More children and young teenagers are being referred to the Prevent programme in England and Wales per year than at any point since recent records began – although the number who are then judged as needing help has fallen.
Here the PA news agency looks at the latest data for under-18s being referred to Prevent and its different stages.
– How are people referred to Prevent?
Individuals can be referred to Prevent if they are thought to be in danger of becoming terrorists or of supporting terror activity by being susceptible to radicalisation.
Local authorities, schools, colleges, universities, health bodies, prisons, probation organisations and the police are all required by law to safeguard people from being drawn into terrorism, but members of the public can also raise concerns about individuals by contacting these organisations directly.
– How many under-18s are being referred?
A total of 3,918 people under the age of 18 in England and Wales were referred to Prevent in 2023/24, according to Home Office figures.
This is up from 3,773 in 2022/23 and is the highest number for this age group since current data began in 2016/17.
Under-18s accounted for 57% of all referrals to Prevent in the 12 months to March 2024, up from 55% in 2022/23 and again the highest proportion since 2016/17, when it stood at 48%.
Of the 3,918 under-18s referred in 2023/24, 2,729 were aged 11 to 15, 892 were 16 or 17-years-old, and 297 were aged 10 or under.
Children aged 11 to 15 are accounting for a growing proportion of under-18s referred to Prevent.
They made up 70% of under-18 referrals in 2016/17, compared with 63% at the start of the decade in 2020/21 and 52% in 2016/17.
– How do the referrals break down by type of radicalisation?
Referrals to Prevent are grouped by the type of concern that prompts a referral.
In 2023/24, of the 3,918 under-18s referred to Prevent, the most common concern was individuals with a “vulnerability present but no ideology or counter-terrorism risk” (1,562 referrals), followed by people with ideologies identified as extreme right-wing (720), conflicted (716) or Islamist (428).
Other categories of concern include being influenced by school massacres (142 referrals in 2023/24) and the “incel” ideology (17).
Concerns over extreme right-wing ideologies have made up a greater proportion of under-18 referrals than Islamist concerns in each of the past six financial years, accounting for 18% and 11% of referrals respectively in 2023/24.
– What happens after referral?
Following initial screening and assessment, Prevent referrals who are deemed at risk of radicalisation may be passed to a multi-agency “Channel panel”.
Chaired by local authorities, these panels determine the extent of a person’s susceptibility to radicalisation and whether a tailored package of support is necessary and proportionate to address the risk.
– How many referrals of under-18s make it to the Channel stage?
While the number of under-18s referred to Prevent has risen in recent years, the numbers discussed at a Channel panel and adopted as a Channel case have both fallen.
There were 526 under-18s discussed at a Channel panel in 2023/24, down from 655 the previous year and the lowest number since current data began in 2016/17 (609).
Some 351 under-18s were adopted as a Channel case in 2023/24, down from 418 in the previous 12 months and the lowest since 2020/21 (335).
Of these 351, 159 (45%) were individuals with ideologies identified as extreme right-wing, the most common type of concern among Channel cases.
It was followed by people identified as Islamist (73, or 21%) and those with conflicted ideologies (62, or 18%).
