Prevent and political judgments by police

As one of the peers who pushed the government into holding a review of Prevent can I urge everyone to contribute to changing this counterproductive approach to combating terrorism (Police challenge Prevent critics to ‘stand up and be counted’, 5 February). The safeguarding of vulnerable people and vulnerable communities will only work if we have the cooperation of those communities and Prevent is simply not trusted by many whom the authorities need to work with them. Prevent has become discredited because it has thrown the net so wide that it includes many thousands who have committed no serious crimes, but are seen by the police as subversives and domestic extremists.

As one of several Green politicians who was on the domestic extremism database, I am a critic of Prevent for the same reasons as I criticise the spycops who invaded the lives of women activists and spied on justice campaigners like the parents of Stephen Lawrence. Prevent is an extension of political policing and will remain so until parliament, rather than the police themselves, defines who is and is not a domestic extremist. We need a public debate on whether we want the police making political judgments about what people might think, or whether we want them to do their job based upon actual crimes being committed.
Jenny Jones
Green party, House of Lords