We have created the first index of CVE implementation across European, North American and Australasian societies. We have used the index to highlight the variance in P/CVE implementation between 38 'western' nations and to identify the drivers of high CVE implementation. We explored whether neoliberal economic policy, GDP, population demographics and previous terrorist attacks are factors in high implementation of P/CVE. We were interested in the relationship between neoliberal economic policy and P/CVE because, in Criminology, the argument is often made that neoliberal economics underpins the turn to risk-based, preventive policy.
Results show no association between neoliberal economic policy and the amount of P/CVE implemented by state. Neoliberal economics is not driving P/CVE implementation. However, other factors (such as the recent experience of terrorist attacks, and the size of minority ethnic populations) have a stronger association with the implementation of prevention policy. Our findings show that - despite their being no association between Muslim minority population size and terrorist attacks - Muslims are securitised as threats by many nation states, driving the implementation of P/CVE policies.
We have conducted in-depth qualitative case study research into the implementation of P/CVE in England, Scotland, Czechia, Croatia, Norway, Lithuania, Finland & France exploring the development of P/CVE policy architectures and how/if each nation implements terrorism prevention through the healthcare sector. Our findings show that national understandings of civil society affect the translation of P/CVE to each country. France's constitutional Republicanism has, for example, precluded the implementation of pre-emptive P/CVE - in favour of strong protections of free thought and speech. In Britain, longstanding 'nudge' governance has led the country to implement the largest pre-emptive P/CVE intervention program in the world, but significant controversy exists around the tensions Prevent causes with civil liberties, free thought, and equality. England & Wales have also established 'vulnerability support hubs' which share the medical information of people referred to P/CVE referral schemes with counterterrorism police. This health information (regarding psychiatric illnesses) is then used by police & psychiatrist teams to enact interventions upon persons - including hospital detention on the grounds of public protection. We highlight the racialised and unethical dynamics of this program in our co-authored report (by Hil Aked, Tarek Younis & Charlotte Heath-Kelly) 'Racism, Mental Health and Pre-Crime Policing: The Ethics of Vulnerability Support Hubs' (MedAct 2021). We have since published a follow-up study of the transformation of the Hubs into the national CT CCS program ('Unhealthy Liaisons: NHS Collaboration with the Counter Terrorism Clinical Consultancy Service').
Finally, we have produced a documentary film of the experiences of people referred to the UK's Prevent program. The review of counterterrorism policies rarely includes their impact upon marginalised communities, so we collaborated with our NGO partner Preventwatch to film the stories of those who've been referred to Prevent - and the impact this had upon them.
