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AFP Warns Australia of Youth Crime ‘Tsunami’ as AI Accelerates Radicalisation

Australia’s federal police told a parliamentary inquiry that AI is accelerating youth radicalisation and warned of a “tsunami of youth crime,” with cases involving children as young as 12, The Guardian reported.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-21 15:51

The Australian federal police acting deputy commissioner, Sandra Booth, told the hearing that radicalisation had traditionally taken years or months but could now happen within days. She attributed the shift to artificial intelligence, a growing grievance generation, young people searching for purpose and belonging, and the sophistication of online networks.

Booth said the AFP was deeply concerned that AI was accelerating and lowering the skills required to manipulate and radicalise victims online and then cause serious harm. Without serious intervention, she warned, Australia’s mental health, education and judicial systems could be overwhelmed by people committing serious criminal offences, with possible consequences for democracy and institutions.

“Australia is at the crossroads of a tsunami of youth crime as young, vulnerable and impressionable individuals are being radicalised and manipulated at rapid speed,” Booth said. She also said the country had experienced an increase in threats against politicians.

In one example of radicalisation, an investigation found a 13-year-old boy allegedly possessed violent extremist material. He was using the social media platform Discord, and during a raid at his home police allege they found a notebook containing plans for a school shooting. “This was not in the US,” Booth told the hearing. “This was in Australia.”

Claire McGuinness, Asio’s deputy director general for intelligence service delivery, said the spy agency was encountering more children, including 12-year-olds. She said this was in stark contrast with about 20 years ago, when the caseload was predominantly individuals in their early 20s.

The inquiry heard that since 2020, 65 children, including those as young as 12, had been subject to federal police operations. Thirty-five of them had been charged with state or Commonwealth terrorism-related offences. Intelligence and security committee chair Senator Raff Ciccone said parliament was trying to understand why people were being radicalised in a matter of days and weeks, and invited people personally affected by radicalisation to come forward.

Home affairs department counter-terrorism coordinator Brendan Dowling said the nation was “probably identifying people too late” after they had already come to the attention of law enforcement. He said Australia had long faced a threat from terrorism and violent extremism, but the nature of that threat was changing and was “both more urgent and more challenging than ever before.” A final report from the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security is due in March next year.