NCJ Number
133120
Date Published
1992
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Terrorism, part of both the domestic and international scene, is used to influence those in power and usually represents a violent act to achieve political or social objectives.
Abstract
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified two types of terrorism in the United States. Domestic terrorism involves groups or individuals whose terrorist activities are directed without foreign involvement at the government or the population. These groups or individuals usually represent extreme positions of either the left or the right who seek to change the social and political environment through violence. On the other hand, international terrorism involves foreign-based terrorist activity directed by countries outside the United States or by groups whose activities transcend national boundaries. From 1984 to 1988, 61 terrorist incidents were recorded in the United States and Puerto Rico; 35 occurred in Puerto Rico. Bombing attacks dominated the violence, but other forms of terrorism included shootings, arson, assassination, sabotage, and malicious destruction of property. Active terrorist groups include gangs of youth who call themselves Skinheads, the Ku Klux Klan, the Japanese Red Army, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization and other Palestinian groups. The FBI is the leading Federal agency for combating terrorism in the United States. Local, State, and other Federal agencies need to cooperate in the prevention of terrorism, and the police response should consist of prompt and effective investigation of criminal acts committed by terrorist groups. 26 references and 7 figures