Is NZ equipped to rehabilitate those who pose a risk of violent extremism?
Thursday, 9 September 2021
Those involved with the case of the man who carried out a terror attack in Auckland say a carefully tailored rehabilitation programme could have prevented the stabbings. But these types of programmes still have a long way to go, writes Laura Walters.
In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, programmes that claimed to deradicalise those drawn into extremist ideologies sprang up around the world. Governments, private organisations, and community groups developed a range of initiatives intended to rehabilitate those at risk of carrying out attacks.
In the two decades since, the threat landscape has changed. The world has become aware of the dangers posed by those who hold extreme political or identity-motivated ideologies, with the rise of the far-right, white supremacists and QAnon.
As former alt-right extremist Caleb Cain said following the Christchurch attack that killed 51 Muslims, deradicalisation is a hot new space. Anyone can be deradicalised, but not just anyone can carry out that work.
While there is a lot of focus on this area, the concepts and programmes for countering violent extremism are still in their infancy.
**READ MORE:
* The terrorist was a 'highly damaged' refugee and efforts to help him failed
* Muslim group warned police of a March 15 threat, weeks before Chch attack
* Kiwis with extremist views seek help in the wake of Christchurch terror attack
**
There is little proof of the efficacy of the programmes, and the research is not settled on how they should be resourced and delivered.
In the UK, the police-led Prevent strategy has been running for 18 years. But the model, which is similar to those used by other Western countries, is highly criticised by minority communities who have been securitised by the programme.
In one case, a teacher referred a four-year-old Muslim boy after they heard him talking about the popular video game Fortnite.
The programme is currently under review, following a government-commissioned report from psychologists that said there was little to back it up other than good intentions.
On the flipside, Denmark’s Aarhus model has had some success, through pairing dislocated youth, at risk of radicalisation, with mentors and support services in their community.
Following the terror attack at LynnMall in Auckland last week, experts and community leaders have raised concerns about the availability, design and delivery of the country’s state-run countering violent extremism (CVE) programmes.
Those who are familiar with the case of 32-year-old Ahamed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen say there were opportunities to engage with him in a way that may have prevented last week’s stabbings.
In response to Stuff’s questions about Corrections’ CVE programmes, Corrections national commissioner Rachel Leota provided a written statement that paints a picture of a difficult and violent person, with untreated mental health issues. He assaulted staff, throwing excrement at them, and he refused to engage with psychologists and community support workers.
“Many of our staff worked exceptionally hard to prevent the potential for serious harm to be caused by this person. I am very proud of them, and grateful for their commitment to the safety of our communities,” Leota wrote.
“They, and all of us, will always ask what more could have been done to prevent the horrific offending that occurred on [September 3].”
But experts and Muslim community leaders who spoke to Stuff say Samsudeen had come to New Zealand seeking a better life, following torture and sexual abuse in Sri Lanka. Instead of receiving support and services congruent with successful resettlement, he was retraumatised, and his life was catapulted into a downward spiral.
Australia National University (ANU) criminologist Dr Clarke Jones describes Samsudeen’s life as a tragedy.
“He was a man crying out for help. There was no-one there to provide any support for him; he was not getting any social traction. There was a real desperation.”
Jones works with government and community groups on countering violent extremism in Australia, and in the Philippines as part of a UN rehabilitation programme. He says the fact Samsudeen’s situation was able to get to the point it did is a disgrace.
“The only reason I’m saying this is there’s a good chance it could have been prevented.”
In 2018, Jones wrote a report for the High Court, saying Samsudeen was an ideal candidate for a carefully designed, culturally sensitive and closely supervised intervention programme, delivered by the Auckland Muslim community. His offer to help design that programme, with lawyer and community rehabilitation worker Aarif Shaheed, was not taken up.
During the past two years, government agencies have reported an increase in the number of people believed to be at risk of carrying out an act of violent extremism.
The Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS), the spy agency that initially identified Samsudeen as a risk, monitors roughly 30 to 40 people on its terrorism watchlist.
The SIS is careful to point out that extremist views can involve a range of ideologies and a spectrum of behaviours, but only a very small number demonstrate actual intent and capability to carry out an attack.
Earlier this year, director-general Rebecca Kitteridge told Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee that the agency’s counter-terrorism effort was split 50/50 between white identity-motivated violent extremism and faith-motivated violent extremism.
In February 2021, Corrections was monitoring 216 people who it believed posed a risk of identity-motivated violent extremism or faith-motivated violent extremism. Of these, 140 were categorised as being motivated by identity, while the other 76 were motivated by faith. Most of them were residing in the community (135).
Corrections’ Rachel Leota said when the department identified someone with potentially violent extremist views, it developed an individualised plan, focused on disengaging them from the potential use of violence.
The plan might involve assessment and treatment from a psychologist, or a more general programme that targets their propensity for violence. It may also include support from community, cultural and religious leaders.
Staff also consult outside agencies, like police, and the CVE forum.The forum meets quarterly, and includes: Corrections, Police, Refugee Council, Human Rights Commission, Islamic Women's Council and the Ministry of Social Development.
Leota said this was the approach taken with Samsudeen, but he refused to engage with psychologists. The department engaged with the local Muslim community with the intention of having an imam meet with him regarding his spiritual beliefs. He met the imam twice, but didn’t engage in a meaningful way. Leota said Corrections had no ability to compel an offender to take part in rehabilitation activities.
Now police are set to take over as the lead agency in the design and delivery of a new CVE rehabilitation programme.
Following the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the March 15 terror attack, police have begun developing He Aranga Ake, formerly the Multi-Agency Coordination and Intervention Programme (MACIP).
It’s been funded with $8.44 million over four years, to deliver what police referred to in a statement as “a holistic, integrated approach to disengaging identified persons of concern from violent extremism and terrorism, to reduce the likelihood of them causing harm”.
“Once operational the programme will provide appropriate, coordinated, supported and effective interventions proportionate to the individual's risk, needs, responsivity and circumstances whilst also considering their culture, environment, and background,” police said.
The vague, jargon-laden description of the programme speaks to the early stage of its development.
ANU’s Jones says He Aranga Ake sounds similar to the eurocentric Prevent strategy that had been an “absolute failure” in the UK and Australia.
However, those from the Muslim community who were consulting on the plan’s development said it was too early to pass judgment, adding that there had been genuine efforts to engage with minority groups.
Jones says police are not best placed to lead a CVE programme. They had an inescapable conflict, as they were often at the centre of the trauma and discrimination experienced by those at risk of extremism.
This is a view echoed by human rights activist Anjum Rahman, a member of the Islamic Women’s Council.
The police’s hard-edged law enforcement role undermined the mutual trust and respect needed to make progress in any rehabilitative programme.
“It’s very hard to shake someone’s hand and then punch them in the face,” Jones said.
The problem with expecting communities to design and deliver intervention programmes is the current lack of resourcing.
New Zealand Muslim Association president Ikhlaq Kashkari says in an ideal world, the community would design and deliver intervention and rehabilitation programmes, but that is not realistic given the current resourcing constraints.
NZMA was the largest Muslim organisation in New Zealand but all of its work was voluntary, and people in the community incurred personal costs in carrying out support work.
Practically, it makes sense for police to lead this work, Kashkari says. They had the funding, the people, and the access to information that community groups currently did not have.
“If community doesn't have the resources and support, you’re bound to fail,” he says, adding that there were questions to be asked about the support and resources provided to Masjid-E-Bilal, the mosque in Glen Eden where Samsudeen was staying at the time of the attack.
On the flipside, Kashkari also points to examples where the Muslim community has successfully designed rehabilitation plans, and engaged with at-risk people in Auckland and Waikato.
When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks about the man who carried out the terror attacks, she does not use his name. She has been emphatic in stating his beliefs and acts were that of an individual, not that of a community or religion.
This type of messaging pushes back against harmful stereotyping of minority and marginalised communities, including Muslims, immigrants, refugees, and those suffering mental health issues.
But radicalisation does not happen in a vacuum.
Experts say dysfunction comes from other parts of a person’s life – from family, school, social settings or the wider community. People at risk have often been ‘’othered’’, which can lead to disconnection.
A drive towards social cohesion has come to the fore since the March 15 terror attack.
Associate Minister for Social Development Priyanca Radhakrishnan says the new work focuses on the inclusion of ethnic and faith communities, but it also encompasses diversity in all its forms.
“We want to ensure that everyone feels safe, valued, heard, has a strong sense of belonging, and is able to participate fully in society,” she says.
“While Aotearoa is internationally regarded as a country with a high level of social cohesion, we know we can do even better.”
Jones says many of the criminogenic drivers of violent extremism are the same as other criminal antisocial behaviours, and the grounding principle of any approach needs to be inclusion and belonging.
“If the focus is just to prevent terrorism and violent extremism, then I think they’re misguided.”