Local Police Response to Terrorism: Challenges and Strategies
This paper examines the evolving role of local and state law enforcement agencies in responding to and preventing terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Drawing on findings from a Council of State Governments and Eastern Kentucky University national study, the paper explores how agencies have adapted their priorities, training, and intergovernmental relationships. Key topics include the financial and personnel strains placed on local police, challenges in accountability, coordination with federal bodies such as the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, community communication strategies, and the role of the COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) framework in guiding anti-terrorism efforts at the local level.
- Overview of Terrorism and the Council of State Governments: Defines terrorism and the Council of State Governments
- Impact of 9/11 on Local and State Law Enforcement: Federal shifts and resource strains on local agencies
- Survey Findings on State and Local Priorities: Survey results on state and local policing priorities
- Accountability, Collaboration, and Federal Relations: Accountability challenges and interagency collaboration
- Training and Community Communication Strategies: Training gaps and community information delivery methods
- How Police Departments Adapted to the Terrorism Threat: Specific departmental changes following 9/11
- Conclusion: COPS framework as a local anti-terrorism guide
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds its analysis in an actual large-scale national study, lending empirical credibility to its claims about the pressures facing local and state agencies.
- Covers multiple dimensions of the problem — financial, personnel, training, accountability, and intergovernmental relations — giving readers a comprehensive picture rather than a single-angle argument.
- Uses concrete examples, such as the Austin Police Department's 311 system, to illustrate abstract points about community communication and information delivery.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper employs a policy-analysis structure, moving from definitional framing (what terrorism is) through documented evidence (survey findings, case examples) to practical recommendations. This technique allows the writer to connect macro-level policy shifts — such as federal funding cuts and the formation of DHS — to their specific, ground-level effects on local police departments, demonstrating how structural forces shape frontline practice.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with definitional context for terrorism and the Council of State Governments, then introduces the broader policy landscape reshaped by 9/11. A survey-findings section presents empirical observations about state and local priorities. Subsequent sections address accountability challenges, intergovernmental collaboration, training gaps, and community communication. A dedicated section enumerates specific departmental adaptations, and a brief conclusion synthesizes the COPS framework as a guiding tool for local anti-terrorism strategy.
Overview of Terrorism and the Council of State Governments
The Council of State Governments is a body of representatives from all states, U.S. territories, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is an organization that provides vital data and statistics in support of excellence in state governance. It seeks to equip the three apex institutions — the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive — with intellectual resources grounded in a national perspective, innovative technological tools, effective leadership development, and the maintenance of state autonomy. It also serves as a forum for resolving intra- and inter-state conflicts and developing mutually beneficial action plans.
Terrorism is an illegal act of force or violence directed at the public domain in order to place government under duress and thereby extract social or political concessions for a particular community or group. Terrorism has similarly been classified as domestic or international with regard to its origin, perspective, and area of operation (White, 2006).
There is, however, an inherent problem in defining it this way. Acts of violence motivated by political goals are carried out by both state actors and non-state groups alike. The legitimacy of violent, intimidating tactics is subject to debate revolving around who employs them, against whom, and for what purpose. Because available definitions of terrorism are largely the product of state agencies, the classification of the state itself as a terrorist actor is, by design, typically omitted.
References
Chapman, R., Baker, S., Bezdikian, V., Cammarata, P., Cohen, D., Leach, N., Schaprio, A., Scheider, M., Varano, R., & Boba, R. (2002). Local law enforcement responds to terrorism: Lessons in prevention and preparedness. The Police Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Clarke, R. V., & Newman, G. (2005). Policing terrorism: An executive's guide.
Brewer, J. D., et al. (1996). The police, public order and the state (2nd ed.).
Flynn, E. (2001). [Chief of Police, Arlington County Police Dept.] Letter. Washington Post.
Harris, Ed. (2001). [Director of Emergency Communications, Austin Police Department.] Telephone interview.
National Study. (2004). The Council of State Governments and Eastern Kentucky University. The impact of terrorism on state law enforcement, 2004. Supported by the National Institute of Justice.
Raymond, B., Hickman, L. J., Miller, L., & Wong, J. S. (2005). Police personnel challenges after September 11: Anticipating expanded duties and a changing labor pool. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California.
Voegtlin, G., & Boyter, J. (2005). Legislative alert: State and local law enforcement assistance programs face cuts. International Association of Chiefs of Police. Retrieved September 23, 2014, from
White, J. (2006). Autonomy, human flourishing and the curriculum. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 40(3), 381–390.
Wilson, J. Q., & Sklansky, D. A. (2005). Police and democracy. Supra note 9, at 476.
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