Rise in number of freed terrorists raises security fears

Home Office review of counter-terror strategy concerned at how to deal with convicted terrorists after release Thirty-six recently released terrorists are being “managed in the community” with a further 34 expected to leave prison over the next four years, according to Home Office figures. A record 123 prisoners are now serving sentences for terrorism-related offences in jails in Britain. But nearly 10 years after 9/11 the number being freed is starting to rise and Whitehall security chiefs are increasingly concerned about the lack of preparations to deal with them. The official review of the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy found that slow progress has been made turning prisoners away from terrorism. The review says there is “no proven methodology” and the bespoke programmes developed so far have “only reached a small proportion of the target prison population and have not kept pace” with the number of releases. The 36 convicted terrorists who have been released and are living in the community are managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements used for convicted sex offenders. “We note that existing programmes and other tactical measures have also been used with those terrorist offenders who have already been released. But there remains a significant risk that prison fails to enable terrorist prisoners to re-evaluate their views,” the review concludes. The figures show 123 terrorism-related prisoners were being held on 30 December 2010 in the UK’s eight high-security prisons. They included 96 convicted under terrorism legislation including those linked to al-Qaida or groups influenced by them. A further 22 are classified as domestic extremists or separatists and five are “historic cases” whose convictions date from the 1970s to the 1990s. They include some with a track record of radicalisation and recruitment who may have targeted other prisoners. Counter-terrorism officials believe further research is needed on radicalising influences in jail and how they endure after release. Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, echoed official concerns. “By 2014 virtually all convicted terrorists given determinate sentences will have been released onto parole. All are deemed to be high risk and require intensive supervision and liaison with the police,” he said. “The 27 convicted terrorists who were given life or indeterminate public protection sentences will remain in jail. Many of those released will be housed in probation hostels. Cutting probation and hostel budgets will be counterproductive.” The annual Home Office bulletin on the operation of police counter-terrorism powers shows the number of terrorism arrests is down 40%, from 209 in 2009 to 125 in 2010. There have been 1,945 terrorism arrests in Britain since 9/11. Use of section 44 stop and search powers has been abandoned after the European court of human rights ruled them illegal. There were 23,882 searches under these powers in 2010. Only one led to a terror-related arrest. This compares with 160,000 searches the year before. The justice ministry said extremist offenders could be recalled to custody if they breached their licence conditions. “It is crucial that we prevent those who have been involved in terrorism returning to these activities — that’s why we work closely with specialist organisations in both custody and the community to prepare offenders for their release.” The figures were published as the interception of communications commissioner, Sir Paul Kennedy, revealed that the police, security services and other public bodies submitted a total 552,550 requests for access to the communication data of members of the public last year. He said Such requests have risen steadily at the rate of 5% a year for the past three years, partly reflecting the growth in communications technology but also the increasing awareness of the usefulness of such personal data to intelligence officers and detectives. Kennedy also reports 27 cases last year of officers from the security services and the Serious Organised Crime Agency tapping the wrong phones because they had written down the wrong numbers or wrong dates. Terrorism policy Prisons and probation Global terrorism UK security and terrorism UK criminal justice Alan Travis guardian.co.uk

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