LONDON (AFP) — Police have approved a new strategy to tackle home-grown extremism with an array of soon-to-be-implemented initiatives, according to media reports on Thursday.
The Guardian and The Financial Times said that the initiatives included faith and cultural lessons for officers, guidance for parents to stop their children visiting extremist websites, and the sharing of intelligence with local schools and government services.
Citing a document outlining the strategy, the newspapers said that the strategy will focus on "neighbourhood policing".
"This will allow us to connect with all groups and to understand what is normal and what is unusual," the document reportedly reads.
"We need to continually improve our knowledge about communities and how they function both in a social and a religious context."
Other proposed initiatives included in the strategy were the profiling of Muslim communities and individuals apparently "vulnerable" to an extremist ideology, as well as police intervention in prisons to prevent convicted extremists from spreading their beliefs while in jail.
According to the Financial Times, around 240 million pounds have been dedicated for police counter-terrorism work over the next three years.
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