Counter Terrorism

Current threat level

Members of the public should always remain alert to the danger of terrorism and report any suspicious activity to the police on 999 or the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321.

The UK threat level from international terrorism can be viewed on the independent MI5.gov - Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre

What you can do to help

The police and the security and intelligence agencies depend on information from the public. Be their eyes and ears and help keep yourself, your family and your local community safe by looking out for any activity that seems to be unusual and reporting it to the police, in confidence.

If anything gives you cause for concern, do not rely on someone else - ACT.

Find out about what kind of activity and behaviour you should report on the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) website.

If you have any information about unusual activity or behaviour, you can report it in confidence:

• Report your concerns to concern@lancashire.pnn.police.uk
• Call the police confidentially on 0800 789 321
• If you think a threat is imminent call the police on 999

Online material

You can also report illegal or harmful information, pictures or videos you found on the Internet such as:

• articles,
• images,
• speeches
• videos that promote terrorism or encourage violence
• content encouraging people to commit acts of terrorism
• websites made by terrorist or extremist organisations
• videos of terrorist attacks

Introduction to Prevent

GOV.UK - Prevent is part of the UK's counter terrorism strategy.

It aims to prevent people from supporting violent extremism and all forms of potential terrorism. Such as Al Qaeda, Daesh inspired, far right, Irish republican, animal rights, faith-based extremism and other types of terrorism in all its forms.

Like all local authorities, the council has 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.

Preventing violent extremism is one of the '4 Ps' within the Government's strategy for countering violent extremism, known as GOV.UK - Contest:

• Prevent - stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism.
• Pursue - stopping terrorist attacks.
• Protect - strengthening protection against terrorist attacks.
• Prepare - where an attack cannot be stopped, mitigating its impact.

The current Prevent strategy is made up of three key objectives:

• Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and of those extremist views conducive to it.
• Prevent vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support.
• Work with sectors and institutions where there are either risks of radicalisation or opportunities to prevent it - or both. This includes education, faith, health, charities, prisons and probation.

The strategy spells out what the Government is planning in each area and also looks at the particular issue of the Internet.

What opportunities are there to get involved with Prevent?

Homeoffice.gov - Prevent E-Learning - an introduction to the Prevent duty, which explains how it aims to safeguard vulnerable people from being radicalised to supporting terrorism or becoming terrorists themselves.

Childnet - Trust Me - an excellent classroom resource which can support addressing online extremism and propaganda through digital literacy. The resource aims to provoke discussion among students to challenge young people to think critically about what they see online and is available with both primary and secondary lesson plans.

Run Hide Tell

In the rare event of a firearms or weapons attack:

• Run - to a place of safety. This is a better option than to surrender or negotiate. If there's nowhere to go then...
• Hide - remember to turn your phone to silent and turn off vibrate. Barricade yourself in if you can.
• Tell - the police by calling 999 when it is safe to do so.

Police have released a video telling people to "run, hide, tell" if they are caught up in a terrorist gun attack. The four-minute video advises on how to evacuate a building, where to hide, and what information to tell police.