WA terror indicators: WA Police Detective-Superintendent Ricky Chadwick reveals terror warning signs

A senior counterterrorism detective has called for better community awareness about violent extremism as he revealed a number of warning signs people should look out for. WA Police Detective-Superintendent Ricky Chadwick said his goal was ensuring people were disengaged from violent extremist views before anyone managed to carry out an act of terror following a string of high-profile arrests in WA. It comes weeks after Liam Alexander Hall, 32, last faced court after he allegedly engaged in a terror attack when throwing a homemade explosive device into a crowd of 2500 Invasion Day protestors at Forrest Place. Hall, who lived alone and who allegedly accessed pro-white material, is accused of filling a glass container with three explosive liquids, wrapping it in ball bearings and screws, before throwing it from a balcony. The device didn’t go off and the accused was arrested at the scene. Police said the fact the device didn’t detonate prevented a “mass casualty event.” Weeks after that incident, news spread of police charging a 20-year-old man over a separate terror plot. SEE BELOW FOR FULL LIST OF WARNING SIGNS Jayson Joseph Michaels, from Bindoon, was allegedly plotting to target WA Police headquarters, places of Muslim faith and Parliament House. He came to the attention of police when they began investigating a Telegram group chat where he allegedly expressed anti-Semitic and racist ideologies with other like-minded individuals. Police allegedly found a notebook inside his parents’ home, where he lived, which police claim outlined preparations for the attack. Both individuals are currently behind bars ahead of their next court dates. Det-Supt Chadwick, in an interview with The West, said a level of understanding from the community about warning signs was important in order to ensure authorities could intervene before someone commits an offence. “It really needs a level of understanding, certainly at the community level, just recognising the signs when someone they know has a behaviour change,” he said. “Particularly for young people, quite frequently, a warning sign is bullying and this sort of knowledge helps law enforcement, helps education institutions identify concerns. “We look at whether there’s changes in their behaviour, their appearance, they’re disengaging from their family, their normal cohort of friends and whether all of a sudden they are distant themselves, they’re hanging out and aligning themselves with different types of people who may have similar thoughts. “With young people, we can identify what’s called ‘leakage’ pretty early. First of all, young people have to go to school. When you’re in a school environment with adults and other students, some of the behaviours and activities can be witnessed, and so that’s why they approached us (at the countering violence extremism program). “For adults, it’s a bit more tricky, because some may not engage in society more broadly, so they’re alone and some of their behaviours are restricted to what they’re doing online. “For people living in a real extremist, violent extremist echo chamber, it really does degrade their ability to think, to make competent sound judgments.” Det-Supt Chadwick said State and Federal authorities constantly worked together to try and identify lone actors as the national terrorism threat, set by ASIO, remains probable. “You can walk up and down the streets of Perth and feel relatively safe, so I don’t think we should unnecessarily cause panic, but we do live in 2026, and so we need to be alert, but not alarmed,” he said. “As the world evolves, we have new and emerging threat types. At the moment, it’s violent extremism from a lone actor, usually grievance motivated. So we’ll try and understand that, find ways to early identify and intervene. “People are more consumed with politics and the like, and it found its way into the school playground, which it never used to be back in the day. “Ongoing vigilance must be maintained, because one singular terrorist act by someone can really change the way people feel . . . it’s different to other crime types. “There are people who get assaulted all the time, but when it’s terrorism, someone is assaulted or killed because of who they are, what they look like, or how they think — the crime itself goes beyond that initial victim, it has a broader impact and it really undermines the sense of safety and security for a large section of the community that see themselves in that victim.” See below for a full list of warning signs, which are assessed holistically by the countering violence extremism team and considered in the context of an individual’s lifestyle and personal circumstances. VIOLENT EXTREMISM WARNING SIGNS The WA-based countering violent extremism and living safe together intervention program team can be contacted confidentially by emailing: WAISP@police.wa.gov.au. In an emergency where someone or property is being threatened call triple-0. More information about the free and voluntary program, which tailors the needs of each individual, can be found here.