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PREVENT

Martian Tom

I start my new job on Monday with two days of corporate induction.  Then it's straight in.  At least half-term's coming up soon.  I'm guessing this will be two full-on weeks.

I'm having to do some pre-employment online training as preparation.  There's huge amounts of the online stuff.  Over 30 courses, all of which have to be done in our own time.  I'm just having to do two for now.

One is on the PREVENT strategy (part of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act) which is about identifying the risk of exposure to extremism and radicalisation among vulnerable groups: the signs to look for in mood, behaviour, language, etc.  To be honest, I find some of what I'm 'learning' to be quite worrying.

Here's an example, from my course, to illustrate why:

In the 'Feedback' form at the end of the course, I mentioned my concerns about the wording on this page and elsewhere (see red underlining).

How many of those feelings do you have?  I'd like an adventure.  I have mental health issues.  I feel alienated.  I'd like to be part of some cause that could change the world.  I'd like a sense of identity.

Don't people in our situation have enough of this stuff to put up with?  Stigmatisation.  Stereotyping.  Suspicion.  Misunderstanding.

Is that a knock at the door?

  • There was an article on Prevent in "The Guardian" a few days ago:

    "Prevent strategy on radicalisation faces independent review"

    " ... The government’s anti-radicalisation Prevent strategy is to be independently reviewed after ministers gave into longstanding pressure to address concerns over its impact on communities.... ":

    www.theguardian.com/.../prevent-strategy-on-radicalisation-faces-independent-review

  • Many terrorists are people with mental health problems.  But a great deal more have no mental health problems whatsoever.

    There are always those who want to prey upon vulnerable people.  Governments do it all the time.  And there are always those who want to use minorities as scapegoats for the wrongs of the world.

  • in reply to Martian Tom

    Fear thy neighbour - classic divide & conquer tactics.

  • in reply to Robert124

    Once you start poking into some of the things security services are using to 'keep an eye on us', it becomes quite scary.  I know this is a Hollywood film, but it bears out some of the other stuff I've read - aside from Snowden and WikiLeaks...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrrAwGzQO_U

    Years ago, when I was involved in animal rights (all legal activities and campaigning), I worked in a shop where one of our customers was a local millionaire.  Smashing bloke.  Self-made man, pillar of the community, now retired.  He used to like giving money to various animal groups.  One week, though, he came in and told me he'd had a visit from the police (at his mansion, out in the sticks), and they'd searched the place under warrant.  He was gobsmacked.  Then he told me that apparently they'd become suspicious because he was sending cheques to the Hunt Saboteurs Association and to various other perfectly legal animal welfare groups, like Compassion in World Farming and Animal Aid.  That was what it was all about.  The cheques were usually in high amounts (because he was wealthy), and it had aroused suspicion.  This was over 20 years ago, mind, before we had anything like the mass surveillance possibilities (internet, smart phones, CCTV) that we have now.

  • in reply to NAS39248

    Exactly.  In many senses, this is miseducation: conditioning people to be suspicious of anyone who doesn't conform to certain 'norms'.

  • I used to work in a pub close to an airport so we used to get regular training from the police counter terrorism department and it was a joke! Basically we were told to look out for people that looked and acted like half our customers did and to be especially aware of people in white vans using gps devices! 

    We did laugh when he suggested that if we came across someone wearing an explosive device our security staff should physically throw themselves at them to minimise blast! I pointed out my doorman would run like me! 

    I understand the need to educate but they really do need to look into how this is worded! 

  • This sounds very familiar.

    I was on a customer service course run by learndirect last January and the walls were full of information.

    And one girl suggested that we put the terms Bleach & Sugar into the internet search box and see what happens!