The Prevent strategy was originally introduced by the UK government in 2003 as a policy response to terrorism, particularly after the events of 9/11. However, the formal Prevent strategy as part of the UK's overall counter- terrorism strategy, CONTEST, was published by the government in 2011. Subsequently, the Prevent duty, a legal responsibility requiring public bodies to have due regard to preventing people from being drawn into terrorism, was introduced under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act in 2015.
Summary of key dates:
- 2003 : Prevent introduced by the New Labour government as a policy.
- 2011 : Formal Prevent strategy published as part of the CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy.
- 2015 : Legal Prevent duty introduced through the Counter Terrorism and Security Act, imposing statutory responsibilities on public bodies.
This timeline shows how Prevent evolved from a policy to a legally mandated duty with specific obligations for public sector organizations to identify and work with individuals vulnerable to radicalization.
