The power to defeat terrorism lies in your hands
Derbyshire Constabulary is urging the public to help tackle terrorism by saying: if it just doesn’t feel right, report it — you could save lives.
National counter-terrorism police are clear in their view that communities defeat terrorism.
They are emphasising the concept during a four week campaign starting today, and they have our full support.
Over the next month, we will be talking about some of the work we do in this area of policing and how you, as members of the public, also have an important role to play.
Since March 2017, the national counter terrorism network has stopped ten 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.
Last year (January to December 2017) there were 466 CT arrests nationally, marking a 35% increase, largely attributed to the attacks in London and Manchester.
Of those arrested, 65% were UK nationals and 8% 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 conflict.
The themes set out by these national statistics are reflected in the East Midlands.
Recent years have seen convictions in the 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.
Our officers and staff also provided investigative support following last year’s attacks in London and Manchester.
But it is the vital contributions from the community that ultimately defeat terrorism.
Detective Superintendent Mark Pollock heads up the East Midlands Special Operations Unit’s Special Branch (EMSOU-SB). He said: “A year on from the attack at Westminster I would like to remind you, the public, of the great influence you can have on stopping terrorism.
“We very much view the tackling of terrorism and domestic extremism as a role for the entire community.
“We already enlist the help of a raft of partner agencies and community groups in a bid to provide a comprehensive approach, but the power to defeat terrorism also lies in your hands.
“You are privy to a lot more information than you may realise – and you will often have a better instinct for what just doesn’t feel right.
“We need your understanding about a person, your knowledge of a place or your take on an event to be able to better recognise what might be unusual or suspicious activity.
“Even the smallest piece of information could be important, as it could add to a developing pattern of behaviour. If you have any suspicions we need to hear about them.”
No call or click will be ignored. You are not wasting our time, and we will only take action after the appropriate checks have been carried out.
Report online here or call 0800 789 321. All reports are kept confidential and you can report anonymously. In an emergency always call 999.
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