again asking the question – Did we do enough to prevent these British lads from being radicalised? Maybe a good time to refresh our knowledge?
“’Prevent’ is the government strategy aimed at stopping people being drawn into terrorism.”
As trainers we are tasked with introducing PREVENT to all students so let’s remind ourselves what is it? It has 2 key elements, to Prevent Extremism and to Uphold British Values:
What is extremism?
- Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values.
- Also included in the definition of extremism is calls for the death of members of our armed forces, whether in this country or overseas.
What are British values?
- Democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs.
- Mutual respect and tolerance includes encouraging students to respect other people with particular regard to the nine protected characteristics of the Equality Act [2010]
Some facts for discussion:
- About 7,500 referrals were made to the scheme in 2015-16
- Out of those referrals, action was taken in one in every 10 cases.
- The annual Prevent budget is not officially published – but it is thought to be around £40m a yearTo further aid discussion.
In the news recently:
Reality Check: What is the Prevent strategy?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40151991
Some argue the strategy is counterproductive and it can make Islamic students, for example, feel isolated and possibly more open to radicalisation.
Government headlines – 150 people, including 50 children, were stopped from entering conflict zones in Iraq and Syria in 2015 because of the strategy.
‘The Beatles’ are dead or captured.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/09/beatles-captured-britain-isis-fighters-jihadists
But how to deal with Britain’s Isis fighters?
Department of Education’s drive for Safer Campuses
http://www.safecampuscommunities.ac.uk/the-prevent-agenda
Prevent is one of four work strands which make up the government‘s counter-terrorism strategy
There are always 2 sides to any story and this subject maybe one of the strategies that can only be measured by a reduction in “bad news” stories?