Watch out!
Officers revealed 80% of terrorism convictions were a result of members of the public reporting suspicious behaviour – even something seemingly small can be significant once a bigger picture is pieced together.
Counter-terrorism intelligence officer for west Kent, Robin Brenchley, told the meeting a young boy from Kent was taken to Syria by his terrorist mother after teachers had failed to notify authorities of her suspicious behaviour.
He said: “One of the worst jobs of my career was having to attend a primary school and explain to his teachers, because of information they hadn’t given us, that a 10-year-old boy had been taken out to Raqqa with an estranged parent who is now a member of Isis.
“Last we heard, the boy was living in a war zone.”
Mr Brenchley said neighbours of the men who bombed London’s transport system on July 7, 2005, had noticed their plants were being killed – by the toxic chemicals used to make bombs – and bin men had spotted “shed loads” of peroxide bottles in the rubbish but no one had reported it to police.
Had they done so, he said, “it would have stopped it”.
He said suspicious behaviour included people taking photos or measurements of public spaces, taking an interest in security measures, or driving the same route many times.
Mr Brenchley said he would never criticise someone for reporting suspicious behaviour that turned out to be innocent, adding: “I would rather have thousands of reports to wade through than miss the one that fills in the piece of the jigsaw.”
Visit tinyurl.com/ maidstoneantiterroradvice, or call the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789321.