Chance of success is too unclear

It relies on the mothers and other women in their UK communities, including here in the West Midlands, passing on information about their sons and other family members who are determined to head out to the war zone.

While we wish the initiative well and recognise all its good intentions, the current chances of its success remain to be seen.

It may be being set up with the best of motives, but to the untrained eye it looks incredibly naive.

There are a number of concerning issues it raises, not least the risk of dividing the Muslim families and communities.

Will the women on whom the initiative centres even be aware of what their relatives might be planning to do if they make the long journey out to the war-torn Middle Eastern state?

Yes, women can be powerful agents of change and are a very strong influence on the development of their children, but will Muslim woman be willing to talk to the police on such sensitive matters?

As local campaigners who have travelled to Syria to deliver food have said, the law is ambiguous. What is one man's humanitarian aid mission can be seen as another's support for terrorist acts.

Many Muslim communities are very close-knit and police are clearly gambling on the hope that they can persuade women in the community to report their children and family members.

If the initiative does work, counter-terrorism officers hope it will reduce the numbers coming back to the United Kingdom after they have been radicalised and with the ability to carry out violent acts.

Police also hope that it will increase the future confidence of Muslim women in the police.

They stress that the initiative is not about criminalising people, but about preventing tragedies from occurring.

It is estimated that as many as 400 British Muslims have already travelled to Syria, with up to 20 killed in the civil war conflict so far.

Let's hope that the initiative does succeed in stemming the tide of tragedy linked to the conflict.