Domestic Terrorism: A National Assessment of State and Local Preparedness

• NCJ Number: 154149
• Author(s): K J Riley; B Hoffman
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 78 pages
• Grant Number(s): 84-IJ-CX-0072
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: Rand Corporation
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This document reports the results of a 24-month research project that surveyed and analyzed the key problems and issues that are confronting State and local law enforcement agencies in countering the threat of terrorism in the United States.

Abstract

Specifically, the project analyzed States' and municipalities' terrorism preparedness as a means of providing law enforcement with information about the prevention and control of terrorist activities in the United States. The study conducted a national survey of State and local law enforcement agencies to assess how law enforcement agencies below the Federal level perceived the threat of terrorism in the United States and to identify promising antiterrorism and counterterrorism programs currently used by these jurisdictions. Researchers also selected 10 locations, chosen after the survey, as case studies to examine how various jurisdictions have adapted to the threat of terrorism and to elucidate further the antiterrorism and counterterrorism programs used by these select jurisdictions. The study also identified programs used by State and local law enforcement agencies to counter potential future threats, along with the development of a prospective future research agenda. Survey results show that a sizable majority of State and municipal law enforcement organizations consider terrorism, or the threat thereof, to be a problem. Although agreeing that terrorism is a challenge to law enforcement organizations, the States and municipalities difference in their approaches to the problems. Case studies confirm that communities perceive potential terrorism problems and have an interest in confronting terrorism before it erupts, but in many cases they are forced by budgetary, personnel, and other constraints to limit their terrorism preparedness. More generally the case study findings indicate that a community's size, its resources, and the nature of the terrorism threats it confronts will influence both the strategic and tactical law enforcement response. Localities are interested in adopting a strategic approach, in which intelligence, planning, and advance preparation are used to combat terrorism, but they lack the resources in many cases to maintain this more expensive approach. 13 tables and appended survey instrument