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Success of anti-terror scheme hailed on bombings anniversary
MORE than 100 vulnerable Yorkshire people have been steered away from terrorism by a mentoring scheme aimed at stopping violent extremism, police claimed on the fifth anniversary of the July 7 bombings.
Councils, police and community organisations have provided one-to-one guidance sessions for youngsters deemed to be at risk from grooming by terrorists.
The scheme was created as part of a major strategy to prevent ideological attacks like the London bombings in 2005, in which 52 people were killed.
All four of the July 7 suicide bombers had links to West Yorkshire, with three having travelled to the capital from Leeds on the morning of the attacks.
Between April 2008 and March this year, 38 people were arrested by Yorkshire-based officers for offences under the Terrorism Act.
But West Yorkshire Police assistant chief constable John Parkinson said officers had recognised that "we cannot arrest our way out of terrorism" and were using other tactics.
He said councils and neighbourhood policing teams were supported by community engagement field officers, tasked with identifying people who could be exploited by terrorist groups.
The mentoring schemes, which have been run with the co-operation of schools, mosques, prisons and community groups since 2008, had helped to divert "well over 100 people" from danger, he added.
Terror suspects in the UK are monitored by a network of regional counter-terrorism units which was set up after the July 7 attacks.
Government plans to slash funding to counter-terrorism police by 150m has put the network's future in doubt, but Mr Parkinson insisted that regional units should be kept. "Rarely have I seen a terrorism investigation that has its roots only in its local community," he said.
"An investigation will probably involve the region, it will probably spread across the country and quite often it will be international.
"Our priority aim is to protect the public and the nature of the terrorist threat suggests that it is not a problem which is localised to just one area.
"The fact that we have made arrests in Scotland, the North West, the North East, the Midlands and London shows this is a UK-wide problem.
"The best way to mitigate that threat and to maintain good community relations and working arrangements is to have the network based regionally, working with local contacts.
"Any centralisation would diminish that."
Mr Parkinson added that regional units had improved the UK's anti-terrorist capabilities by making it easier for police and security services to share vital intelligence.
"I think we are in a very different place to where we were before 2005, when we were much more reactive in our approach," he said.
"Whereas previously we would wait and ask for instructions almost, we have now moved into a much more proactive area of dealing with the threat of terrorism."
A report published yesterday by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) recommends the creation of a single national body to ensure emergency services respond more effectively to major incidents like the July 7 attacks.
RUSI found that, five years on, restrictions on joint working between police, fire and ambulance services still existed, despite improvements in the use of technology.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
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