Support for counter-terrorism campaign

21 March 2018

A new counter-terrorism campaign launched nationwide yesterday shows the importance of members of the public reporting any activity they consider suspicious, according to Leicestershire Police Federation chair Tiff Lynch.

Communities defeat terrorism is the over-riding message of the four-week campaign which is being supported by the Force.

“Everyone has a role to play in helping tackle terrorism,” says Tiff, “As with all types of crime, members of the public are our eyes and ears in the communities where they live, work and socialise so it is important that we encourage them to come forward and tell us if they see anything out of the ordinary.”

Since March 2017, the national counter-terrorism (CT) network has stopped 10 attacks — 23 in the last four years. There are around 600 live investigations involving 3,000 individuals, with 20,000 others posing a continuing concern.

During 2017 there were 466 CT arrests nationally, a 35 per cent increase, largely attributed to the attacks in London and Manchester. Of those arrested, 65 per cent were UK nationals and eight per cent were for extreme right-wing activities. There were 154 people convicted of terrorism offences and 850 people were recorded to have travelled to Syria or Iraq to take part in the conflict.

In recent years, there have been convictions in the East Midlands region for seeking to join terrorist groups overseas, keeping a bomb-making manual while stockpiling chemicals and radicalising children by showing them extremist material. Most recently a man from Derby was given a life sentence for attempting to build a bomb.

But the new campaign stresses that it is the vital contributions from the community that ultimately defeat terrorism.

Detective Superintendent Mark Pollock, who heads up the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s Special Branch (EMSOU-SB), said: “We very much view the tackling of terrorism and domestic extremism as a role for the entire community.”

Urging members of the public to report their suspicions, he said: “Even the smallest piece of information could be important, as it could add to a developing pattern of behaviour.”