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| Donald Trump hits on a sore point with Brussels 'coddling' remarks | Donald Trump hits on a sore point with Brussels 'coddling' remarks |
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| Donald Trump’s implied portrayal of Muslim communities as the “enemy within”, with his declaration to Piers Morgan that they are not reporting terrorist suspects, follows his claim in December that parts of UK cities are so radicalised they are no-go areas for the police. | |
| Scotland Yard responded then that “Trump couldn’t be more wrong”. The force has been equally robust in rejecting the Republican contender’s questioning of the loyalty of Britain’s Muslim communities. | Scotland Yard responded then that “Trump couldn’t be more wrong”. The force has been equally robust in rejecting the Republican contender’s questioning of the loyalty of Britain’s Muslim communities. |
| As Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terrorism, Mark Rowley, told MPs last July: “Over the last year we have had far more information from communities about people of concern, some of whom we have been able to intervene with in a preventative sense, which is really positive, and I see an appetite from the majority of communities to work with us and tackle this.” | As Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terrorism, Mark Rowley, told MPs last July: “Over the last year we have had far more information from communities about people of concern, some of whom we have been able to intervene with in a preventative sense, which is really positive, and I see an appetite from the majority of communities to work with us and tackle this.” |
| But Trump’s point does hit on something of a sore point in the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of official counter-radicalisation programmes in Britain, in particular over the Prevent initiative which has gone through several reincarnations since its introduction in 2007. | But Trump’s point does hit on something of a sore point in the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of official counter-radicalisation programmes in Britain, in particular over the Prevent initiative which has gone through several reincarnations since its introduction in 2007. |
| Prevent has been seen as contentious in many quarters, which Rowley has acknowledged, and has even been attacked as a “spying programme”. But he has also stressed that the programme has a lot to its credit with many effective relationships built between police and communities. | Prevent has been seen as contentious in many quarters, which Rowley has acknowledged, and has even been attacked as a “spying programme”. But he has also stressed that the programme has a lot to its credit with many effective relationships built between police and communities. |
| Prevent was conceived in 2007 as a way to use Whitehall funding to strengthen the capacity of communities to challenge extremism. | Prevent was conceived in 2007 as a way to use Whitehall funding to strengthen the capacity of communities to challenge extremism. |
| It covers a range of different initiatives and it has become a statutory duty for local authorities, universities and colleges, schools, prisons, police, probation and NHS trusts to take action to prevent people being drawn into extremism. | It covers a range of different initiatives and it has become a statutory duty for local authorities, universities and colleges, schools, prisons, police, probation and NHS trusts to take action to prevent people being drawn into extremism. |
| Related: Prevent strategy ‘stifles debate and makes teachers feel vulnerable’ | Related: Prevent strategy ‘stifles debate and makes teachers feel vulnerable’ |
| This new counter-extremism strategy launched by David Cameron last July added a further highly contentious ingredient to the mix when he also placed a legal duty on public institutions not to provide “an uncontested space to extremist ideology”. | This new counter-extremism strategy launched by David Cameron last July added a further highly contentious ingredient to the mix when he also placed a legal duty on public institutions not to provide “an uncontested space to extremist ideology”. |
| The new legal Prevent duty has already led to some embarrassing incidents where inexperienced teachers have referred pupils to the police for saying “terraced” when they thought they heard “terrorist”. There are also complaints that the schools programme, which includes only an hour-long session, is too blunt and unsophisticated an instrument to really tackle radicalisation. | |
| Beyond the classroom there is an effective counter-radicalisation programme developing in prisons. Cameron has said he is prepared to consider major changes in the location and methods for dealing with terrorist prisoners and up to 1,000 more offenders at risk of radicalisation. | Beyond the classroom there is an effective counter-radicalisation programme developing in prisons. Cameron has said he is prepared to consider major changes in the location and methods for dealing with terrorist prisoners and up to 1,000 more offenders at risk of radicalisation. |
| As Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, has warned, the fact more than 800 British people have travelled to fight in Iraq and Syria – and that more than half of them have returned – has led to fears of radicalisation in Britain reaching an unprecedented level. | As Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, has warned, the fact more than 800 British people have travelled to fight in Iraq and Syria – and that more than half of them have returned – has led to fears of radicalisation in Britain reaching an unprecedented level. |
| In this situation the government’s focus has moved away from the human intelligence involved in the kind of community-based work of Prevent to the digital solutions of the snooper’s charter – with its power to track suspects through their use of social media and the web – and also, increasingly, using new databases to track their physical movements across Europe. | In this situation the government’s focus has moved away from the human intelligence involved in the kind of community-based work of Prevent to the digital solutions of the snooper’s charter – with its power to track suspects through their use of social media and the web – and also, increasingly, using new databases to track their physical movements across Europe. |
| The home secretary, Theresa May, is leading the push in Europe for the rapid implementation of databases tracking those using internal flights within the EU, as well as developing the Schengen databases to keep track of the movement of migrants. | The home secretary, Theresa May, is leading the push in Europe for the rapid implementation of databases tracking those using internal flights within the EU, as well as developing the Schengen databases to keep track of the movement of migrants. |
| The fragmented nature of Belgium’s police and security services means they do things differently there, and Trump’s claim that the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek had “coddled” and taken care of the Paris attacks terror suspect Salah Abdeslam before his arrest has some resonance. Others might argue that the lack of long-term community police work left a dangerous intelligence vacuum. | The fragmented nature of Belgium’s police and security services means they do things differently there, and Trump’s claim that the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek had “coddled” and taken care of the Paris attacks terror suspect Salah Abdeslam before his arrest has some resonance. Others might argue that the lack of long-term community police work left a dangerous intelligence vacuum. |