UK police is making Muslim mental health a terrorism flag

A mental health project run by counterterrorism forces is criminalising mental health problems among Muslims.

The perception and representation of Muslims as a “suspect community” when it comes to national security and counterterrorism in the United Kingdom is well-established. But a more recent turn within these operations towards mental health is creating new, dangerous practices. Last month, Medact released a report in which it exposed a mental health project run by UK counterterrorism police called “Vulnerability Support Hubs”. Despite the name, these hubs are not about care. Instead, they enable police to surveil, manage perceived risk, and access confidential health information more easily. The hubs were established in 2016 because police noticed that approximately half of the people reported to its counter-extremism programme, Prevent, appeared to have a mental health condition. Racialised groups, especially Muslims, are also referred at a grossly disproportionate rate.