TERRORISM AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
LAURENCE LONGACRE
AMERICAN MILITARY UNIVERSITY
CMRJ203
Abstract
We live in a new world; it is a world where there is the ever growing threat of terrorism.
As a result law enforcement has had to change the way it does things in order to respond to
the terrorist threat. How has law enforcement evolved in order to respond to the ever changing
nature of terrorism as well as maintain the same level of protecting and serving the citizens of
The United States. It is important that law enforcement continue to work on strategies and
strengthen capabilities as well as maintain working relationships with the local communities they
are sworn to serve. In order to do this law enforcement need to understand the
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Prior to the
events of 9/11 the Federal Bureau of Investigations focused its vast resources at combating
crimes such as drug trafficking, bank robberies, financial crimes and organized crime. But with
the focus quickly changing to terrorism this left local law enforcement more involved in fighting
these crimes some of which they were unequipped to perform. Another important factor that was
was not thought of immediately after the attacks but became a problem for local law enforcement
for the next 10 plus years was that many officers were actively serving in the Reserves or State
National Guard and would be gone on deployments often times for a year at a time and
sometimes multiple times which placed huge strains on already undermanned states.
But how is this new threat and the creation of the DHS affecting state police functions in
today 's society? Many of the new requirements placed upon local agencies have had profound
effects on state agencies.
More than half of all states agree that officers as well as investigators have had new
requirements placed upon them such as terrorism-related intelligence gathering, investigations
involving potential terrorism and emergency response. Since 9/11 law enforcement agencies
have allocated millions of dollars and hundreds of hours to resources such as border security and
The field of police work is constantly being forced to develop and improve its protocols, procedures, and practices in an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing society in which it operates and criminal behavior it seeks to eradicate. While the history of policing has been marked by substantial changes throughout time, the work of modern-day police officers and officials demonstrate some of the most substantial adaptations to its surrounding environment that the field has ever seen. In order to understand where the future of policing is heading, it is important to first understand these current trends that are affecting the current landscape of the profession. By
September 11, 2001 showed that there were weaknesses in communication and emergency response. It also significantly changed the role police have with the prevention of terrorist acts. As Oliver stated, “... policing in the post-September 11 environment is not only a response to the specific events...but also an amalgam of change brought about by various political, economic, and social factors in the United States...” (Homeland Security for Policing, 2007, p. 43).
All together law enforcement has changed, but few see the drastic changes that have happened. Everyday, police and sheriffs are working to keep the people in their community safe. With improved technological advances and social changes, police and sheriffs are keeping a closer eye on things today. For example, improved weapons such as tasers have helped keep suspects safe, computers in police cruisers allow instant access of information of individuals. Other social changes, such as women allowed to join the police forces have helped law enforcement a lot with domestic violence cases because they are calmer then most men. No matter what happens police and the sheriffs will be there to protect and serve
The horrific events of September 11, 2001, profoundly altered the way law enforcement agencies conducted business. The creation of new agencies arose, strategies, procedures, and training for law enforcement was necessary to prepare and combat terrorism. In this paper, I will analyze the before and after effects, the events of 9/11 caused in law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and what improvements I feel are needed to keep our nation safe from terrorism.
Policing in the United States has changed dramatically since it was first brought to the thirteen colonies from England. However, some of the issues faced then are being faced in policing today. There are also new trends that are prevalent, and these trends will continue to have lasting effects on the future of policing. Even though new trends improve policing overall, they can also cause more serious issues. It is crucial to continue making changes topolicing because it allows law enforcement officers to keep up with the rest of society, including the knowledge of new crime trends. This paper will
Law enforcement response to counter-terrorism fundamentally changed as a result of the unprecedented events of September 11th 2001 in New York and Washington (Kaldas, 2002, p61-62). This essay will examine how law enforcement has evolved in response to the changing nature of terrorism, with an emphasis on how this has impacted Australia. An analysis of arrests and subsequent
So far, terrorism has been a key obstacle to many foreign nations, as they are struggling to prevent terrorist attacks. From the year of 1997 up to the year of 2003, international terrorist attacks have gone from less than 500 to almost 3000. Overall, global terrorism has grown by almost 1200% from 1997 to 2003. (Johnston 1). This massive increase in terrorism reflects on other nations' lack of control of the safety of their nation. These statistics also show that something needs to be done to protect the
The field of police work is constantly being forced to develop and improve its protocols, procedures, and practices in an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing society in which it operates and criminal behavior it seeks to eradicate. While the history of policing has been marked by substantial changes throughout time, the work of modern-day police officers and officials demonstrate some of the most substantial adaptations to its surrounding environment that the field has ever seen. In order to understand where the future of policing is heading, it is important to first understand these current trends that are affecting the current landscape of the profession. By
There has been much less consideration in the role of state and local government, which play a major role in preventing and responding to a terrorist attack. Community policing and other federal agencies can share many strategies such as transforming the agencies to take on new mission should be part of the homeland security strategy because fighting local crimes is the more effective approach in dealing fear and social disorder. When law enforcement are being trained toward a national role in homeland
8). Therefore, although the attacks of 9/11 generated alterations in our national defense strategies, it additionally adjusted law enforcement policies immensely (Brooks, B. E., 2010, p. 113). It is now more common to have squads of police officers, such as SWAT teams, with specialized training in preventing future terrorist attacks. With exceptions to some officers at the local level, many of these specially trained teams are made up of state and national law enforcement. There are several local law enforcement agencies throughout America that do participate in anti-terrorism training, but on a larger scale many of these local departments lack the necessary training needed to prevent such threats. Therefore, local police departments, who lack special training, depend on the departments that are qualified to aid them. Likewise, the training these lower level law enforcement officers obtain varies greatly than that of state and national law enforcement. Despite the quantity of officers in local law enforcement departments, it is essential that each individual officer undergoes the preparations that are essential to be well equipped for reacting to a threat of terrorism. These preparations are crucial in that local law enforcement officers are often the first responders to these attacks, therefore they should be familiar
American Policing agencies have significantly changed since September 11, 2001, in a new age of international terrorism. American police departments agencies at all levels are now required to train for an increased amount of time and resources for possible terrorist attacks and to gathering the intelligence necessary to keep with the ongoing threats. Several police agencies have dedicating resources officers prepared for terrorist attacks and who gather information to head off possible risks. Local police often have to prevent, plan, and respond to medical, evacuations and security events which they did not have to in the past. Policing is commonly used to secure community event and increase patrols in worship places and other landmarks that
How have the events of September 11, 2001, changed law enforcement and policing in the United States? Please substantiate your conclusions with examples and any supporting data.
Terrorism is one of the most debated topics in the twenty-first century and this is primarily owed to the 9/11 events, a moment when people worldwide acknowledged that they were more vulnerable than they previously considered themselves to be. All levels of law enforcement got actively involved in and prioritized preventing future terrorist acts from that point on. This meant that law enforcement officers were provided with new responsibilities and that they became a part of homeland security initiatives developed in the states where they worked. Florida has been involved in devising anti-terrorist strategies before the 9/11 events actually took place and the authorities within the state's borders have had to focus on reducing the chances of a terrorist threat happening by directing a significant number of resources toward the concept.
In order for the United States of America and its allies to live a life free of terrorist threats, they need to counter violent extremism and terrorism with swift and deliberate prevention efforts world-wide.
Terrorism, which has been around for as long as people can remember, has been on the rise for the past ten years. Terrorists usually use murdering, kidnapping, hi-jacking and bombings to achieve their political purpose. For instance, according to Wikipedia.com (2006), in 1985 816 deaths, then in 2003, more than 1,000 people died by terorist acts around the world. In recent years, terrorism seems to be at a new height and attacks are much more violent than in the past. Unfortunately, in spite of many anti-terror campaigns, projects and organizations are being created for prevention (to prevent) terrorism, the number of terrorists only is increasing. These days terrorism is all over the world.