Copyright © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press.
Case Study |
Community Cohesion in High Wycombe: a Case Study of Operation Overt
* Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police, Oxford.
** Executive Research Offices, Chief Constable's Office, Thames Valley Police, Oxford. E-mail: Lucy.Mason{at}thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
In this article, Chief Constable Sara Thornton and Dr. Lucy Mason of Thames Valley Police explain how the alleged terrorist plot to blow up planes between Heathrow Airport and the US in August 2006 has focussed police efforts on strengthening community relations in the High Wycombe.
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Introduction |
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 Top Introduction 9th August 2006The falloutThe way forward |
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The night of Wednesday 9th August 2006 represented a watershed for the diverse communities of the High Wycombe area, in Buckinghamshire. As the police undertook a series of raids and arrests around London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe, the news of an intended terrorist plot by Islamic extremists to blow up airplanes in flight from the UK to the US broke in the world's media. Strict security measures were put in place at several UK airports, including a ban on carrying liquid onto airplanes, and the travel plans of thousands of people were disrupted as flights were cancelled or delayed. The arrests were the result of months of investigation by the security services and the police, known as Operation Overt.
A planned, or actual, terrorist attack has an enormous impact upon the whole community wherever the suspects live. The police investigation and being under the media spotlight could easily have the effect of alienating communities from the police, and increasing mistrust of the authorities. Instead the police and the community have worked hard to understand each other and to strengthen their relationship.
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9th August 2006 |
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TopIntroduction9th August 2006The falloutThe way forward |
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Overnight on the 9th August large numbers of police officers from Thames Valley Police and the Metropolitan Police Service were deployed across High Wycombe as part of the operation to disrupt the planned terrorist plot. Across parts of London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe, a total of 25 suspects were arrested and questioned. Eight of the suspects were released without charge, and 17 people were later charged with conspiracy to murder and commit acts of terrorism or failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism. Nineteen of the suspects had their assets frozen.
The investigating officers had to make a difficult decision about when to act to disrupt the plot, based on intelligence about whether the attack was imminent. The threat to many people's lives, had the plot succeeded, made the decision a very high-risk one, balanced against the need to gather sufficient evidence of the intention, for a possible prosecution. As the arrests were made overnight, there was no opportunity to brief staff, partner agencies, or the community. The scale of the operation, and the huge level of media interest, made managing the operation a tremendous challenge in the early days. The international aspects, involving both the US and Pakistan, added further difficulties.
The fact that the planned plot had been disrupted before the attack occurred meant that the investigative team had to address a level of skepticism from several commentators, many of whom cited the faulty intelligence which led to recent high profile cases such as the Forest Gate raid by the Metropolitan Police Service, and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in the wake of the London 7/7 bombings. Some Muslim groups expressed concerns over how the raids were handled, whether Muslims were being unfairly targeted by the police, and even skepticism that the plot involved Islamic extremists at all.
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The fallout |
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TopIntroduction9th August 2006The falloutThe way forward |
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In the weeks and months after the 9th August the police carried out many searches of buildings, vehicles, and other areas focussing on a 354 acre wood near High Wycombe. The huge scale of the searches and manpower required were a significant logistical challenge, with more than 200 officers on site every day, co-ordinated with the Metropolitan Police Service. A variety of evidence was gathered including potential bomb-making equipment and chemicals, computers, telephones, and portable storage media such as memory sticks, CDs, and DVDs. Analysing this quantity of data takes months: the prosecutor Colin Gibbs has said that the trial will not realistically start before January 2008, and would last between 5 and 8 months.
A key consideration for the team was the need to communicate with and reassure the Muslim community in High Wycombe and minimize the disruption to them as far as was possible. High Wycombe has an estimated 26,000 Asian Muslims; in one ward 58% of the residents are non-white, well above the UK average. The largest single Muslim community is from the Mirpur district of Pakistan. High Wycombe includes three mosques, and a number of other places of worship. The Muslim community is well represented on the Local Authority.
The team tasked with managing the impact on the local community developed several aims: to provide reassurance; to understand and effectively police the needs of the Muslim community; to ensure multi-agency co-ordination; and to understand and sympathetically manage the needs of the immediate and extended families involved in the ongoing investigation. The police were very aware of a possible backlash against Muslim communities and were vigilant against hate crime.
The challenge was to understand more clearly the viewpoint and needs of the individual groups within a Muslim community that is itself extremely diverse, some of whom were more reluctant to address the reality of the situation. It was important to establish clear lines of communication with every section of the community, to comprehend community tensions, and to explore the opportunities presented to strengthen the relationship between the Muslim community and the police.
Thames Valley Police was midway through implementing Neighbourhood Policing, and the established links between local officers and the community proved valuable in reassuring and listening to community concerns. In addition we appointed a Muslim Community and Diversity Officer, and ensured support for the families displaced by the searches and media attention. Nine points of contact were nominated by the community to advise the police, and to act as a conduit for information.
Fortunately several key individuals who are involved in national work on Muslim issues happen to be based in High Wycombe: two members of our multi-agency working group were contributors to the national Preventing Extremism Together report and therefore were able to advise from their own considerable knowledge.
The police participated fully in regular—even daily, in the early stages—multi-agency meetings, including Wycombe District Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, and community representatives, to ensure a joined-up approach. We also held many public meetings, focussed in the areas of the searches, and held particular meetings with Muslim women, and at youth forums, to ensure that that everyone's views were heard and taken on board. Thames Valley Police also arranged a sporting event for the police and members of the public, and we have continued to co-ordinate opportunities for youth engagement through sport, in partnership with the London Wasps and Wycombe Wanderers football teams, and we have created a boxing club involving the schools officer from one of the most challenging schools.
As emphasized in the Preventing Extremism Together report, the importance of engaging with young people in the Muslim community is a crucial part of improving community cohesion, and preventing radicalization of young people. The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) offered funding to train local community representatives, so that they could set up local Muslim youth forums. The Muslim Youth Forum in High Wycombe is now active, and the long-term aim is to include young people from outside the Muslim community. The police contribute to the Forum in several ways, including securing funding to be used to support activities for young people, such as a recent paint-balling trip.
Prior to the 9th August the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) consisted of individuals mostly employed by the District and County councils, but with very little representation from the community: the IAG membership has now been reviewed and includes representatives from the black, eastern European, gay and transgender, and faith communities as well as the Neighbourhood Action Group representatives.
We have undertaken a cohesion visioning exercise with partner agencies and community representatives to understand and deliver the needs of our community. These events have provided an opportunity to open dialogue where previously there were few lines of communication and little trust.
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The way forward |
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TopIntroduction9th August 2006The falloutThe way forward |
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Operation Overt was a significant success for the police and security services in disrupting a plot to commit mass murder and preventing any lives being lost. The handling of the investigation and media interest was achieved to an extremely high standard, and rather than dividing the police from Muslim communities, opportunities have been taken to improve relationships and build new lines of communication. The many positive outcomes that have been achieved are due in no small part to the mature and reasonable response of the community living in High Wycombe.
A step-change for the Muslim community was that this was the first time that the community acknowledged that there were radicalized extremist elements in their midst, began to take ownership of the issue, and engage with the police and other agencies to understand and address the problems. For the police, it was an opportunity to really understand the community that we police, the ethnic profile, where they pray, the links within and between extended families, and who were the people of real influence in the community. A network of contacts has now been established that enables us to clearly understand and communicate with our communities. We have a much improved understanding of the profile of our communities, and of the role of other partner agencies in promoting community cohesion.
There is now a tranche of work to promote community cohesion in High Wycombe, of which the police are merely one partner. Under the Wycombe One banner, it is understood that all the work undertaken has been for the benefit of one community. A cohesive community should be one with a common vision and sense of purpose: significant steps forward have been taken to achieve this in High Wycombe. A cohesion plan has been developed by the Muslim community to offer the opportunity of engagement with the community, through for example Local Strategic Partnership meetings in mosques, and Understanding Islam courses which are attended by police officers, partner agencies, and members of the public.
Within Thames Valley Police we have been able to learn useful lessons, from engaging effectively with Special Branch to encourage a free flow of information, to improving our gathering, management and interpretation of community intelligence, better engagement with partner agencies, and improving community engagement. We hope as a result we have a better understanding and more trust from our communities.
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