00:01The AFP has described this as one of its biggest and most concerning emerging threats, with
00:08children now making up 40% of the overall counter-terrorism caseload this year alone.
00:15So since 2020, there have been 37 prosecutions of children with counter-terrorism offences,
00:20but in the last two years, 32 of those arrests were laid down.
00:26So it really speaks to the enormity of this issue and it was really brought into reality
00:31really that threat by the arrest of two children, a boy and a girl in Darwin last week, over
00:37counter-terrorism offences related to an alleged plot to enact a mass casualty event.
00:43I sat down with the AFP commander Paula Hudson yesterday here in Canberra.
00:49She is one of the chief officers looking at counter-terrorism more broadly and she says
00:54what's so alarming is just how rapidly these children are being exposed to violent extremist
01:01material and on pretty mainstream platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and gaming ones such
01:07as Discord and Roblox.
01:09Here's what she had to say.
01:11There are multiple, I guess, rabbit holes that the internet has where our youth are being
01:18dragged and siphoned into and being exposed to violent extremist material.
01:24Research tells us that it only takes 23 minutes before a youth would be provided violent extremist
01:33material once they go online.
01:35And Olivia, what's particularly alarming is just how quickly that online exposure can
01:40turn into something much more dangerous.
01:43Exactly.
01:44So police say that by the time they're finding children, they're often quite far down that
01:49pathway of extremism and actually planning to carry out a violent act.
01:55So that could be things such as drafting a manifesto or even selecting targets.
02:00What's particularly concerning or unusual, I guess, to both parents and investigators is
02:06that often these children aren't being driven by a particular ideology.
02:10It's often a bit of a toxic sludge, if you like, of various ideologies such as neo-Nazism,
02:16Islamic extremism and even nihilism.
02:18And really, I guess, the undercurrent of all of this is, I guess, a perpetuation of hatred
02:25or violence.
02:27Ultimately, the big question now is what should parents and caregivers be looking out for at
02:32home?
02:32Commander Hudson has identified a number of red flags.
02:36Excessive time spent online.
02:39Absolutely.
02:40It's participating in the change of rhetoric and their language might change and be more
02:46fixated and emotional about social issues or hateful speech around maybe certain groups
02:54of society.
02:55Those are the signs you need to be looking out for.
02:57The AFP stresses that often these children are victims themselves, so that's why early
03:03intervention is so critical.
03:05She's really calling on parents to use government resources such as Step Together, which is a
03:11government website.
03:12But if they have more pressing concerns, they should definitely contact Crimestoppers or even
03:17the National Security Hotline.
03:19Pizza!
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