NCJ Number
79620
Date Published
1981
Length
40 pages
Annotation
Based on a congressional study mission to the Federal Republic of Germany and Italy from December 13 to 18, 1980, this report examines terrorism in West Germany and Italy, along with government responses to terrorism and implications for dealing with terrorism in the United States.
Abstract
In both Italy and West Germany, there has been a tendency to react to terrorism by enacting laws and practices that diminish the rights of the accused or increase the state's authority. The adverse consequences of that reaction are magnified by the tendency to apply these specialized laws and mechanisms to an ever expanding class of investigations. Many of these changes have proven to be both unnecessary and counterproductive. The effectiveness of certain police and investigative techniques and strategies used in these countries should be emulated in the United States; for example, the West Germans based their pursuit of terrorists on a detailed analysis of terrorist behavior patterns. Small squads assigned to two or three targets at a time have been very successful in search campaigns. Since terrorism has certain root causes in a given society, the state should discern these causes and attempt to rectify oppressive social and economic conditions. In both West Germany and Italy, there is a prevalent perception that the state and the established political parties are unreponsive to new political forces. The lesson is clear for the United States. Commitment to social and economic justice and the inclusion of marginal groups in the political system should be intensely pursued. The body of the report presents views of terrorism and official reactions to it as reported by West German and Italian officials, academics, and journalists. Appended is a summary description of the research project 'Causes of Terrorism.' No references are provided. (Author summary modified)