NCJ Number
195002
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 69 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 30,32,33
Date Published
March 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This articles compares terrorism and illicit drug activity in their delivery and control.
Abstract
Recent events have shown that local police departments play a crucial role in fighting any internal threat. Local police need attention, training, and resources equal to their importance to America’s domestic preparedness. The new fight against terrorism is burdening resource-strapped local police departments nationwide. The problem with managing scarce resources efficiently is twofold: (1) the limited firsthand experience with terrorism, and (2) the lack of appropriate strategy and performance benchmarks. It is important for law enforcement personnel to draw and build on the extensive knowledge base accumulated while fighting other similar threats such as the fight against illicit drugs. The commonalities of terrorism and illicit drug activity include: involving covert illegal activities that call for sophisticated undercover enforcement operations; a domestic component, but the threat from the organized and international component is far more devastating; and evidence to suggest that terrorist cells and networks have structures similar to those of drug cartels. Both require coordination among various law enforcement agencies, and strategic cooperation and information sharing with other partner countries. An overall policy for both these problems involves careful weighing of different strategies that reach beyond U.S. borders and span the globe. Terrorism, like illicit drugs, is likely to be a long-term problem and the war metaphor may represent only a subset of strategies needed to address it. Federal and local enforcement agencies must develop an efficient, adaptive, methodical, and robust system that identifies, prevents, and responds to terrorist threats effectively. Local enforcement is key to defending the homeland against terrorism. In the fight against illicit drugs, both proactive and reactive measures have been used. The same may hold true for the fight against terrorism. Like the strategies used in drug law enforcement, counterterrorism strategies need to be dynamic and comprehensive. The biggest challenge facing local police departments is the expectation among community residents that heightened awareness and alertness should enable them to prevent every future act of terrorism. 25 notes