More than 150 people reported to Government's anti-extremism programme Prevent went on to attempt or commit serious crimes - including dozens for terrorism offences - report finds

The Daily Mail leads on 156 people referred to Prevent who went on to attempt or commit crimes, but never says how many referrals that figure is drawn from, so a reader cannot judge a rate from it. The only base the article gives is a single year's 10,293 referrals, which on its own is far larger than 156.

1. Uses figures that mislead

   Minor

   “in the four years to July this year, 156 people referred to the Prevent initiative went on to commit or attempt crimes”

   Why this matters

   The Mail gives the 156 figure for a four year window but never sets out how many referrals were made in that window. Three sentences later it says the offences came up to seven years after referral, so the reader is never told which group of referrals the 156 come from.

   The impression it gives

   A reader thinks the 156 is a clear, self-contained measure of how often Prevent referrals end in crime.

   The context

   The article mixes two periods, four years and up to seven years after referral, and gives no total for either. Without the size of the group the 156 are drawn from, the figure cannot show a rate or a trend. The only base the article does give is one year's referrals, which on its own is far larger than 156.

   How we know

   • Elsewhere in the article“up to seven years after being referred to the flagship programme”
   • Elsewhere in the article“a record 10,293 referrals were made to Prevent”