Description
The 2015 introduction of a key strand of Britain’s counter-radicalisation strategy (the Prevent Duty) imposed responsibilities on a range of public sector workers across the United Kingdom. In response, a burgeoning literature has emerged to consider the impact this has on a range of sectors including healthcare, education and social work. Within this literature, a series of concerns about the creation of new sites of surveillance and the chilling of speech were shared, based on both conceptual reflections of the policy and fieldwork with those impacted. Yet, the existing literature has largely focused on Prevent in urban settings, with little attention paid to everyday experiences of Prevent in more remote, rural and island communities where concerns about extremism or terrorism may be less pronounced. This paper draws on fieldwork about the Prevent Duty in the Scottish Highlands and Islands to reflect on a range of experiences of Prevent Delivery, examining the extent to which vast responsibilities fall on individual actors due to the smaller footprint of the state in these areas, and the impact that low case numbers has on day-to-day engagement and feelings of preparedness. The paper concludes by reflecting on frontline views of Prevent and the appropriateness of the existing Prevent Duty in these settings.
