Terrorism and Correctional Administration

Terrorism is an act that threatens or carries out violence with the intention to disrupt, kill or coerce against a body or nation in order to impose will. This means that a lot of groups use this method to get what they want. The groups use a variety of methods, groups such as:

Terrorism is a massive problem--everybody realizes that. Regardless of origin, culture, country, or political standpoint, every sane person understands that terrorism is something that is still relatively prevalent in the world, and something needs to be done about it. The problem, however, is that there is no easy solution. The United States tends to take overbearing control and responsibility for all terrorist threats, groups, and attacks, but this is simply not reasonable. Although we cannot expect every country to take initiative against terrorist threats like ISIS, sustained international coordination is necessary to effectively confront transnational terrorist groups (Shirkey). This way, the US can begin taking care of themselves and their own country, as they still have many issues that have yet to be solved. While working together is important, though, it is not the key to solving the problem. What we must do in addition is investigate and address the root causes of terrorism, and analyse them in detail in order to best combat terrorist groups at their roots.

The term terrorism is used widely in present day especially in the United States. Terrorism is a double standard, the people who commit those terrorist acts, commit the acts out of beliefs and in their eyes ok. Terrorism can be described as the illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective by targeting innocent people (Laqueur, 1987). To me the definition mention above is a great definition to describe terrorism as a crime. To aim for innocent people to prove a point which lead major injuries or death in most cases is to most people would be a crime, no questions asked. According to Martha Crenshaw (1995), “Terrorism cannot be defined unless the act, target and possibility of success are analyzed”. So to think, terrorist are people who commit these acts as a way to get their political or religious point across. If we look at the some of the most famous terrorist acts they are automatically labeled crimes. 9/11 was a crime because the persons affiliated with the act, targeted the

As a society, our government has tried to minimize domestic terrorism attacks and the impact that it causes should it occur, such as taking steps to acquire due diligence. Prior to the recent years, society lacked the preparedness programs and security plans, that could have prevented these ongoing attacks. Moreover, although we cannot put these attacks to a halt, we can surely put a plan into action that can prevent the widespread of these attacks. Nevertheless, these terrorists are becoming bolder ad bolder as the times go by, it seems as if the message of the government not allowing them to continue their rampage/destruction on the masses has not stuck. Prior to the recent years, we have seen high-profile attacks on major cities across the globe that has kept all individuals on their toes. Terrorist individuals/groups are no longer hitting specific groups of individuals or symbolic sites, but are more so hitting and putting cities and countries under siege, with the help of recruits they have acquired from poor and marginal neighborhoods all over, this type of recruitment is called

Due to its changing nature and different political viewpoints, terrorism is hard to define. Most definitions tend to include some form of fear created through an act of violence. While violence is the tactic, the goal is fear which will serve to create a desired change as a result. However, this definition has not always been appropriate for terrorism. Take for instance the words of Edmund Burke, a British philosopher, who described the situation in France in the 18th century French Revolution as a “Reign of Terror,” (White, Jonathan. 2013. "Defining Terrorism in Modern History." In Terrorism and Homeland Security 3-27, Wadsworth Centage Learning pp 7). In this time period terrorism was a word of the people in describing the brutal tactics of the government which were meant to keep the people in line. Because one time period is looking at

Chip Ellis is a coordinator for the National Memorial Institute for the prevention of Terrorism and he provides some very insightful information on how someone in prison becomes radicalized and loyal to a terrorist group (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). The type of inmates that are most susceptible to radicalization are those who feel they have little worth, require protection, and looking to identify with a group (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Mr. Ellis states that these types of folks while in prison have little distractions and extremists take advantage of this by subjecting them to other radical inmates and preach anti-US rhetoric during their prayer time (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Even the FBI states that al-Qaeda attempts to enlist these convicts estimated at a population of 9,600 (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). John Pistole, a FBI counterterrorism chief, said this: “These terrorists seek to exploit our freedom to exercise religion to their advantage by using radical forms of Islam to recruit operatives”. The question then, is how can we prevent terrorists from taking advantage of our religious freedom?

After 9/11, a realization emerged that there was a disconnect between domestic intelligence related to criminal investigations and foreign intelligence. This disconnect manifested due to erroneous perceptions and beliefs within national security circles that foreign intelligence could not be shared with criminal investigators (The 9/11 Commssion, 2004, p.79). The result of this disconnect was that relevant information from the CIA and NSA related to terrorism was not disseminated to criminal investigators (The 9/11 Commission, 2004, p.79). Al Qaeda was able to exploit the discordance between domestic and foreign intelligence as evidenced by the successful execution of the 9/11 attacks. The intrinsic connection between domestic and foreign intelligence is illustrated by what is referred to as the “lone wolf” terror threat. While an Islamist lone wolf terrorist may become self-radicalized on the U.S. mainland, what inspires and motivates such terrorists is not indigenous in origin. Although terror attacks executed by lone wolf terrorists are not directly coordinated by Islamist terror entities, their points of origin can be traced overseas because Islamist terror entities that are catalysts for such attacks are based in foreign countries. Thus, the CIA and other agencies that produce foreign intelligence on the Islamist terror threat must pass on that information to the FBI, DHS, and other federal agencies that deal with domestic intelligence. In turn, federal domestic intelligence agencies must provide that information to agencies at the state, local, and tribal levels via fusion centers, JCAT, and other related entities. The integration of foreign and domestic intelligence cannot be achieved without substantial information-sharing and coordination among government

In order to determine whether an action is a terrorist act or not, terrorism must first be defined. Terrorism is the use or threatening the use of violence as a weapon to influence a person or a group of people to change policies or influence decisions according to the terrorist’s desires. The terrorist can be a single person acting on personal wishes or a group of people with an ultimate goal. The goals of a terrorist are normally political, ideological, or religious in nature.

The term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.

There are generally four repeating common themes used to define terrorism: (1) the use or threat to use violence; (2) a political objective; (3) with intent to spread fear through a public act; (4) with the intent to commit violence against civilians (Various, n.d.). Additionally, these themes are promoted mostly by non-democratic societies or dictatorships that advance their goals through state sponsored terrorism. State sponsored terrorism is not conducted by democratic regimes for if they truly suppressed their people through acts of terrorism then they would no longer be democratic (Various, n.d.). Terroristic acts involving the slaughter of innocent men, woman and children from all sides are often justified or legitimatized by the accustomed morals and values of each group. Although there is extensive literature on the subject of terrorism, no common or universal definition for the term exists.

If one were to ask a cross-section of individuals to define what terrorism means, there would ultimately be multiple definitions similar in many aspects but not able to be unified to create a single definition. Terrorism is a

The concept of terrorism as defined by Hoffman in his book, Inside Terrorism, is not easily defined. Hoffman indicates that most definitions do not give the word “terrorism” a clear definition for today (Hoffman 2006). However, according to Hoffman, the Oxford English Dictionary does provide a definition that embodies terrorism since its beginnings. “Any one who attempts to further his views by a system of coercive intimidation.” (Hoffman 2006, 3). The views that are typically political or idealogical in nature (Hoffman, 2006, 2-3).

The rise of terrorism in the United States reveals one of the biggest challenges our nation faces today. Since the terrorist assault that occurred on September 11, 2001, the view on terrorism has changed radically across the world particularly in the United States. Clearly, it woke people up to that idea, and not just did concerns come up. Despite of the ascent in terrorism, securing our country has requested at a a huge concern for protection at different levels. Protecting the people from terrorist attacks is the most important thing right now, and is the reason why the Department of Homeland Security was developed; the future success of the Department of Homeland Security depends on the ability of agencies to cooperate, and share pertinent

In recent decades, society has been victim to one of the worst scourges ever known: terrorism, which is an expressive act of violence seen throughout history (conquests, wars) with varied forms of expression and cruelty. If a general definition of terrorism could be given it would be, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1269, a terrorist act is any act intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or other person not directly involved in armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by nature or context, is to intimidate a population or compel a government or international organization to do or abstain from any act.

Terrorism; it cannot be defined or determined by one single act of an individual or group. Different areas of the world have specific qualities they look for whenever a violent event happens. Terrorism is an international problem in today’s global community. Despite the efforts to end terroristic events, a terrorist attack can happen at any second. In the Twenty-First Century, Boko Haram and the Boston Bombing are examples reflecting terrorist acts. It is important to research and understand the unlawful use of force and violence against any persons; whether it be through a terrorist or an entire organization.