Record Number Of Terrorism Suspects Arrested In UK

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According to the UK Home Office, a record number of terrorism suspects – 315 in total – were arrested in the past year in the country. Sharp increases in arrests of women and minors were noted. These figures reflect the concerted effort security services put on preventing terrorist attacks and travel of Britons to and from Syria to join ISIS.

The number of women arrested for terrorism or related offences more than doubled, from 21 to 50, in the year ending in September. A record number of juvenile suspects, 15, was detained as well.

The rise in numbers of arrests related to terrorist activity marks the determined effort to address the issues of extremism in the UK, according to the Daily Mail. Security Minister John Hayes was quoted as saying: “We are determined to detect, disrupt and where possible prosecute all terrorist threats to the UK.”

According to the figures, women now make for 16 percent of all arrests related to terrorism, double the share of previous years. Striking is the fact that 20 percent of all female suspects arrested for terrorist activity since the 11 September attacks happened in this past year.

“The majority of the increase in the number of women getting arrested has been linked to international-related terrorism,” the Home Office said.

Nearly 40 percent of those arrested were charged, while 22 percent were released on bail, and 37 percent were released without charge. The last figure is an increase over the previous year’s 31 percent.

“The number of arrests is often quoted as an illustration of the scale of the threat. However, it more accurately demonstrates the scale of police activity in countering it. Charge or conviction data would be a better measure of the level of confirmed terrorist activity,” a spokesperson for the Home Office said.