PARTICIPATION PROJECT: UK`s Secondary CVE prevention strategy

Channel also provides support to those showing signs of radicalisation, thus also acts as a secondary prevention approach. The scheme offers intervention-based support in terms of counselling and mentorship. Here, the Channel scheme benefits from its diverse panel, which includes religious actors, the police, schools and social support services. The UK's CounterTerrorism Policing ACT scheme - Action Counters Terrorism - is another example of secondary prevention. The scheme focuses on counter-narratives and develops a campaign to counter extremist messages and provides the public with information on how to detect and report signs of extremism. Community engagement to reduce extremism has also been attempted in the country. In 2005, 'Muslim Contact Units' were deployed to collect information from the country's Muslim communities.

This effort is said to have reduced the amount of young Muslims in the country from being involved in extremism (Dodd, 2005). This also confirms research from previous studies that community engagement can increase the reporting of extremism, especially when working close to families (Munro, 2019).

The Research, Information and Communications Unit employs counter-narratives via communication, thereby reducing its threat and attractiveness. "It works to address potential risks associated with exposure to violent extremist belief systems by confronting their underlying weaknesses, exposing their proposed solutions to be false, tackling the illusion that life as part of violent extremist organization is glorious, and promoting a positive alternative to violent extremism" (Lynch et al, 2015; p. 14).