My name is Brendan Tannam. I have recently started in my role of Community Engagement Officer in the Prevent team at Leeds City Council. The following is a short piece about the Prevent programme in Leeds and my role within the team.

Prevent

Prevent is part of the UK’s CONTEST Strategy that aims to reduce the risk to the UK and its citizens and interests overseas from terrorism. The strategy addresses all forms of terrorism across the ideological spectrum, from extreme far right to groups that align themselves to Al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIS) ideology and from domestic to international terrorism. The purpose of the Prevent programme is to safeguard and support vulnerable people to stop them from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Prevent has the following objectives:

• Tackle the causes of radicalisation and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism.
• Safeguard and support those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention, identifying them and offering support.
• Enable those who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate.

Community Engagement Role

My role as Community Engagement Officer is primarily about raising awareness of the Prevent programme, building up relationships with and supporting third sector organisations and faith institutions across Leeds. I will be working with third sector organisations and groups to raise awareness of radicalisation and building resilience of communities against terrorism and violent extremism.

Some organisations reading this may previously had connected with my predecessor, Jabar Rehman, and I am keen to re-establish communication with as many organisations as possible. Before joining Leeds City Council, I used to work for Voluntary Action Leeds myself on the Giving Time and Employer Supported Volunteering programmes so there is also a chance I have engaged with your organisation through one of those and if so it will be nice to connect again.

In my new role, I am also keen to visit organisations and their service users to talk about the programme and to get an understanding of how the Prevent team can provide support.  I can deliver training on the programme and its relevance for third sector organisations and also bespoke sessions on issues such as radicalisation and the far right.

Leeds Update

As I join the team, it has become a rapidly changing time for the work of Prevent both nationally and in Leeds. As reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post recently “The face of terrorism has become fractured into myriad splinter groups and ideologies.” There are a number of key risks and vulnerabilities in the West Yorkshire region. These include amongst others, online extremism, lone actors and the increasing threat from right wing terrorism. Supporting organisations to understand the local context of extremism in Leeds is something I can also help with.

Prevent Team

I’m lucky to be joining a fantastic existing team in Prevent. The other members of the team are as follows:

Prevent Coordinator – Nadeem Siddique. Nadeem leads on the strategic implementation of Prevent in Leeds.

Prevent Education Officer – Julia Holden. Julia supports all schools in Leeds with implementation of the statutory Prevent Duty.

Prevent Education Support Officer – Helene Heath. Helene also supports schools in Leeds.

Prevent Project Officer – Jade Cicone. Jade supports all Prevent related business matters and projects.

Further Information

The following key documents have some more useful information on Prevent.

• One Minute Guide on Radicalisation & Preventing Extremism which can be accessed here
• Leeds Prevent – The Channel Programme. The Channel programme is a voluntary initiative that provides a multi-agency approach to support people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism The Channel panel continues to operate as normal albeit remotely.

More information is also available on Leeds City Council’s Prevent webpage here

It would be great to have a chat over the phone or in person (whichever suits best/the current restrictions allow for) with any organisations or groups interested in hearing more. My contact details are – Brendan.tannam@leeds.gov.uk and 07712 215824.

Leeds City Council