What is the “Prevent strategy”?

Prevent is one of the four elements that form CONTEST – the counter-terrorism strategy implemented by the British government. Its aims are to prevent people from turning to terrorism – by encouraging others to look for tell signs of extremism. It was introduced in 2003, and had its scope expanded in 2011. Curiously, the programs definition of what exactly is considered ‘extremist’ is fairly nebulous, and smacks of authoritarian overreach. More importantly, it serves to drive a wedge between marginalised groups – in this instance, Muslims – within their communities, pressuring them to turn over people within the community suspected to being radicalised to an extremist ideology. The Prevent strategy is also implemented in public institutions such as schools and universities, prisons, hospitals and charities. Local authorities are tasked with using ‘multi-agency groups’ in the coordination of Prevent activity, such as Community Safety Partnerships, Local Safeguarding Children Boards, and Youth Offending Teams. Local authorities are also instructed to use the existing counter-terrorism local profiles (CTLP) as a risk assessment to individuals drawn to terrorism, and to appropriate – or in this case, outsource – staff familiar with Prevent to look for signs of someone drawn to terrorism and the tools used to resolve the issue.

The stated goal of Prevent is:

“…to deal with all forms of terrorism and with non-violent extremism, which can create an atmosphere conducive to terrorism and can popularise views which terrorists then exploit.”

In practice, what this amounts to is anything from listing climate activists such as Extinction Rebellion on a list of organisations that have “extremist ideologies”, to a pair of children been put on the Prevent program for telling a teacher they were given toy guns (the children werent even raised under a religion). NHS trusts have reported that mental illness was a “significant factor” in referring people to the Prevent program – one trust had as high as 98% not going past the channel process.

In spite of all the controversies that have accompanied it, opposition from civil liberties groups, charities, and unions; Prevent is not likely to be scrapped. Quite the opposite: It is much more likely to be expanded. It continues to exist because of Islamic terrorism, which continues to exist because Western nations can’t stop invading Middle Eastern ones for oil. It continues to exist because the people who pushed for it only found fault with it when groups that they didn’t like applied for Prevent-related funding and argued not for it to be scrapped, but for tighter controls and greater scutiny towards ‘terrorist-supporting’ groups who are taking the money. It’s because Islamophobes in Parliament, including Labour MPs who pearl-clutch about predatory Pakistani men – think it’s good.

It is because Britain – rather than accept a multiplural society with different peoples and customs – the British state has to install its hegemony – which means learning and accepting a code known as “British values”, and then demanding that “the Other” (again, in this case – Muslims) accept and then ‘integrate’ it into their daily lives.

See also:

• Counter-terrorism and repression
• Maajid Nawaz
• ‘War on terror’
• New Labour and civil liberties
• New Labour and the neoconservative agenda