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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/prevent-parsons-green-bomber-counter-terrorism
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| Prevent let the Parsons Green bomber through the net. That can’t happen again | Prevent let the Parsons Green bomber through the net. That can’t happen again |
| (6 months later) | |
| Ahmed Hassan’s murderous intent on a tube train at Parsons Green was thwarted by good luck, rather than the elegant architecture of Britain’s counter-terrorism strategy. This ought to be a cause for serious concern. The Iraqi teenager was very well known to authorities at the time of his terrorist attack last September. During the trial it emerged that he was being managed by the Prevent strand of our national strategy Contest. | Ahmed Hassan’s murderous intent on a tube train at Parsons Green was thwarted by good luck, rather than the elegant architecture of Britain’s counter-terrorism strategy. This ought to be a cause for serious concern. The Iraqi teenager was very well known to authorities at the time of his terrorist attack last September. During the trial it emerged that he was being managed by the Prevent strand of our national strategy Contest. |
| Prevent is a paradox. It is the most publicised yet least understood weapon in our counter-extremism tool box. A combination of inexplicable paralysis by government and relentless opposition by a small number of ideologically motivated pressure groups such as Cage has distorted both its objectives and its operation. | Prevent is a paradox. It is the most publicised yet least understood weapon in our counter-extremism tool box. A combination of inexplicable paralysis by government and relentless opposition by a small number of ideologically motivated pressure groups such as Cage has distorted both its objectives and its operation. |
| I was responsible for oversight of the first iteration of the Prevent strand in south-west England in 2010 as the senior Home Office official there. It was conceived as being a means of detecting and then dealing with people who were judged as at risk of being drawn into violent extremism. | I was responsible for oversight of the first iteration of the Prevent strand in south-west England in 2010 as the senior Home Office official there. It was conceived as being a means of detecting and then dealing with people who were judged as at risk of being drawn into violent extremism. |
| Professionals across the public sector were encouraged – and are now required by law – to register concerns about people they come into contact with who may be developing extremist ideas. These concerns would be followed up by counter-extremism professionals, and where it was felt the risk was real, further interventions could be put in place to deflect and deter problematic behaviours and views. | Professionals across the public sector were encouraged – and are now required by law – to register concerns about people they come into contact with who may be developing extremist ideas. These concerns would be followed up by counter-extremism professionals, and where it was felt the risk was real, further interventions could be put in place to deflect and deter problematic behaviours and views. |
| What we know about Hassan is that he clearly signalled a level of concern that required further work with him. Why this engagement wasn’t triggered immediately on his reception to the UK when he allegedly told officials he was an Islamic State recruit is truly baffling. | What we know about Hassan is that he clearly signalled a level of concern that required further work with him. Why this engagement wasn’t triggered immediately on his reception to the UK when he allegedly told officials he was an Islamic State recruit is truly baffling. |
| It wasn’t until eight months later that Hassan’s school mentor, Katie Cable, became so concerned about his views that she made a referral to Surrey’s Prevent scheme. After a screening process, he was enrolled on the Channel intervention scheme which creates and manages activities – ironically including mentoring – to reduce the potential harm. During this incubation period when his radicalised behaviour manifested itself, his foster parents were completely oblivious to the threat he posed, so those closest to him were not enlisted to support, change or monitor his aberrant behaviour. | It wasn’t until eight months later that Hassan’s school mentor, Katie Cable, became so concerned about his views that she made a referral to Surrey’s Prevent scheme. After a screening process, he was enrolled on the Channel intervention scheme which creates and manages activities – ironically including mentoring – to reduce the potential harm. During this incubation period when his radicalised behaviour manifested itself, his foster parents were completely oblivious to the threat he posed, so those closest to him were not enlisted to support, change or monitor his aberrant behaviour. |
| It’s not difficult to conclude that there were systemic failures in the Prevent process that contributed to the radicalisation of a clearly troubled teenager and his conversion to a would-be mass-murderer. This was no off-the-radar lone actor who emerged without a trace to do his dirty work. | It’s not difficult to conclude that there were systemic failures in the Prevent process that contributed to the radicalisation of a clearly troubled teenager and his conversion to a would-be mass-murderer. This was no off-the-radar lone actor who emerged without a trace to do his dirty work. |
| Direct money now being spent on bollards to activities which will ultimately obviate their use | Direct money now being spent on bollards to activities which will ultimately obviate their use |
| What we can’t know is the number of similar threats that have been averted ahead of an attack. The bombs that don’t go off make no noise and no headlines. There are a huge number of sincerely committed professionals out there who are probably losing sleep every day over the finely balanced decisions which might label and damage an innocent person or let another Ahmed Hassan slip through the net. It’s not easy work. | What we can’t know is the number of similar threats that have been averted ahead of an attack. The bombs that don’t go off make no noise and no headlines. There are a huge number of sincerely committed professionals out there who are probably losing sleep every day over the finely balanced decisions which might label and damage an innocent person or let another Ahmed Hassan slip through the net. It’s not easy work. |
| The operation of Surrey’s Prevent strategy is now subject to what is likely to be an uncomfortable review. In the meantime, there are a number of changes to the strategy which could work to improve its overall effectiveness. | The operation of Surrey’s Prevent strategy is now subject to what is likely to be an uncomfortable review. In the meantime, there are a number of changes to the strategy which could work to improve its overall effectiveness. |
| The former independent adviser for counter-terrorism, David Anderson, said in 2016 that Prevent receives about 1% of the £3bn counter-terrorism budget. This seems like an excessively small proportion of a national security budget where, surely, prevention is better than cure, particularly as in this instance cure stands for the efficient shutting of stable doors painted with the blood of innocent people. | The former independent adviser for counter-terrorism, David Anderson, said in 2016 that Prevent receives about 1% of the £3bn counter-terrorism budget. This seems like an excessively small proportion of a national security budget where, surely, prevention is better than cure, particularly as in this instance cure stands for the efficient shutting of stable doors painted with the blood of innocent people. |
| Prevention must mean more than the detection of people at risk of radicalised behaviour. In public health, prevention relies on the adoption of healthy lifestyles, not just the early detection of disease. Similarly, in the counter-extremism sphere, prevention must include the creation of opportunities to understanding the roots of radicalised extremism. Peter Neumann, one of the country’s most respected academics in counter-extremism, speaks of “difficult questions” about why young men born and brought up in this country feel justified and motivated to kill their fellow citizens. It would be sensible to spend a few bob working out why this is happening ahead of treating its appalling symptoms. It may direct money now being spent on bollards to activities which will ultimately obviate their use. | Prevention must mean more than the detection of people at risk of radicalised behaviour. In public health, prevention relies on the adoption of healthy lifestyles, not just the early detection of disease. Similarly, in the counter-extremism sphere, prevention must include the creation of opportunities to understanding the roots of radicalised extremism. Peter Neumann, one of the country’s most respected academics in counter-extremism, speaks of “difficult questions” about why young men born and brought up in this country feel justified and motivated to kill their fellow citizens. It would be sensible to spend a few bob working out why this is happening ahead of treating its appalling symptoms. It may direct money now being spent on bollards to activities which will ultimately obviate their use. |
| On the other side of the coin, we must also be robust in managing those people, like Hassan, who are the subject of serious concern but who do not wish to engage in processes to manage their behaviour. That isn’t acceptable and it should wave a very big red flag. A liberal democracy lives or dies on the basis that its citizens accept the rights and obligations conferred on them. Interference in those rights to protect others must be something hard-wired into our response to extremism rather than, as seems too often the case, a cause for hand-wringing and institutional timidity. | On the other side of the coin, we must also be robust in managing those people, like Hassan, who are the subject of serious concern but who do not wish to engage in processes to manage their behaviour. That isn’t acceptable and it should wave a very big red flag. A liberal democracy lives or dies on the basis that its citizens accept the rights and obligations conferred on them. Interference in those rights to protect others must be something hard-wired into our response to extremism rather than, as seems too often the case, a cause for hand-wringing and institutional timidity. |
| Finally, it’s really no wonder that many people in the Muslim community are innately suspicious of Prevent. The government has spectacularly failed to defend its own policy, and the response to it has been mediated through largely hostile community groups and representatives of sometimes doubtful provenance. The Contest strategy is one of the most sophisticated counter-terrorism strategies in the world, modelled by other countries. But it could do with a serious PR overhaul. | Finally, it’s really no wonder that many people in the Muslim community are innately suspicious of Prevent. The government has spectacularly failed to defend its own policy, and the response to it has been mediated through largely hostile community groups and representatives of sometimes doubtful provenance. The Contest strategy is one of the most sophisticated counter-terrorism strategies in the world, modelled by other countries. But it could do with a serious PR overhaul. |
| My suggestion would be to add another P to join prevent, pursue, protect and prepare – promote. We face a serious and enduring threat from Islamist extremism in this country. We have an emerging challenge from far-right extremism. Both ideologies flourish in parts of the country which are remote from philosophical concerns about rights and responsibilities. Both need to be challenged through authentic conversations with communities – over the heads of self-styled representatives when necessary – about what it means to be British, and the importance of the ties and values that bind us together. This will require new focus, new urgency and new priorities. | My suggestion would be to add another P to join prevent, pursue, protect and prepare – promote. We face a serious and enduring threat from Islamist extremism in this country. We have an emerging challenge from far-right extremism. Both ideologies flourish in parts of the country which are remote from philosophical concerns about rights and responsibilities. Both need to be challenged through authentic conversations with communities – over the heads of self-styled representatives when necessary – about what it means to be British, and the importance of the ties and values that bind us together. This will require new focus, new urgency and new priorities. |
| And new funding. Freedom is not free. | And new funding. Freedom is not free. |
| • Ian Acheson led the independent government review of Islamist extremism in prisons and probation in 2016, and is the director of national security programmes at Sampson Hall | • Ian Acheson led the independent government review of Islamist extremism in prisons and probation in 2016, and is the director of national security programmes at Sampson Hall |
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