In a letter to Angela Constance, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, the groups say Prevent is “harmful and discriminatory” and that they “do not believe it is compatible with a society that rejects racism and respects everyone’s rights to non-discrimination, private and family life, freedom of expression, education and health.”
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Prevent aims to “tackle the causes of radicalisation” via early intervention and through giving “those who have already engaged in terrorism” a means of getting out.
Under the scheme, teachers, healthcare professionals, social workers, and others, are all tasked with reporting someone they believe is at risk of radicalisation to the scheme.
While Prevent is part of the UK Government’s Home Office-run counter-terrorism strategy, much of the responsibility for delivery lies with Police Scotland and the Scottish Government.
It operates slightly differently north of the border, in part because of smaller Islamist and extreme right-wing threats but higher levels of sectarianism and Northern Ireland-related terrorism.
The most recent figures released by Police Scotland show that there were 87 referrals to Prevent in Scotland in 2022/23, a slight decrease of 5% compared to the previous year.
Of those, 44 were assessed as suitable for Prevent Case Management, meaning social workers, teachers, police and the like met “to discuss what support they could provide which would benefit the individual concerned.”
Of the other 43, 25 required no further action and 18 were “referred onwards”.
Of all those referred, 80 were males, another six were female and one was a transgender male.
Most referrals were made by police, closely followed by the education sector, with the largest proportion of referrals, around a third, for individuals aged 15-20.
Those included two primary school children, 21 pupils from secondary schools and six from higher education.
Some 37 were reported because of concerns over a “mixed, unstable or unclear ideology,” while 31 were for right-wing extremism.
Ten referrals were related to Islamist extremism, with four of those involving children under the age of 15.
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As well as Amnesty International, the letter has been signed by groups including race equality organisation CEMVO Scotland, Scottish Ethnic Minority Autistics, Equality Network, Human Rights Consortium Scotland and Scottish Trans.
They say the Scottish Government can take “immediate steps to reduce the human rights impact of the policy” by collecting better data and “making sure people know when they have been referred”.
The groups told the minister: “Through our work, we see the harmful and discriminatory impact Prevent can have on people’s lives, and do not believe it is compatible with a society that rejects racism and respects everyone’s rights to non-discrimination, private and family life, freedom of expression, education and health.”
They add: “The experiences of rights holders and third sector organisations in Scotland is that the discriminatory and racist impact of Prevent is felt by communities here too, and the Scottish Government has a duty to take urgent steps to mitigate this harm as far as possible.
“As Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, we are calling on you to recognise the ever-growing body of evidence that Prevent is incompatible with international rights obligations and review what actions the Scottish Government can take to limit its impact within devolved competence.”
Liz Thomson, Amnesty UK’s Scotland Advocacy Manager said: “Prevent has a chilling effect across many human rights, including freedom of expression, assembly and the right to equality and non-discrimination.
“There is no transparency on reporting and individuals interviewed by Amnesty had to pursue costly legal battles for information about their own referrals.
“While Prevent is reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government oversees and has significant control of its implementation in Scotland’s public sector.
“It is vital that the Scottish Government recognise that Prevent is incompatible with Scotland and the UK’s human rights obligations and call on the UK Government for it to be scrapped.
“However Scottish ministers also have a responsibility to review what steps they can take to limit its dangerous impact while it remains in place.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As an aspect of national security, the Prevent strategy is reserved to the UK Government.
‘It is delivered through devolved functions such as education, policing and local authorities in Scotland.
“We encourage anyone who feels they have been treated unfairly or incorrectly within the Prevent process to raise concerns with the UK Government Prevent Standards and Compliance Unit.
“We engage with a range of partners on Prevent, with a focus on building links and relationships between communities to overcome all forms of prejudice, intolerance and racism and to protect our shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
