The number of suspected extremists being reported by the public to the Government’s counter terrorism strategy has doubled in the wake of the London and Manchester attacks.
Police received around 200 referrals to the Prevent de-radicalisation programme from communities from April to the end of July, compared with around 100 recorded in the previous four months.
But the national policing lead for the intervention strategy, which aims to turn potential extremists away from terror, said yesterday he could not recall a single tip-off from any social media company, despite police constantly asking for extremist material to be removed from sites like YouTube.
Emergency services at Manchester Arena after the explosion at the venue during an Ariana Grande gig in May
Simon Cole, Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police who is the National Police Chiefs Council lead for the initiative, said there were a total of 6,300 referrals to Prevent in 2016-17, but fewer than one in 10 came from the public.
The majority of tip-offs came from statutory agencies, such as teachers, health and social workers, police and the security services
But the chief said he didn’t know if any internet company had ever proactively contacted Prevent, which aims to support those at risk of joining extremist groups.
The Home Secretary Amber Rudd has previously accused tech firms of giving terrorist groups a ‘safe space’ to radicalise the vulnerable and marginalised online with their poisonous ideology.
Simon Cole, Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police who is the National Police Chiefs Council lead for the initiative, said there were a total of 6,300 referrals to Prevent in 2016-17
Yesterday Simon Cole called on social media giants to do more to tackle extremist material.
Since 2010, 270,000 pieces of illegal terrorist material have been removed by social media providers following referrals from the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit.
Mr Cole also revealed yesterday that the Government is considering making elements of the voluntary Prevent programme compulsory.
The discussions between police and ministers around forcing some of Britain’s most extreme radicals to engage or face criminal sanction is likely to prove controversial as critics believe the Prevent scheme is already ‘toxic’ in some communities.
Prevent has been credited with playing a role in disrupting more than 150 attempted journeys to the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
But there have been calls for the strategy to be scrapped, amid accusations that it spies on the Muslim community.
The Green Party’s co-leader Caroline Lucas has previously said ‘the Muslim community believe it’s been an attack on their group in particular’.
But Mr Cole 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.
People receiving medical attention in Thrale Street near London Bridge following the terrorist attack in June
‘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.’
The majority of tip-offs to the counter terrorism strategy concern Islamist extremism, with 60 per cent of referrals relating to Muslims and 15 per cent to extreme right wing activists.
The rise in tip-offs coincides with the spate of terrorist incidents that began with the Westminster atrocity on March 22, followed by attacks in Manchester, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.
Prevent teams are receiving calls from other agencies and members of the public at a rate of around 20 a day.
A view of the van used in the attack on pedestrians in Finsbury Park area of north London
Mr Cole said teams were offering support to children as young as five who may have been forced to watch beheading videos.
‘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,’ Mr Cole said.
He added: ‘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.
‘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, but it will also potentially prevent vulnerable people from being drawn into criminal activity from which there is no coming back.’