The challenge
Twenty-one children under the age of 18 were arrested on terrorism charges from March 2020 to March 2021 - the only demographic to show an increase in terrorism related arrests. In 2015, young people under the age of 24 accounted for less than 20% of extreme right wing terrorist arrests. But there has been worrying growth over the last several years. In 2020, this figure almost tripled, with under 24s accounting for nearly 60% of arrests.
Much of this growth is a result of young people being targeted and radicalized by extremists online. Children are targeted across a...