Police share this latest news. Ed
Did you know that 82 percent of adults in the UK have said they would report suspicious activity to the police?
We want to keep this figure high and make sure you have the confidence to talk to us if you notice anything that you believe could be terrorist-related.
We are urging the public to help the police tackle terrorism and save lives by reporting suspicious behaviour and activity.
Supporting the campaign
We will be supporting the campaign efforts of our colleagues at the National Counter Terrorism Police in a bid to encourage our communities to keep providing information to the police.
Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said:
“It is vital for the public to know that no matter how small the matter might be, if you think it is suspicious and you have concerns, report it.
“Counter Terrorism Policing South East will take all information seriously, any piece of information could be important, it is better to be safe and report. Communities are the key to defeating terrorism and you can help us prevent terrorism and save lives through your actions.”
More than fifth of reports produce helpful intelligence
The new head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing has used the launch of a campaign about terrorist attack planning methods to reveal that more than a fifth of reports from the public produce intelligence which is helpful to police.
The recently appointed Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations (ACSO), Neil Basu, praised the public’s willingness to ACT in response to last year’s unprecedented rise in terrorist activity, which resulted in record numbers of people contacting the police through online referral forms and the confidential hotline to report suspicious behaviour and activity.
‘ACT –Action Counters Terrorism’
Now he is launching the second phase of the ‘ACT – Action Counters Terrorism’ campaign, featuring a new 60-second film based on real life foiled plots, which will show examples of terrorist-related suspicious activity and behavior, as well as attack planning methodology.
Like other criminals, terrorists need to plan. If you see or hear something unusual or suspicious trust your instincts and ACT by reporting it in confidence at gov.uk/ACT.
ACSO Neil Basu said:
“We have been saying for some time now that communities defeat terrorism, and these figures demonstrate just how important members of the public are in the fight to keep our country safe.
“Since the beginning of 2017 we have foiled 10 Islamist and four right wing terror plots, and there is no doubt in my mind that would have been impossible to do without relevant information from the public.”
Many unclear what to look for
Of the nearly 31,000 public reports to Counter Terrorism (CT) Policing during 2017, more than 6,600 (21.2 percent) resulted in useful intelligence – information which is used by UK officers to inform live investigations or help build an intelligence picture of an individual or group.
Research carried out by CT Policing suggests that while more than 80 percent of people are motivated to report suspicious activity or behaviour, many are unclear exactly what they should be looking for.
Educating the public
The second phase of the ‘ACT –Action Counters Terrorism’ from CT Policing aims to educate the public about terrorist attack planning and reinforce the message that any piece of information, no matter how small, could make the difference between a lethal attack or a successful disruption.
ACSO Basu added:
“We need your help to exploit opportunities for police and the security services to discover and stop these attacks before they happen.
“That could be someone buying or storing chemicals, fertilisers or gas cylinders for no obvious reasons, or receiving deliveries for unusual items, it could be someone embracing extremist ideology, or searching for such material online.
“This new film has been made to try and help people understand recent terrorist attack-planning methods, but also to demonstrate that each report from the public can be one vital piece of a much larger picture.
“The important thing for people to remember is that no report is a waste of our time, trust your instincts and tell us if something doesn’t feel right.”
