Detective Jane Corrigan, of the Met’s counter-terrorism command and chief officer in the anti-extremist Prevent program, sent a letter to schools in London last week warned parents about the risks of children facing people who want to “bring them to extremism”.
In the letter, Ms Corrigan said she wanted to reach out to “parents and carers in every London borough to share information on recognizing signs of radicalization in young people”.
She added: “This should not be a cause for concern and I would like to reassure you that the risk of radicalization is still relatively low.
“However, we see that more and more young people are becoming involved in various forms of extremism, so it is important that we do everything we can to protect and protect young people from these risks.
“When a young person is drawn on the path to radicalization, there are often signs in his behavior that may indicate that this is happening. This could be something like becoming more secretive about who they are talking to, or becoming less tolerant of other people’s opinions.”
She advised parents to use the ACT Early website to identify signs of radicalization or to contact Prevent for support.
Prevent is the government’s anti-radicalization program that aims to protect and support those who are vulnerable to radicalization to help people stay away from radicalization and extremism.
About 30 percent of referrals to the Counter-Extremism Prevention Program come from schools.
Research last year by academics from the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education revealed that extreme views such as racism, homophobia and conspiracy theories are rife in classrooms across England.
The majority of teachers interviewed by the researchers said they heard students express far-right extremist views in their classrooms, as well as “extremist views on women” or Islamophobia.
Nearly nine in ten teachers have heard of conspiracy theories being discussed by students.
Teachers expressed concern about students’ exposure to extremist views online, often claiming it has been “exacerbated by the pandemic and lockdowns” – and the report suggested that conspiracy theories and online misinformation “is an emerging area that needs attention”.