SPECIAL branch officers are breaking away from their traditionally secretive role to target Scottish universities and colleges to prevent future terrorist attacks. What are they really up to? rkm -------------------------------------------------------- http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/48468.html Special Branch targets terror in colleges The Herald LUCY ADAMS, Home Affairs Correspondent October 07 2005 SPECIAL branch officers are breaking away from their traditionally secretive role to target Scottish universities and colleges to prevent future terrorist attacks. The move follows a decision by MI5, the security service, to establish a Glasgow-based operation in response to the need for greater local intelligence gathering. All of Scotland's forces are working on initiatives to improve links with communities, and now Tayside police, which was in charge of policing the G8 summit this year, is piloting a scheme to gather information on potential extremism. The force has created a special branch community unit in the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings and a growing apprehension about "impressionable" young people becoming home-grown terrorists. John Vine, Tayside chief constable, said: "We have to accept the risk of home-grown terrorism and take a more proactive response. We need much better intelligence about what is happening in all our communities." Universities, colleges and community groups in Scotland are expected to be involved in similar moves to improve counter-terrorism intelligence. Extremist Islamic groups have admitted they are still trying to recruit students at Scotland's universities despite attempts to ban them. Special Branch, like MI5, has established a fearsome reputation for secrecy. The pilot marks a significant departure from this. Universities now market themselves across the world and many try to attract students from Muslim countries. Mr Vine said: "We have set up this unit to ensure liaison, particularly with young people, universities, colleges and schools within the community." He will discuss the new Special Branch Community Contact Unit at the Police Symposium at Dundee University today. It will form part of Operation Theseus, the Scottish forces' initiative on counter-terrorism which in-cludes improvements on intelligence sharing and heightened precautions, such as armed officers at airports. Mr Vine said: "We can no longer feel inured from this threat simply because of our geographic location." Special branch officers have already contacted Dundee University Islamic Society and the International Students' Society in an attempt to ensure a flow of information between the police and communities. Earlier this year the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland said it was concerned extremist organisations were trying to operate on campuses and that, although several had been banned, they had circumvented this by changing their names. Research by Anthony Glees, director of Brunel University's centre for intelligence and security studies, documented 14 cases since 1993 of people being charged with terrorism offences having been in contact with extremist groups on campus. This included the case of Shamsul Bahri Hussein, a Malaysian who read applied mechanics at Dundee University and has links with Jemaah Islamiah, accused of bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali blasts. Dundee was also home to James McLintock, a Muslim convert who allegedly fought as a jihadi in Afghanistan in the 1980s against the Soviets and later in Bosnia. Peter Wilson, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said the Tayside "initiative provides a very real opportunity to work even more closely with communities, developing trust and providing reassurance". He added that it was just one of a range of innovative schemes being used by forces. Copyright © 2005 Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights Reserved -- http://cyberjournal.org "Apocalypse Now and the Brave New World" http://www.cyberjournal.org/cj/rkm/Apocalypse_and_NWO.html List archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists=newslog Subscribe to low-traffic list: •••@••.•••