Extremism and Radicalisation

Radicalisation is defined as the process of a person subscribing to extremist ideology, by which they come to support terrorism or use terrorist violence.  Radicalisation is a personal and individual process, which will look different from person to person. When talking about the ‘risk of radicalisation’, it is therefore challenging to describe exactly what it looks like. Various signs or indicators may signal a person is at risk of being radicalised into terrorism. See also Section 2, Indicators/Spotting the Signs.

Terrorism; the Terrorism Act 2006 defines ‘terrorism’ as an action or threat designed to influence the government or intimidate the public. Its purpose is to advance a political, religious or ideological cause.

In summary, terrorism is an action that:

• Endangers or causes serious violence to a person or people;
• Causes serious damage to property, or seriously interferes with or disrupts an electronic system;
• Is designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public.

Extremism is the vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. The government definition of extremism also includes the call for the death of members of the armed forces, whether in the UK or overseas.

Some individuals may appear to be at risk or susceptible to radicalisation into terrorism without showing a clear ideology. Individuals increasingly adopt a mix of ideas from different ideologies.

This could include individuals who:

• Show an interest in multiple extremist ideologies at the same time;
• Switch from one ideology to another over time;
• Target a ‘perceived other’ of some kind (perhaps based on gender or another protected characteristic), but do not otherwise identify with one particular terrorist ideology or cause - for example, involuntary celibates (incels) who direct their anger mainly at women;
• Are obsessed with massacre, or extreme or mass violence, without specifically targeting a particular group - for example, high school shootings;
• Show an interest in conspiracy theories which can act as gateway to radicalised thinking, common themes include:
  • Religious or ethnic superiority;
  • Antisemitism;
  • Misogyny;
  • Anti-establishment and anti-LGBT grievances.
• May be susceptible to being drawn into terrorism out of a sense of duty, or a desire for belonging, rather than out of any strongly held beliefs.

Prevent is a strand of the UK Government’s Counter-Terrorist Strategy known as ‘CONTEST’ and the purpose of Prevent is to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

Early intervention work is at the heart of Prevent and aims to protect and divert people away from being drawn into terrorist activity. The Channel programme is also a key element of Prevent. It is a multi-agency approach to protect people at risk from radicalisation and uses existing collaboration between local authorities and statutory agencies as well as the police and local community. Once accepted, the Channel panel agree a tailored package of support to be offered to the person.

For more information, read ‘How Children, Young People and Adult Learners Become Susceptible to Radicalisation’ in ‘Understanding and Identifying Radicalisation in your Educational Setting’

Terrorist groups seek to radicalise and recruit people to their cause, including children and young people. The Government Prevent Duty Guidance focuses on three key objectives to reduce the likelihood of terrorist incidents.

These are:

1. Tackle the ideological causes of terrorism;
2. Intervene early to support people susceptible to radicalisation;
3. Enable individuals who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate.

Radicalisation is a process rather than an event. There is no single profile or pathway by which a person can be drawn into violence or exposed to extremist messages.  Children and young people can be drawn into violence or they can be exposed to the messages of extremist groups by many means. These can include through the influence of family members or friends and/or direct contact with extremist groups and organisations or through online content in particular via social media that can normalise radical views or promote violent extremism.

Indicators may include:

• General changes of mood, patterns of behaviour, secrecy;
• Changes of friends and mode of dress;
• Use of inappropriate language;
• Spending an increased amount of time online;
• Possession of violent extremist literature;
• The expression of extremist views;
• Planning to take long term holidays and visits out of the UK;
• Advocating violent actions and means;
• Association with known extremists;
• Seeking to recruit others to an extremist ideology.

The above list is not exhaustive and there may be other indicators that the child or young person is at risk of violent extremism and radicalisation.

Note: There is an obvious difference between espousing radical and extreme views and acting on them. Holding radical or extreme views is not illegal; what is illegal is the act of committing an offence or inciting others to do so in the name of that belief or view.

Note: a common feature of radicalisation is that the individual often does not recognise the exploitative nature of what is happening and does not see themselves as a victim.

If you are concerned about a child in any way you must report these concerns to your Supervising Social Worker and the child's social worker or the Out of Hours support if it won't wait. It will be their responsibility to take the concerns forward through the appropriate channels.

Also see: Get Help for Radicalisation Concerns – Guidance.

Social media can be used to promote extremist ideas and radicalise young people. Often social media glorifies violence. Staff should be vigilant and seek advice from a manager if they are concerned about material a young person has accessed online. Click here to report suspected online terrorist content.

Content of concern can also be referred directly to social media platforms – see UK Safer Internet Centre. 

See: Internet, Photographs and Mobile Phones.

Consideration should also be given to the need for an emergency response - this will be extremely rare but examples are where there is information that a violent act is imminent or where weapons or other materials may be in the possession of a young person or member of his or her family. In this situation you should call 999.

Good multi-disciplinary support should be in place to support you and the young person from all agencies to avoid criminalising the child  and to help you manage a difficult situation.