Current threat level in the UK

Here you can
see the current threat level to the UK from terrorist attacks and what the
police are doing day-to-day to keep the country safe. You’ll also find answers
to common questions about our policing tactics and how we investigate
terrorism.
How likely
is a terrorist attack in the UK?
The threat
level to the United Kingdom from international terrorism is currently ‘Severe’.
This means that a terrorist 'attack is highly likely'.
The threat
to Great Britain from Northern Irish terrorism is ‘Moderate’. This means that a
terrorist attack is possible, but not likely.
What are the
police doing to keep us safe?
Our
overriding priority is to keep the public safe by working closely with all of
our communities.
We
constantly review our operations and contingency planning, liaising with
central and local government, emergency services and other agencies.
We also use
a wide range of overt and covert policing tactics. Covert tactics, by their
nature, are not obvious to the public, but we also use overt tactics such as
high visibility policing at a variety of locations.
This
includes Project Servator, which uses officers who’ve been specially trained to
spot the tell-tale signs that someone is planning to commit a crime, including
an act of terrorism, to patrol our towns and cities at unpredictable times and
locations. Find out more about Project Servator by searching for
#ProjectServator on Twitter.
We also use
Prevent to try to stop vulnerable people from being radicalised by terrorists
or extremists in the first place.
We use these
extra measures for a variety of reasons. For example, it could be as a response
to seasonal crime patterns or as a precautionary measure in the light of the
current threat from international terrorism.
If you live,
work or visit our towns and cities, you’ll continue to see a selection of
policing tactics used in the future.
Do police
target specific communities when investigating terrorism?
No
individual is targeted by police because of their culture, faith, race or
religion.
Our
inquiries are carried out under the provisions of existing UK law, which takes
into account the human and legal rights of those involved. Terrorist
investigations go where the intelligence and evidence takes us.
We make
every effort to make sure that minority communities are not criminalised or
victimised in any way. The bedrock of British policing has always been to work
with, for, and on behalf of the communities we serve.
It would be
counter-productive for us to target a specific community since it is not police
actions alone that will ultimately defeat terrorism, but the combined actions
of all communities.
We need the
support and confidence of our communities to improve the two-way flow of
information, to arrest and prosecute terrorists and to protect the whole
community.
Why do
police stop passengers at ports?
Police
officers at ports play a key role in countering the current terrorist threat
and maintaining national security. They use powers available to them under
Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and adhere to the Code of Practice that
accompanies the legislation.
The code
requires that the selection of people stopped reflect an objective assessment
of the threat posed by various terrorist groups active in and outside