The children's commissioner has criticized the government's counter-extremism program, Prevent, for failing to address a growing number of children referred to it who are 'fixated on violence without a clear ideology'. Referrals have risen from 2,918 in 2016-17 to 4,715 in 2024-25, with Dame Rachel de Souza stating most cases are sent back to schools without further action. She highlighted that many children do not identify with traditional extremism and called for stronger safeguarding measures. The report follows the Southport school shootings in 2024, where the attacker had been referred to Prevent multiple times but his case was closed due to lack of ideology. Prevent, established two decades ago, focuses on ideological radicalization, leaving gaps in addressing violence-driven cases. Dame Rachel urged media regulators to crack down on harmful online content and recommended multi-agency teams for referrals. The Home Office noted a spike in non-ideological referrals post-Southport but emphasized thorough assessments of each case.