Police warned about ‘insider threat’ from extremists inside their own forces

Watchdog issues warning days after Met officer arrested on suspicion of being part of neo-Nazi terrorist group

Police have been warned about the threat from extremists inside their own forces.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that while officers’ work through the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme was broadly good, few considered the possibility that their own colleagues could be radicalised.

“The vulnerability of staff generally wasn’t referred to in forces’ Prevent training, but it is a real threat,” said a report released on Monday.

“Only one force had arrangements in place acknowledging that members of staff vulnerable to radicalisation might need safeguarding.”

Others relied on counter-corruption and misconduct policies, and only two forces told the watchdog they have referred a member of staff to Prevent.

The findings were revealed days after a serving Metropolitan Police officer was arrested on suspicion of being a member of a neo-Nazi terrorist group.

The 21-year-old constable has been released on bail while the investigation continues, and the matter has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

HMICFRS said that few of the 43 regional police forces in England and Wales it inspected “recognised the possibility that a police officer or member of staff may be vulnerable because of the influence of a partner or close family member”.

The report added: “No force convinced us that they would make or consider Prevent referrals when extremist vulnerabilities were identified during vetting processes, either for new recruits or staff seeking a specialist post. We consider this an opportunity lost.

“Staff employed by the police are in a position of trust and the public expects high standards. The approach adopted by forces doesn’t complement Prevent.”

The report called for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to create national guidance on applying Prevent to police staff, including during selection processes, and for welfare and vetting.

The NPCC lead for Prevent, Chief Constable Simon Cole, said existing reporting mechanisms within policing had been sufficient for officers and staff to report concerns about colleagues.

He added: “However, we understand better than most the risk that terrorism poses and we will take swift action to share the best practice highlighted by the report in some forces.

“As the report says, police officers and staff must be held to the highest possible standards due to the level of responsibility bestowed on them and we will bring into force policies to ensure that our risk-assessment processes are in line with our duty under Prevent.”

HMICFRS said a “greater awareness of vulnerability to radicalisation so that officers and staff can identify people at risk” was needed more generally, saying extremism was not understood as well as other forms of protection work.

The watchdog said only two forces had referred staff to Prevent (Press Association) (PA)

The watchdog found that different police forces dealt inconsistently with Prevent referrals, which are made by people concerned that someone may be radicalised.

“We also found some evidence that the subjective assessment identifying a terrorism element in a case wasn’t being correctly applied,” the report added, saying some cases were being wrongly passed to the Channel process that provides ideological intervention.

It warned that lessons from serious incidents were not being learnt, including from the Parsons Green bombing – which was carried out by a young Isis supporter who had previously been handled by Prevent.

After questioning police on how they judged the success of their work, HMICFRS found there was “no coherent performance management framework for Prevent activity” and said the NPCC must develop performance measures.

HMICFRS said the Home Office should review why the Ministry of Defence Police and other armed force units were not included under the Prevent duty, which requires other public bodies to report radicalisation.

“Some Prevent-related activities concern insider threats,” the report added.

It came days after a United Nations expert found that the Prevent duty could violate human rights including the freedoms of religion, expression and privacy.

Special rapporteur Fionnuala Ni Aolain called for all states to repeal any laws, programmes or practices that regulate “extremism”.

Speaking to The Independent, she praised the government’s decision to launch an independent review of the strategy and said it must “focus on the human rights impact”.

The review of Prevent was promised by the government in January 2019 but has not had a leader since Lord Carlile stepped down amid a legal challenge in December.

More than 5,700 people were referred to Prevent over extremism concerns in 2018-19.

Suspected Islamists and far-right extremists each made up 24 per cent of the total, while 38 per cent were flagged over a “mixed, unstable or unclear ideology” and 14 per cent were referred over other types of radicalisation.

A quarter “required no further action” and half were passed on to other services, such as education, housing and mental health, for alternative support.

A further 23 per cent were considered by the Channel counter-radicalisation scheme, which sees people paired with intervention providers, such as imams or former Nazis, to help combat the ideology.

Mr Cole said all eight recommendations made by HMICFRS would be met.

“Prevent is the only strategy that will succeed in reducing the terrorism threat in the long term,” he added.

“This report also recognises the outstanding work done by police forces and their Prevent officers in protecting the most vulnerable in our society.”