Counter terrorism
Radicalisation is defined as the process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.
The aim of radicalisation is to attract people to a certain way of thinking and persuading them to take part in extreme or terrorist activity.
Prevent Strategy
The purpose of the Prevent strand is to safeguard and support people to stop them from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism of any form. Prevent aims to:
- tackle the causes of radicalisation and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism
- safeguard and support those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention, identifying them and offering support
- enable those who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate.
Prevent is a service that provides non-compulsory safeguarding support to people who have the final say in accepting support or not.
It is about safeguarding. In the same way, support is provided to those at risk of becoming involved in gangs, drugs, exploitation, or other forms of harm, individuals susceptible to being groomed into terrorism can also be offered support.
Prevent operates within a non-criminal space, intending to pre-empt criminal activity. This ensures the protection of communities and not its criminalisation.
Importantly, those who receive support from Prevent do not receive a criminal record.
Channel
Support is provided to people through Channel. It is a programme led by the local authority, that focuses on supporting people at an early stage who are identified as susceptible to being drawn into terrorism. It ensures people can receive support before they are exploited by those wanting them to embrace terrorist-related activity.
Channel is a confidential and voluntary process where multi-agency safeguarding professionals meet to discuss support options. These support options encompass an array of different interventions, addressing educational, vocational, mental health, and other vulnerabilities. Ideological support is also common, which may include discussion with credible ideological experts and faith leaders.
Referrals
You can refer someone to the Prevent team using Derbyshire Constabulary's website.
Resources
Contact details
For enquiries relating to the education sector, contact sally.siner@derby.gov.uk.
For all other enquiries, contact kyle.hudson@derby.gov.uk.