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Prevent referrals

What is Prevent and how to make a Prevent referral.

The purpose of Prevent is to safeguard and support vulnerable people to stop them becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism of any form.

Prevent aims to:

  • tackle the causes of radicalisation and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism
  • safeguard and support those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention, identifying them and offering support
  • enable those who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate

Anyone can make a referral, and they are received from a wide range of partners including communities, education, health, youth offending teams, police and children's social care. Members of the public can also refer into the police Prevent team.

Referrals are first screened for suitability through a preliminary assessment by the police Prevent team. If appropriate, an assessment of the individual's vulnerabilities is made. This is based around 3 criteria:

  • engagement with a cause, group or ideology
  • intent to cause harm
  • capability to cause harm

If suitable, the case is then referred into the 'Channel' process.

Channel is a confidential and voluntary process whereby safeguarding professionals assess the case and discuss the most appropriate support options. As such, individuals have the final say on whether they accept support or not. The support options on offer encompass an array of different interventions, addressing: educational, vocational, mental health and other vulnerabilities tailored to the individual's needs. Ideological support is also common, which may include discussion with credible ideological experts and faith leaders.

If you're worried about someone and think they are at risk of getting involved in terrorism or extremism, you should make a Prevent referral. If it's an emergency, please tel: 999.

Referral processes for both adults and children are attached to this page.

While the police Prevent team can recognise vulnerabilities and support the safeguarding process, they are primarily focused on counter terrorism and domestic extremism risk. Please make sure other safeguarding measures for both adults, and children and younger people (including early help assessments) are progressed in a timely manner.

For advice about a general Prevent concern please email: ctp-em-prevent@derbyshire.pnn.police.uk or prevent@derbyshire.gov.uk

Useful documents

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