Scotland Yard counter-terrorism officers are warning London parents to be vigilant about the online activity of their children, with many buying them phones and tablets for Christmas in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan said referrals to the Government’s Prevent scheme have soared by 38 per cent across the capital from 981 in April 2024 to 1,354 in March this year.
A record number are due to concerns about the radicalisation of vulnerable children under 18 in the wake of hit TV drama Adolescence.
Children exposed to the internet through their phones are at increased risk of seeing dangerous and harmful material, relating to Islamist or far-right extremism, violence and mass casualty attacks.
Ofcom says 82 per cent of 10 to 12-year-olds have their own handsets, rising to 97 per cent for 13 to 15-year-olds and 99 of those aged 16 and 17.
Det Supt Corrigan, who is the Metropolitan Police’s London Prevent Co-ordinator, said: “I know lots of children will receive new phones or tablets this Christmas, with many purchased over the coming weekend’s sales, so it’s vital that parents are setting appropriate controls to ensure their children are kept safe on their devices.
“It is extremely concerning to see more and more young people in our caseload, who are accessing extremist, violent and terrorist-related content online.
“That is why we need both parental and public help with this – to protect children from encountering this type of material in the first place and to prevent them from disappearing into dark and dangerous spaces online.
“As well as setting parental controls on devices, I’d also urge parents and carers to take an active interest in their children’s digital lives to try and ensure they don’t become drawn towards this kind of material. And if you do have concerns, then the best thing to do is ACT Early and reach out to us for help – before it’s too late.”
Some of the warning signs that parents can look for include a young person becoming more isolated from friends or family, speaking as though they are reading from a script and being secretive about who they are meeting or speaking to online.
As well as soaring Prevent referrals, there has also been a huge rise in children being arrested for terrorism-related activity from 12 in 2020 to 40 in 2024.
Earlier this month, officers arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of sharing terrorist publications of extreme Islamist ideology on a social media account. He was released on bail and the investigation remains ongoing.
And on November 11, an 18-year-old man was charged with a terrorism offence after he was arrested at Gatwick Airport. It is alleged that he was intending to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State.
Netflix show Adolescence - about a teenage boy accused of killing a girl from his school - prompted a national conversation about online safety.
This Is England star Stephen Graham played Eddie Miller, the father of 13-year-old Jamie, Owen Cooper, who sees armed police burst into his home to arrest his son.
