Police ‘very much alive’ to the danger of released extremists

Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes has said that police and MI5 are making ‘a serious investment in terrorist lifetime offender management’ due to the long-term threat posed by freed terror offenders.

Following attacks by freed terror convicts, including in November 2019 at Fishmongers’ Hall, there has been rising concern about short sentences given to extremist offenders. The country’s top counter terrorism officer told the Evening Standard that police have always had to face the challenge of managing people ‘who are suspected now of being involved in terrorism who have served sentences for terrorism offences who are back in communities’.

He said that police were now making ‘a serious investment in terrorist lifetime offender management’ and had increased their resources with ‘a dedicated operational response’ throughout London and the rest of the country.

Jukes said: “The risk of reoffending is obviously present. It’s absolutely not the case that people spend their time being investigated, they go to prison, we forget about them and they return to our communities.

“We are very, very alive to and acting in relation to the risk of reoffending, at the same time as trying to work with our partners to reduce those risks of reoffending through a host of things like ensuring that people are getting mental health interventions where necessary, are housed in places and ways that are constructive to reducing the risk that they might present, and trying to support people to move on and get past their offending history.”

According to Home Office figures released last year, nine of those sentenced for terrorism-related offences during the 12 months to the end of September 2021 were given a term of one year or less.