Referrals to Prevent anti-terror scheme at 10-year high
Referrals to the UK's anti-terrorism scheme, Prevent, reached a record high of nearly 10,000 in the year ending September 2025. Officials attribute the surge to increased public awareness following the Southport attacks and a government review of past case management.
Why it matters
The record number of referrals reflects heightened national security concerns and evolving strategies for identifying radicalization in youth.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Home Office figures found 36 percent of referrals to Prevent concerned 11 to 15-year-olds.
Nearly 10,000 people were referred to the government's anti-terrorism scheme Prevent in the year to September 2025, Home Office figures show, a record number for the programme.
Figures show 10,293 referrals were made in England and Wales for 9,957 people - up by 39% from the previous 12 months and the highest number in a single year since records began in 2015.
Where the age is known, 393 referrals were for children under 10, the largest proportion concerned 11 to 15-year-olds at 36%, followed by 16 to 17 year-olds at 13% of referals.
The Home Office said the spike was in part due to "heightened public awareness of Prevent" after the Southport attacks in July 2024, where a teenager killed three girls at a dance class.
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