LONDON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- British police launched a new nationwide campaign on Monday calling on communities to help prevent terrorism attacks.
Britain's most senior counter terrorism officer, the Metropolitan Police's assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, launched the new Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) campaign, urging the public to report suspicious activity.
Rowley revealed that Britain's security services had prevented 13 potential terror attacks since June 2013.
The police appeal was announced as the terror threat becomes increasingly complex and varied, and comes as new figures show that information from the public has assisted counter terrorism police in a third of their most high-risk investigations.
Rowley told an audience of community and business leaders in Manchester that information from the public continues to play a significant part in recent successes in countering terrorism.
But he said police officers need even more information to help build better intelligence pictures on individuals or groups plotting attacks.
Meanwhile the terrorism threat in Britain remains at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.
In London, the Met's Police Security and Specialist Operations Commander Simon Bray said: "Advances in technology make it more complex and challenging for us to spot would-be terrorists, with radicalization taking place in a relatively short space of time using encrypted communications."
"We all remain vigilant and people act, by calling us confidentially, if they are concerned about any suspicious activity," Bray said.
Last year, a record number of people contacted Britain's confidential anti-terrorist hotline. The service received more than 22,000 calls.
Bray added: "In London we have excellent relations with our communities. These are the people that we depend on for information to help us keep Londoners safe. The number of calls and online reports we receive with information is increasing but we are appealing for even more."
A quarter of people said in a survey they might not report suspicions because of fears over wasting police time, while almost 40 percent were unsure about what suspicious behavior might look like.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "We know their information makes a real difference, so I urge Londoners to keep their eyes and ears open and immediately report anything suspicious to the police."
To coincide with the new appeal, a podcast produced by counter terrorism police reveals previously untold stories of how terrorist attacks on British soil were prevented. The stories are told by counter terrorism detectives, bomb disposal and surveillance officers, many speaking publicly for the first time, as well as senior officers, witnesses and the terrorists themselves.
In one episode, a former police officer explains the race against time to secure vital evidence right under the nose of a terrorist suspect in a highly sensitive covert operation.
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