Extremism, Terrorism and the Police

In this section, we focus on the need for policing to change its interest, perspective and operations to keep pace with rising threats from homegrown extremism and large-scale terrorist attacks. This has already created unique challenges to police forces. Individualized radicalized online pose special difficulties for the police and federal anti-terrorism authorities. Traditional methods for tracking foreign networks often prove ineffective, necessitating police to use new forms of surveillance, community policing, and interagency collaboration to effectively counter these threats.

Major terrorist events like the 9-11 attacks have had a lasting effect on policing on multiple fronts, leading to significant changes in preparedness, intelligence-sharing and public vigilance. The police must now balance enhanced security measures with safeguarding civil liberties and preserving public trust.

Going forward, state, local and federal agencies may rely more heavily on preemptive actions that combine intelligence gathering with public engagement efforts and understanding the sociopolitical factors contributing to extremism. They may also experience an increase in individual attacks that are difficult to predict or prevent - necessitating ongoing adaptation and investment by police in training and technology solutions.