CAGE responds to senior police chief: PREVENT is a toxic policy that causes deep mistrust

London – Concerns surrounding PREVENT are well-grounded in facts and case-based research that clearly show PREVENT is a toxic policy.* This conclusion has been echoed across the board, by hundreds of academics, politicians, trade unions, student bodies and survivors of the policy. Moreover, the studies on which the PREVENT policy is based have also been discredited and proven to not be fit for general application. Dr Adnan Siddiqui, CAGE Director, said: “PREVENT is part of the state’s ever increasing intelligence and monitoring programmes as admitted by the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd. Statistics show that PREVENT overwhelmingly targets Muslims.” “PREVENT has had a destructive effect in families and has isolated and traumatised children, causing deep mistrust. Its implementation has had an influence on the UK plummeting from a ranking of 11 to 156 in global children’s rights rankings.” “Additionally, the policy has a counterproductive effect. It has been accused of fuelling ‘extremism’ by the former UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.” “The rightful rejection of the policy by communities stems from this reality, one that its interest-driven advocates would rather ignore in favour of creating further myths.”   CC Image courtesy of Jacobo Tarrío on Flickr *The police chief’s comments were made on BBC Asian Network