Neil Basu, the Scotland Yard's newly appointed Indian-origin counter-terrorism chief, has launched a new campaign to urge the public to help fight terrorism.
The Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations has revealed that last year more than a fifth of reports from the public produced intelligence which was helpful to police.
Research carried out by CT Policing suggests that while more than 80% of people are motivated to report suspicious activity or behaviour, many are unclear exactly what they should be looking for, the PTI reported.
At the launch of Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) campaign in London last week he reportedly said, "Since the beginning of 2017, we have foiled 10 Islamist and four right-wing terror plots, and there is no doubt in my mind that would have been impossible to do without relevant information from the public.
"We have been saying for some time now that communities defeat terrorism, and these figures demonstrate just how important members of the public are in the fight to keep our country safe...
"Like other criminals, terrorists need to plan and that creates opportunities for police and the security services to discover and stop these attacks before they happen. But we need your help to exploit these opportunities, so if you see or hear something unusual or suspicious trust your instincts and ACT by reporting it in confidence by phone or online.”
