The Future of Criminal Justice

The attack on September 11, 2001 is defined as a group of Islamic terrorist who are believed to be members of the al-Qaeda, attacking the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, also known as the Twin Towers, by hijacking four commercial airlines. Only three of the four attacks succeed. This is considered a terrorist attack to most of us. From this incident we can define terrorism as a well-planned violent attack that targets innocent people to send a political message by planting fear not just to the country or government but also to civilians. However, terrorism cannot and should not be easily defined in this way. The definition of terrorism defined above is defined in America’s point of view and not al-Qaeda’s perspective. If we put ourselves in al-Qaeda’s shoes, our definition of terrorism is going to change. Al-Qaeda declared war to America because they felt that the Muslims were threatened by the U.S. as well as their freedom. It is not to be said that the actions of al-Qaeda should be justified, but we should try to understand them before making assumptions. Al-Qaeda dealt with their situation to extreme by planning massive attacks but it could be considered as a method of protection instead of a terrorist attack.

The word ‘terrorism’ can be traced back to the French Revolution and the reign of terror committed against the population of France in the 1790s. During this time, thousands of people were killed and the general population was severely oppressed. Also, some of the first instances of terrorist tactics, such as assassination and intimidation, were witnessed in the killing of prominent officials and other opponents of the Revolution. In general, terrorists aim to incite fear in the population through pre-meditated violent acts and gain publicity as a medium in achieving their goals. Such acts include taking hostages, bombings and assassinations, all of which create fear and compliance in a victim or audience. Terrorism can be distinguished from other types of political violence through its disregard for and intentional harming of innocent civilians. Also, terrorists usually adopt a state of mind where one side is always good and any opposition is bad and deserves to be punished. As a result, terrorists will always have some supporters who share the same radical thoughts as them and thus terrorism, as a whole, will always be accepted as a legitimate use of violence. This is the reasoning behind the famous phrase by Gerald Seymour, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”(QUOTE

Today, domestic terrorism is one of the major threats to the national security of the US. Since 9/11, the US intelligence services and law enforcement agencies viewed international terrorism as the major threat to the public security of the US but the threat of domestic terrorism has been underestimated. At any rate, American law enforcement agencies conduct active campaigns to prevent international terrorism but domestic terrorism become a serious threat to the national security of the US. In such a way, the US needs to develop effective strategies to prevent the rise of domestic terrorism. Otherwise, the US may face a threat of the consistent growth of domestic terrorism as do some European countries, such as the UK, for instance. Therefore, law enforcement agencies should focus their attention on the prevention of domestic terrorism because, even though domestic terrorism is unseen, it may be even more dangerous than international terrorism. Domestic terrorists undermine the country from within, while international terrorists attack the US from the outside and the US can raise barriers to protect Americans from the foreign threat, while domestic terrorism needs effective work of law enforcement agencies nationwide. Therefore, domestic terrorism is a serious threat to the national security of the US and American law enforcement agencies along legislators and the public have to unite their efforts in the struggle against domestic terrorism.

Domestic terrorism has been a major threat in the US since the catastrophic event that took place during attack on 9/11. Following the aftermath of the terrorist attack, the US intelligence services and law enforcement agencies emphasized heavily on combating terrorism on global scale as international terrorism was views as the major threat to the public security of the US which caused the issue of domestic terrorism to be overlooked. We have seen many terrorist attacks since the attack on 9/11 that were planned and executed by individuals and groups born and raised in America. Some of those attacks include the Oklahoma City bombing, the Boston marathon bombing. There has also been increasing number of mass shooting by individuals that were identified as to be radicalized by terrorist groups abroad, the most recent mass shooting that was identified as a terrorist act was in Orlando where more than 50 people were killed (Alveraz, p.1). The cases mentioned above will be discussed in detail later in the essay. Although, American law enforcement agencies are actively conducting intelligence and operational missions to prevent international terrorism, however, the US needs to develop efficient tactics to prevent the rise of domestic terrorism. Otherwise, the United States may face a danger of the unfailing growth of domestic terrorism similar to some of the European countries; such as the United Kingdom. Consequently, law enforcement agencies should concentrate on the preclusion

The 9/11 terror attacks is one of the historical and fatal events that changed the United States of America forever, especially in relation to terrorists and terrorism. While these concepts were on the minds of very few people in America's population before the attacks, the 9/11 incident made terrorism to become one of the major concerns for the whole nation. This is despite of the fact that they were carried out in New York City, Washington, and parts of Pennsylvania. Since it was a major concern, the terror attacks dominated all kinds of media and contributed to increased security measures for average Americans. Moreover, terrorism currently provides a major threat to global security that any time in American and global history (Dyson, 2001, p.3). As a result, it has become a fundamental aspect for law enforcement agencies and their initiatives, particularly with the rapid technological advancements.

Terrorism is a word that we are constantly bombarded with throughout the news and social media. Every day we hear reports of different hideous crimes committed all around the world. But what is terrorism? Are terrorist nothing more than inhuman monsters fighting to disrupt our society as a whole?

Terrorism is defined as an act of violence that is committed by an organization or a single person in order to be heard. Terrorist acts are usually based on a couple factors such as, historical grievances, foreign policy decision, poverty, and religion. Terrorism is not a new act amongst the world but something that has been around since the beginning. To understand a criminal you must think like a criminal, and understand why they committed a crime or a violent act, then you can prevent and conquer.

There is no single, universally accepted definition to define terrorism but the U. S. Code of federal regulations defines it as any violent act or acts dangerous to human life that violates the criminal laws of the U.S. or any State or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the U.S. or any State. (18 U.S.C § 2331). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) divides terrorist attacks that face the U.S. into two broad categories - international and domestic. (18.U.S.C. § 2331).

Before 9/11, law enforcement possessed the primary responsibility for combating terrorism in the United States. Law enforcement relationships and responsibilities have continued to be evaluated and redefined at all levels of government. They will evolve because of the continuous changing nature of terrorist threats, prevention needs and transforming operations and strategies. Terrorist groups continue to advance and pose threats in new ways each day. In the fourteen years since the worst terrorist attack on United States territory, citizens have undoubtedly become more cautious and accustomed to the inconveniences that result from the precautions and added security law enforcement agencies are now having to provide.

The criminal justice system is forever adjusting to protect and serve a changing society. The paper evaluates, identifies and assesses recent future and current trends affecting the criminal justice system. Lastly, it defines the values of the system in a changing society.

The last semesters also delve deeply into advanced topics, such as corporate crime and terrorism. Classes about corporate and white-collar crime examine the influences of political and commercial power on criminal justice decisions and perceptions. Because terrorism is emerging as a major threat, classes provides introductions to domestic and global terrorism patterns. The classes present the difficulties associated with defining, understanding and preventing terrorism. Ethics classes introduce some of the basic ethical systems and their practical application to the criminal justice system.

On 9/11 the U.S.A. was struck forcefully by terrorism. Since then, many laws, like the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act and the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have been put into place to help fight and prevent future terrorist events from taking place. Coupled with their previous skills and experiences, law enforcement officials have trained and gained new techniques to better equip America for the unexpected and to properly handle the expected as well. Fighting terrorism while also fighting non-terrorist crimes has become a common role for law enforcement officials.

To conclude, acts of terrorism both international or domestic in the United States show the issue of security and the problems it can cause. The event of the Boston Marathon Bombing only supports my claim, offenders were already in the country and committed such a monstrous crime. This paper explored the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing incident, strategies taken during investigation and prosecution. The Coordinated efforts of various local, state, and federal during the investigation and apprehension of the suspects while also ensuring the safety of the public at the same time played a significant role. Whether or not the actions of law enforcement were conducted properly and were ethical was examined. Following the investigation,

Terrorism is a word that brings up many emotions, but no one agrees on a singular definition for it. Chernotsky and Hobbs, define terrorism as “The threat or use of violence to change an existing political order” (Chernotsky and Hobbs 2013: 107). The UN has a similar definition with, “acts of violence that targets civilians in the pursuit of political or ideological aims” (UN Factsheet No 32: 5-6). Both of these definitions agree that terror attacks target civilians with the goal of changing something. They disagree in what terrorists change with Chernotsky and Hobbs say its purely political and the UN says it could also be ideological. The FBI has very specific definitions for terrorism with different definitions for international and domestic terrorism. It has even more reasons why a terror attack may occur with, “Appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping”(VOX, “How do we define terrorism?”). With these varying definitions of terrorism, it is hard to determine what is and is not terrorism. One person’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. In an interview with the Atlantic Martha Crenshaw describes some of the many reasons as to why it is hard to define terrorism such as a person’s view on whether or not a person is a terrorist. Crenshaw states that terrorism is

The infamous word of Terrorism is such a complex word when it comes to the actual definition. Reason that is the case is that everything that happens from a shooting of innocent people to the fires that were set to the churches in the south. Everyone around the world in different countries also has their own definition and that is because they have faced the horror of constant “terrorist” attacks in the past 20+ years. The bloodshed that happens on a daily basis is why it is known as terrorism. For one it’s conducted by an organized group of individuals who seek to spread their beliefs onto others who have their own religion. The current definition according to the State Department website is broken down into two parts which is domestic terrorism, and international terrorism. Both are broken down to describe what they both mean and who the individuals that conduct such attacks are.