As a result of the haze of confusion surrounding the Prevent programme, conspiracy theories and speculative rumours tend to circulate, especially among communities in the areas that Prevent has focused on. Such an atmosphere is disempowering and we do not wish to add to it. We have attempted to conduct this research in an evidence-based manner, providing sources for the claims made wherever possible. On occasion, information has been passed to us by individuals who, for understandable reasons, wish to remain anonymous. The credibility of the information will therefore be harder for the reader to assess but we have, as far as possible, only reproduced such claims where they can be confirmed by other sources. We hope that other individuals and organisations will, along with ourselves, continue the investigative work begun in this research project so that the Prevent programme will be subject to a much greater degree of critical scrutiny and be required to become more transparent in its operations., This report is the result of a six-month research project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.The research draws on existing policy and academic work, freedom of information requests, a programme of interviews and a roundtable discussion. During the course of the project, thirty-two interviews were conducted with Prevent programme workers and managers in local authorities (6), members of local Prevent boards (10), voluntary sector workers engaged in Prevent work (10) and community workers familiar with local Prevent work (6).