Terrorism has long been a global issue over the years. Terrorism is the use of violence against citizens of a country to attain either political, religious or ideological goals. Domestic terrorism is the act of terrorism carried out by citizens or permanent residents of a country within the country while foreign terrorism is terrorism practiced in another country by people who are not natives to the country. (Farlex Inc., 2012)
The Difference Between Foreign And Domestic Terrorist Threat
- Level of Activity
Domestic terrorism occurs primarily within the boarders and territorial jurisdiction of the of the country to maintain and defend political power within their domestic boarders while foreign terrorist activities occur outside the territorial jurisdiction
- Nature of threat
The majority of domestic terrorists rely on the use of individuals or leaderless groups to execute these activities, there are no established organizations whereas for
...eign terrorists on the other level work in organizations with directions from the existing leadership, they are mainly movements which work from a centralized place.
- Tactics
A large number of domestic terrorists use non-traditional tactics such as tax fraud, vandalism, internet exploitation and trespassing while foreign terrorists mostly use tactics such as suicide bombs and guns which have been used over the years even during the colonial times.
- Impact
Domestic terrorism threats do not cause much national alarm and mainly require protective measures, analyzing facilities for weakness and finding ways and making sure the citizens are trained how to handle terrorism situations. This is unlike foreign terrorist threats which cause national and even international attention since they include mass killings and destruction. They call for the government to review emergency response activities and proper communication systems
Factors Contributing T
An Increased Threat Of Domestic Terrorism
- Global Interdependencies
This has increased the interaction of organizations whether criminal or terrorist (Strategic Foresight Initiative, 2011).As these global interactions continue to expand the reach of these organizations also increases, it has also allowed terrorist organizations to more independent of the state sponsors. Since the world is now a global village information is easily shared, international movements which provide a better and easier way to plan terrorism activities.
- Technological Advancement
The rapid advance in technology makes it hard to combat terrorism activities. Terrorists greatly benefit from this. They can use more advanced weapons such as guided missiles, and they are also able to track places through the use of networked video cameras and the internet.
- Universal Access to information
During most terrorist attacks the social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook tend to report the events more quickly than the news media (Strategic Foresight Initiative, 2011).This allows public access to the images and news and makes it easy for the terrorists to follow the emergency actions by the government agencies. Through the use of the internet, terrorists access much information including new counter-terrorism measures, the fear among the citizens and through the use of software such as Google Maps can plan on how and where to carry out these destructive activities
The Role Of Criminal Justice System In Addressing Terrorist Threats
A key role of the Criminal Justice System is enacting measures to protect law enforcement and Information collection in terrorism events. It protects victims and informants, the methods and sources from public disclosure (GCTF, 2012). Even during justice proceedings, certain types of techniques and information should be protected and not disclosed so
as to safeguard informants.
The second role is to legalize and provide measures for undercover investigations. Where applicable or necessary the states should put mechanisms to governing terrorist investigation activities without their knowledge that they are being investigated. The state should also enable the use of special investigation methods following the established procedures.
Another role is to advocate cooperation and coordination among government agencies. The criminal justice should be able to encourage the relevant bodies such as the military, banking institutions, dealing with counter-terrorism activities to work in conjunction, through effective collection of information, effective investigations. There should be effective information sharing which will significantly help reduce terrorism acts.
The Criminal Justice System also protects the rights of victims. The rights of victims are critical and should get the appropriate support and assistance during justice proceedings. Through the implementation of such measures, they will be able to ensure prosecutors handle the victims fairly in the criminal justice process. They should not be victimized and should receive fair representation where necessary.
Lastly is to legalize and put measures for electronic surveillance in counter-terrorism events. The approved types electronic surveillance, for example, track devices and internet monitoring proved to be helpful in countering terrorist acts. The evidence taken from them should be obtained in legally acceptable ways with compliance to human rights. They ought also to be flexible and able to respond to the rapid changes in technology (GCTF, 2012).
References
- Farlex Inc. (2012). Domestic Terrorism. Retrieved from The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/domestic+terrorism
GCTF. (2012). Criminal Justice Sector/Rule of Law Working Group: The Rabat Memorandum on Good Practices for Effective - Counterterrorism Practice in the Criminal Justice Sector. Global Counterterrorism Forum. Retrieved from https://www.thegctf.org/documents/10162/38299/Rabat+Memorandum-English
- Strategic
Foresight Innitiative. (2011, Sept). Evolving Terrorist Threat. Strategic Foresight Innitiative, 1-6. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/programs/oppa/evolving_terrorist_threat.pdf
