London: Police test counter-terrorism strategy

London: Police test counter-terrorism strategy


With its rows of tandoori takeaways and halal butcher shops, Hounslow, where nearly 30 per cent of the population is either Sikh, Muslim or Hindu, is the epitome of modern British multiculturalism.

But the town's diversity has also bred destruction. The first ever British suicide bomber to commit an atrocity overseas was from the borough. Asif Hanif, 21, killed three people and injured 55 when he blew himself up in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2003. While Zeeshan Siddiqui, a British Muslim who was put on a control order because of his links to the 7/7 bombers but remains on the run, was brought up in Hounslow.


It is these latter traits which led the Metropolitan Police, when looking for pilot areas for a new counter-terrorism strategy, to alight on Hounslow.


The scheme is part of a Scotland Yard trial which began running in four London boroughs in June 2007, but is now being rolled out across the city. As well as Hounslow, the Prevent Engagement programme started in Waltham Forest, Newham and Tower Hamlets.


Hounslow, in particular, was chosen due to its previous links to terror and the fact, accepted by the police, that terrorist organisations have historically attempted to recruit in the area.


As well as its ethnic demographic, a constant reminder that Hounslow is vulnerable to terrorism is the never-ending stream of airplanes which frequently fly overhead, taking off and landing at Heathrow Airport – one of Britain's most tempting terrorist targets.


Chief Superintendent David Bilson, the Hounslow borough commander explains: "We know there are people here who would want to bring our young people into violent extremism. When we knew that Prevent was developing we were very keen to make sure that we became a part of it."


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The scheme involves four officers whose sole remit is to develop and maintain links with the ethnic communities in their area through organisations such as faith centres, schools and youth clubs. The extent of the police attempts to engage with those communities can be seen on a white board in the Hounslow Prevent office where simple phrases have been translated into Arabic so the officers can use them in their encounters.


In the two years the scheme has been running the Metropolitan Police says they have already identified situations where they have been made aware of people showing extremist tendencies.



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Source: Independent

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