Qld Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll issues warning to juveniles who post crimes on social media

Queensland’s Police Commissioner has revealed how a new crack team of intelligence officers will take steps to infiltrate online platforms to track down young criminals and stop dangerous vigilantism fed by the digital glorification of crime.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has declared there is more work to be done by social media tech giants to crack down on juvenile offenders bragging of their crimes online, warning the trend is causing harm and stoking fear.

The remarks come as the Commissioner revealed how a new crack team of police intelligence officers will take their own steps to infiltrate online platforms to track down young criminals and stop dangerous vigilantism fed by the digital glorification of crime.

Ms Carroll expressed horror at two recent incidents involving teens allegedly bashing and torturing young victims where footage of the attacks was posted online – both resulting in vigilante threats and behaviour.

Asked whether social media companies could do more to prevent harmful content being posted online, she said “definitely”.

“I think from my perspective, these social media platforms need to be cognisant of the fact that it is causing harm, it is causing fear, that everyone has a responsibility to make us feel safe, because predominantly we’re actually a safe country. But the fear caused from what is seen (online) is quite incredible,” Ms Carroll said.

The issue was discussed at a national meeting of police commissioners, held this week in Perth, during an address by the eSafety Commissioner.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll, in her office at Police HQ, in Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

“We’re using social media more than ever,” Ms Carroll said.

“Young children, who are savvy with this, use it more than anyone.

“I know the eSafety Commissioner, who presented to the commissioners, is talking about this very issue, about having this relationship with these (social media) platforms so they are more responsible in this space.”

Ms Carroll said police were moving to expand the newly created Digital Intelligence Collection and Evaluation (DICE) team from five members to 30 to stop the spread of misinformation online and track down young offenders who post about their crimes.

The team will provide evidence in cases that make use of new legislation bringing in higher penalties for offenders who use social media to glamorise their criminal behaviour.

“We are going to covertly infiltrate some of these online sources to monitor individuals, to look at the groups but also to gain evidence about (people’s) behaviours,” Ms Carroll said.

“But on the flip side, to (also) get rid of some of that misinformation, provide really healthy crime prevention strategies and to get on those pages with the administrators and tell them really what the truth is.”

She said the DICE team had successfully had content removed showing two recent violent incidents involving young girls, adding they’d had a “high level of co-operation” from Meta and TikTok.

In one of those, footage was posted online of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly invited to a “party” at a home in Tewantin where she was prevented from leaving and filmed while being taunted, assaulted and cut with a knife over several hours.

Three girls, aged 12, 13 and 14, have been charged over the incident.

After the footage went viral, the Tewantin home was targeted by vigilantes, with police confirming incidents of break-ins and vandalism, before it was burned down in an arson attack.

Inside the alleged torture house at Tewantin that was trashed in an attack of vigilantism. Photo: Supplied

The house was burned to the ground. Photo: Supplied

In the second incident, on March 26, bystanders filmed an attack on a seven-year-old girl at a playground in Smithfield, near Cairns, as she was punched and her head stomped on, allegedly by a 13-year-old girl.

After the distressing footage was posted online, vigilantes circulated an address they said was that of the older girl. Ms Carroll said the wrong address was posted.

Content relating to that investigation was viewed more than 6.5 million times.

“What we see with vigilantism, it goes horribly wrong,” she said.

“People die, they give out a wrong address online, innocent people are targeted.

“And in fact, the vigilantes end up being charged with serious, serious offences.”

In 2021, 22-year-old Jennifer Board was killed when a vigilante driver chasing a stolen car lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the young woman as she was riding her motorcycle in the opposite direction.

Christopher Michael Hughes has been charged with murder. It has been alleged he was part of a Facebook community of vigilantes that hunted stolen cars with the intent of ramming them off the road.

Snapshot of the video circulating online of a seven-year-old being bashed and kicked, allegedly by a 13-year-old girl. Picture: supplied

“She was about to join the Queensland Police Service,” Ms Carroll said of Ms Board.

“And here she is dying allegedly as a result of someone doing the wrong thing, ending up in an absolutely tragic situation.

“People in vigilante groups do not have all the skills, the knowledge and the information that we have in relation to these people.

“So if you’re acting on misinformation or lack of knowledge, you’re doing harm to yourself and the community.”

DICE, which has only been operating for a few weeks, has already investigated 40 “high impact” crimes involving young offenders.

One of those involved a recidivist juvenile offender who posted himself driving around in a BMW and an Audi stolen from Brisbane’s eastern suburbs.

The team found evidence of the thefts before they had even been reported to police, resulting in several arrests.

In another case, a group of juveniles stole alcohol from a liquor store in Bracken Ridge. DICE found images of the youths holding bottles of alcohol on social media that matched the clothing in CCTV footage, resulting in multiple arrests.

She said the team would also contact administrators of community Facebook groups to let them know when arrests had been made and to prevent the spread of misinformation.

Ms Carroll said it was everyone’s responsibility to ensure violent and distressing crimes were not posted online by juvenile offenders seeking notoriety.

“I think there is this incredible responsibility that we all should be doing the right thing to put out the right information and to try and stop this putting up of horrendous images that have this really terrible effect on the community,” she said.

Originally published as Qld Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll issues warning to juveniles who post crimes on social media