AFP Warns of Teen Extremism Surge as 32 of 37 Cases Came in Two Years
Australian Federal Police say 32 of the 37 young people prosecuted in counter-terrorism cases since 2020 were charged in the past two years. Experts link the rise to online networks, gore channels and a falling age of those involved.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have warned of a surge in teen extremism, saying 32 of the 37 young people prosecuted in counter-terrorism cases since 2020 were charged in the past two years. Here is what’s behind Australia’s surge, according to the police review and the experts who work with affected families.
Most people charged with the new federal crime of possessing violent extremist material are under 18, according to an investigation published in March.
What the police review found
The AFP reviewed 55 youth terrorism cases and found a mixed profile. The young people are often male. Many had received some support or intervention for a mental health condition. Some come from stable homes, others do not.
What they share is that they are young and spend time online. Experts say the age of those caught up in these crimes is falling.
Two arrests in Darwin
In the past month, two teenagers in Darwin have been charged with collecting documents that could facilitate acts of terrorism. The second was arrested after an initial examination of documents and electronic devices at a Northern Territory home.
The AFP alleges the material and online discussions included “glorification of mass casualty attacks at schools”. All matters remain before the courts.
Five months earlier, another Northern Territory teenager was charged over posts with “pro-Nazi, anti-immigration, anti-trans and white nationalist themes”. The charge sheet alleges he also had videos of white nationalist attacks, including the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting and the 2022 Buffalo shooting.
An online ecosystem
Reporting on the trend describes a sprawling online ecosystem. Networks there urge violence and nihilism for their own sake, and perpetrators coerce victims not much younger than themselves into brutal and degrading acts.
Debra Smith, a professor at Victoria University who works on harm prevention programs, says the age of this group has dropped dramatically over the past decade. She argues that radicalisation is not the only lens. Some young people are being socialised in online spaces that look exciting and transgressive but are harmful.
She has seen teenagers found with “hard drives full of what can only be described as gore”. She compares it to other risky subcultures: “It’s like getting involved in any other … unhealthy subcultural aspect of life … [such as] gangs or crime for payment.”
How one teenager got in
A New South Wales teenager who pleaded guilty to possessing violent extremist material, among other charges, said he first met such content on TikTok at 14. He was seeking validation from others online. He also used ChatGPT to research the Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and security arrangements at the Sydney Opera House.
He received a three-year community corrections order. Others have told police they joined so-called gore channels on Telegram, where increasingly extreme footage, including animal abuse, is traded.
Levi West, a research fellow at the Australian National University, says many of those involved are so young that they may be seen as much victims as perpetrators. That, he says, is a significant challenge for how authorities respond.
