Prevent Strategy: Countering terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism

What is Prevent?

Prevent is about safeguarding and supporting those who are susceptible to radicalisation. Prevent protects people from being drawn into hateful extremism - regardless of the ideology. It works in a similar way to safeguarding processes designed to protect people from gangs, drug abuse, and physical and sexual exploitation. It is one of the four elements of CONTEST (opens new window), the UK Government's counter terrorism strategy. It aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

The Prevent Strategy (opens new window) has three objectives:

• Challenging the ideology that supports terrorism and those who promote it
• Safeguarding and supporting those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention and support
• Supporting sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation

Prevent responds to the ideological challenge that we face from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threats that we face from those who promote these views. It provides practical help to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensures that they are given appropriate advice and support. Prevent works with a wide range of sectors (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities and health) where there are risks of radicalisation that we need to deal with

The Home Office works with local authorities, government departments and community organisations to deliver the Prevent Strategy. The police also play a significant role in Prevent, the same way that they do when taking a preventative approach to other crimes

Prevent uses a range of measures to challenge extremism including: 

• Supporting those who are at risk of being drawn into terrorist or extremist activity through the Channel process (opens new window)
• Enabling those who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate
• Working with and supporting community groups who provide services to vulnerable people and supporting schools, local industry and other agencies through engagement, advice and training
• Working with faith groups and institutions to assist them in providing support for people who may be vulnerable

Make a referral

If you're a professional who's worried about a young person or vulnerable adult at risk of being radicalised, use the professional's national Prevent referral form (opens new window). To do this, you must follow the Prevent referral process and Sunderland's safeguarding policies and procedures.

If you're worried that a friend or family member is at risk of being radicalised, you can make a Prevent referral on the Northumbria Police website make a Prevent referral on the Northumbria Police website (opens new window).

For general advice and information about Prevent at Sunderland City Council, email [email protected] or call 0191 5205552

or

You can call Northumbria Police on 101. In an emergency, always call 999.

A new referral should be submitted for every new concern, even if a referral has previously been submitted