Australia’s Police Want to Force Radicalized Teens Into Special Programs

The police in the Australian southeast state Victoria seek more powers to force teenagers deemed to have been radicalized into special programs that would include a ban from using the internet, the state's attorney general Martin Pakula told Radio 3AW Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He added that the restrictions would be imposed on the teenagers seen as a potential threat to the state’s security no matter if they were planning to join radical organizations overseas or engage in terrorist activity in Australia.

“It’s really about trying to get to young people before they become unduly radicalized and trying to engage them in conduct that would prevent their radicalization. We know a lot of young people are being radicalized over the internet, it’s also known some community-based programs and interventions can help.”

The issue of Muslim youth radicalization was brought to light in September when Australian police arrested 15 people in Sydney raids, triggered by a senior Islamic State jihadist group militant’s call for "demonstration killings."

Last week, local media reported, citing Victoria Police, that more than a dozen young Australians have attempted to join Islamic State extremist groups in the Middle East over the last two months.

The Islamic State actively uses the internet to recruit teenagers. The jihadist group issues up to 90,000 social media messages every day, a former member of the US national security council, Hillary Mann Leverett, told CNN in February.