Terror strikes again but new tactics help the fight

The early success of the NSW fixated persons unit is a timely demonstration of the need for constant vigilance and innovation in the face of the Islamist terrorism threat. This specialist unit combines police investigators with mental health professionals to target and assess individuals suspected of extremist or obsessive behaviour. An early initiative of NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, the unit has charged six people from 32 investigations in its first six months.

As we report today, the unit probes a range of individuals driven by a variety of factors; it has tracked people fixated on a US school shooting and charged a man obsessed with hurting a judge. But this approach will be crucial in combating terrorism, too, with half of all targeted individuals so far enticed by the idea of Islamist terror attacks.

In Europe there has been another atrocity with two women killed by a knife-wielding terrorist at the main train station in Marseilles. The assailant was dressed in black and yelled “Allahu akbar” as he slit one woman’s throat and stabbed the other. That such horrific attacks and senseless waste of lives can become so common (241 people have been killed by jihadists in France in less than three years) and that they are so difficult to guard against underscores the security and social challenge we confront. Another suspected terror attack occurred in Canada last weekend, with five people injured when a man rammed pedestrians with a van and stabbed a police officer. And even as details are emerging from the carnage in Las Vegas we have another example where identifying this evil intent, no matter the motive, would have saved lives. We see time and again that lone wolf types, inspired by Islamist extremist ideology, can strike anywhere, any time. So using psychiatric experts to help identify and investigate individuals who may be susceptible to radicalisation or are likely to commit such acts is a new, challenging and important tactic.

Last weekend in Melbourne and Sydney, spectators at the grand finals experienced the inconvenience of this disturbing new world as metal detectors and bag searches slowed entry during successful efforts to keep the crowds safe. We know the AFL grand final was the desired target of a terror plot thwarted by police in 2005 and since then other public places and events in Melbourne have been targeted. Mr Fuller also said Sydney remained a focus for terrorism plotters who had publicly pinpointed the city. “We have got to do everything we can to stop the next terrorist incident happening,” he said.

Yet in the end bollards and security checks can’t defeat this threat because radicalised individuals have an endless array of potential weapons and methods at their disposal. Rooting out the ideologies, networks and people looking to do us harm must be the highest priority. The new NSW unit is another useful step and emphasises that we cannot afford to relent in our ongoing efforts to protect the public and combat terrorism. As the Islamic State caliphate is crushed in the Middle East, the return of jihadists to Australia and Southeast Asia is likely to escalate the threat in the short term.