Police are calling on people to act on their instincts to help prevent atrocities, in the UK and overseas.
The UK’s most senior counter terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, is today launching a new ‘Action Counters Terrorism’, or ‘ACT‘, urging the public to report suspicious activity to the police.
Mr Rowley will tell an audience of community and business representatives in Manchester that information from the public continues to help keep people safe by playing a significant part in recent successes in countering terrorism. However, officers need even more information to build better intelligence pictures on individuals or groups plotting attacks.
This comes as the UK threat level remains ‘severe’ meaning an attack is highly likely. The authorities say terrorists have been able to reach across the world to radicalise often vulnerable, volatile or chaotic individuals and groups, and inspire and direct them using instant and secure communications.
Mr Rowley says: “It is very encouraging that in a third of cases involving our most serious terrorist suspects we have benefited from information from the public. The number of calls and online reports we receive is increasing. This is testament to people’s trust in the police – but now we are appealing for even more.
“Counter terrorism policing is working hard to keep the public safe. Together, the UK intelligence community (MI5, SIS, GCHQ) and police have disrupted 13 UK terrorist attack plots since June 2013.”
“However, advances in technology make it more complex and challenging for us to spot would-be terrorists because it’s easier for them to be in contact with others and be radicalised in a relatively short space of time.
“The threat is becoming more varied and the move towards low-tech attacks on crowded places, like those we have seen in major European cities and beyond, makes it even more important everyone remains vigilant and acts by calling us confidentially if they are concerned about suspicious activity.”
From April 2015 to March 2016 the Anti-Terrorist Hotline received more than twice the number of calls on the previous year; just over 22,000 people making contact.
Research to support the ACT campaign looked at public attitudes towards counter-terrorism policing. Over 80 percent of respondents said that it was important for communities to work with police to prevent terrorism. However, a quarter of those surveyed said they might not report their suspicions because of fears over wasting police time, and 39 percent were unsure about what suspicious behaviour might look like.
Mr Rowley adds: “Our call and report numbers are increasing and research has shown many people want to play their part, but some worry they might be wasting our time or they are not sure what sort of activity might be suspicious. So we want to allay those concerns and help them to help us.”
Visit gov.uk/ACT where you can report your concerns online or call police confidentially on 0800 789321.
Podcasts
Counter terrorism policing has produced its first podcast. ‘Code Severe’ is a two-part series, narrated by actor Mark Strong, of previously untold stories of how terrorist attacks on UK soil were prevented. The stories are told by counter terrorism detectives, bomb disposal and surveillance officers – many speaking publicly for the first time – as well as senior officers, witnesses and the terrorists themselves.
