Interview: Countering violent extremism on the front foot

John Borland, a former detective in the Queensland Police Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism and Major Events Command, suggests that a more proactive mindset is needed to manage the ongoing threat of violent extremism.

NZSM: Right-wing extremist terror attacks have been on the rise in the US and in Europe. Has New Zealand’s national security and law enforcement community been paying adequate attention to the right-wing threat?

JB: I think there should be as much focus on the issues within the country as there is focus on preventing risk later on, such at the border or incident response stage.

I haven’t had much involvement with the New Zealand counterterrorism measures other than what’s publicly available, so I can’t factually say yes or no, but I think generally as a community we focus a lot more on the ‘risk’ from outside and tend to forget about the cancer already within the community.

John Borland of Auckland-based ISACORP which provides risk solutions for corporate and insurance enterprises

From my experiences in the Queensland Police Counter Terrorism unit, I investigated as many cases for international risk as I did for ‘homegrown’ risk so I strongly believe the focus should be more reflective of this.

As a society we need to erase the white noise of these extremist attacks and look at the core issue which is poor mental health which is influenced by the internet.

NZSM: The Christchurch attack bears some similarities to the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting of 27 October 2018 in the US. What similarities do you see with other recent attacks internationally?

JB: The use of firearms and the apparent retaliation on behalf of Europeans draws similarities. The government is now reacting to the shooting by foreshadowing a change to gun laws, which arguably should have been done in 2017 with the previous inquiry.

What is interesting about this shooting, having read the offender’s manifesto, is that this is one of only very few attacks I have studied that appears to involve a non-religious extremist ideology, as opposed to one based explicitly on religion.

NZSM: To what extent might there be an international dimension to this incident, in terms of its motivation, conception, coordination, planning, preparation and execution?

JB: Having read the manifesto in its entirety, I have no doubt there is an international influence in relation to the offender’s mindset with respect to all of the above – even researching material on the internet provides this avenue for international influence. This unfortunately can’t be stopped, but it can be monitored appropriately by authorities.

As has been widely stated – the attack is similar to many of video games available on the internet, which raises questions around whether or not these games are normalising and influencing this sort of behaviour – especially when some gamers are now seen as celebrities and paid millions to promote such games.

Of the matters I investigated in Australia involving suspect radicals/ extremists, every case had an element of international influence – be it researching how to develop weaponry, brainstorming ideas with other ‘at risk’ persons, or obtaining chemicals to ship overseas.

NZSM: Online forums providing outlets for extremist ideologies and hate speech appear to play a role in attacks such as this. What possible mechanisms do the New Zealand government have in terms of enhanced monitoring and controls?

JB: Technology is our worst enemy and greatest weapon in the war against terrorism, there is no excuse for not having adequate screening processes and intel gathering strategies to identify persons ‘at risk’ of being involved in any violent ideologies. Data trails and social media make it easier than ever to gather credible Intel so if the government hasn’t implemented adequate CT strategies of this nature – the community should ask why not.

NZSM: In the wake of the attack, gun control has been raised as an area that needs tightening. Do you agree? To what extent can tighter gun control legislation have an impact given the existence of illegal avenues for the sourcing of weapons

JB: Proper screening and justification for purchase of licences and firearms should be required like in Australia, as too the imposition of a gun register and weapons licensing audits. I am yet to be provided a solid case that supports the need for anyone to require military grade firearms for any purpose other than military purposes.

Having said this, however, no one can say that even if such controls had been in place this act of terrorism would have necessarily been avoided.

NZSM: What are the key learnings the New Zealand Government should take away from the incident?

JB: The Terrorist Threat Level was set at ‘low’. Albeit with hindsight, it is difficult to justify this in 2019, particularly when taking into account factors such as online extremism, the epidemic of graphic video games – and their celebrity influencers – involving warfare and shootings, the prevalence of automatic weapons in New Zealand, and the increases in extremist attacks around the world involving mass shootings.

I would recommend that consideration be given to a simplification of terrorist threat levels to just ‘high risk’ and ‘unknown risk’. The ‘low’ risk level creates a false sense of security that suggests there is nothing to worry about. Removing this connotation would help to ensure that as a community we always maintain vigilance.

NZSM: Looking ahead, how does this event change New Zealand’s threat landscape and security outlook?

JB: There needs to be more education around encouraging vigilance within the community, and reporting any signs of risk of violence to authorities. Adequate internal procedures need to implemented (if not already) around scraping intel from the internet and verifying the intel that comes in.

Unfortunately, experience elsewhere shows that it tends to have to take a tragedy to occur before governments reactively implement such measures. There needs to be a proactive mindset.

This may involve educating and awareness raising programmes encouraging the community to report suspicious activity, which may involve a creating a seamless online reporting platform, and establishing resources to develop intel and triage community reports.

Finally, the media should look to driving stories about the silver lining of this incident – by constantly pumping out articles such as ‘Muslims killed by white activist’ etc it only places his actions on a pedestal for others who will now likely worship him. It also assists the intent for which he committed the act. Stories relating to how New Zealand as a community has been outspoken and embracing of unity and multiculturalism stifles the terrorist agenda and disrupts their goal.