The number of people referred to the UK government’s counter-extremism programme over concerns about far-right activity has risen by more than a third, official figures show.

In the year to March 2018, 1,312 individuals were referred to Prevent, an increase of 36% on the previous year, and accounting for 18% of all referrals.

Concerns related to Islamist extremism still make up the highest proportion at 44% or 3,197. However, referrals for concerns related to radical Islamism decreased by 14%.

For the first time, a similar percentage of individuals received support from the Channel scheme for concerns related to Islamist and right-wing extremism.

Channel, which is part of the Prevent strategy, provides specialist support to people who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

Channel Panel Figures

The latest figures show that, of those referred to Prevent in 2017/18 across the country:

• 3,096 (42%) left the process requiring no further action
• 2,902 (40%) left the process and were signposted to alternative services
• 1,314 (18%) were discussed by Channel, the programme that provides support to people who might be vulnerable to radicalisation

Of the cases examined by Channel, 394 subsequently received support through the scheme, including 114 aged under 15.

Engagement in the scheme is voluntary and it is not a criminal sanction.

Prevent In Warwickshire

Full information of the Prevent work taking place in Warwickshire can be found on our Prevent page.

A crucial part to this work is making communities, individuals, professionals, agencies, partners and commissioned services aware of what Prevent is, how to recognise the signs that someone may be at risk of radicalisation into an extremist group, and how to report concerns into Channel Panel. This is achieved via the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP) training session. To find out when these sessions are running across Warwickshire, and how you can book onto attend, please click here.