NCJ Number
184385
Date Published
Agencies
NIJ
Publication Series
Publication Type
Electronic Document
Grant Number(s)
91-IJ-CX-0019
Annotation
The National Institute of Justice sponsored a 2-year research effort to assess how States and municipalities have perceived the threat of terrorism and to identify potentially promising anti- and counter-terrorism programs used by these jurisdictions.
Abstract
The research project's national survey of State and local law
organizations showed that their more expansive definitions of
what constitutes terrorist activity led a sizable majority of
jurisdictions to believe terrorism to be more widespread than
indicated by the official terrorist statistics published by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Researchers selected 10
locations as case studies. They examined how these jurisdictions
have adapted to the threat of terrorism and developed their
preventive and preparedness programs. The case studies confirmed
in detail what the survey revealed in general terms, i.e., that
communities have been aware of potential terrorism problems and
were interested in confronting terrorism before it erupted. A
variety of successful terrorism preparedness formulas existed in
communities both large and small. Large municipalities have
developed significant counter-terrorism programs in close
cooperation with the FBI and its regional joint terrorism task
forces. Less populated communities have worked to stay ahead of
nascent terrorism threats by forging close regional alliances and
capitalizing on available FBI resources. Budgetary constraints
influence both strategic and tactical law enforcement responses.
Date Created: August 30, 2000