Counter Terrorism
CONTEST Strategy
The government’s counter terrorism strategy, CONTEST, aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting extremism. It addresses all forms of terrorism but continues to prioritise according to the threat posed to national security.
It has four key strands, known as the 4 P’s:
- pursue: stopping terrorist attacks
- protect: strengthening protection against terrorist attacks
- prepare: where an attack cannot be stopped, mitigating its impact
- prevent: stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism
Like all local authorities, we have a legal duty to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.
We work with local partners to protect the public, prevent crime and to promote strong, integrated communities.
Lancashire Prevent Contacts
If you have concerns about someone and would like more advice:
Local Authority Prevent team
Call 01254 585 260
Email Prevent.Team@Blackburn.gov.uk
Police Prevent Team
Call 01772 413398
If you think a threat is imminent call the police on 999
Alternatively contact the police confidentially on the Anti-terrorist hotline 0800 789 321.
You can also go to the ACT Early website, which has information about:
- what Prevent is
- how to spot the signs
- how to stay safe online
How can I support Prevent?
Online training for frontline staff - an introduction to the Prevent duty, which aims to help staff who have contact with vulnerable people recognise signs of radicalisation and take appropriate steps to safeguard them.
Childnet: Trust Me resource for schools - an excellent classroom resource which can support addressing online extremism and propaganda through digital literacy. The resource aims to provoke discussion among students so as to challenge young people to think critically about what they see online and is available with both primary and secondary lesson plans.
Online radicalisation guidance for schools - developed by Lancashire Safeguarding Children Board colleagues to support with addressing online radicalisation as part of the broader online safeguarding agenda in schools. The guidance provides a number of considerations and recommendations for schools as well as signposts to a range of freely-available supporting tools and resources.
Vodafone: Digital Parenting - The resource is free to access online and contains useful and practical information on a variety of subjects (Issue 5 contains reference to digital resilience).
NSPCC NetAware - a really useful resource guide to help adults stay up to date with the social networks children use. The resource highlights various popular social media apps and provides an explanation of what it is, age ratings, why it is popular and points to be aware of.
Childnet: Crossing the Line – the PSHE Toolkit - a highly recommended toolkit resource to use with students aged 11-14 containing films, lesson plans, guidance and worksheets to explore and address online issues such as sexting, self-esteem, peer pressure and cyberbullying.