Dear Parent/Carer,

As the summer holidays approach, there is a good chance that your child will be spending more time online during their free time. One of the risks to young people online is from those looking to radicalise and draw them into extremism.

I am therefore reaching out to parents and carers across the North East region to share information about spotting the signs of radicalisation in young people. This shouldn’t be a cause for alarm, and I want to reassure you that the risk of radicalisation is still relatively low.

However, we are seeing an increasing number of young people being drawn into various forms of extremism, so it is important we are doing everything to safeguard and protect young people from these risks.

When a young person is being drawn down a path towards radicalisation, there are often signs in their behaviour that can indicate this is happening. This could be something like becoming more secretive about who they are speaking to, or becoming less tolerant of other people’s views.

The ACT Early website - www.actearly.uk - has information and advice about the signs to look out for and how you can approach and have conversations with your children about this subject.

If you are worried about your own child, or anyone else, then there is help available through the Prevent programme. Prevent is the Government’s programme aimed at safeguarding and supporting those vulnerable to radicalisation and police work closely with other partners to help steer people away from radicalisation and extremism.

If you do have concerns – however big or small, then you can also call the ACT Early Support Line on 0800 011 3764, in confidence, to share your concerns and speak with our specially trained officers. By reaching out early for support and advice, you can help protect your child before their extreme views become more of a danger to themselves or others.

So please be vigilant, particularly over the coming weeks when schools and colleges are closed, and if you have any concerns at all, then please ACT Early and get in touch with us.

Kind regards

Matthew Davison,
Detective Superintendent, Regional Prevent Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing North East.
PO Box 9, Laburnum Road, Wakefield WF1 3QP - www.counterterrorism.police.uk/northeast

What Is Prevent?

Since 1st July 2015, all specified authorities have a responsibility to ensure that they demonstrate compliance to Prevent duty, with due regard; as outlined under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. This is a form of training that aims to ensure the safeguarding of children, adults and communities from any threat of terrorism. It is a legal requirement that applies to a wide array of public-sector organisations in England and Wales, and Scotland.

The 2011 Prevent strategy included three main objectives:

• To respond to the ideological challenges of radicalism and extremism and prevent the threat that society faces from individuals and groups who promote such ideals.
• Prevent people from being drawn to terrorism through the provision of relevant support and advice that adopts a rights-based early intervention approach.
• Work with specified authorities, including ‘sectors and institutions’ to identify radicalisation and extremism in British society.

As a result, professionals are now obligated to report any suspicious activity to a local Prevent body.

The CONTEST Strategy

Prevent is one of four elements of CONTEST, which is the government’s counter-terrorism strategy. CONTEST was first developed by the Home Office in 2003, and it has been revised several times since, with the latest revision in June 2018. The strategy is premised upon the four Ps, which include:

Promoting British Values

Prevent aims to protect and promote the fundamental British values, which include:

• Democracy
• Rule of Law
• Tolerance
• Individual Liberty