Historically, countering terrorism has been something that security services have carried out on behalf of the state, without community consultation or consent. Since 9/11 however, this tradition has increasingly been questioned and the idea that communities have the potential to defeat al Qaeda - related or influenced terrorism has gained ascendency across policy, security and other contexts. Based on research in the US, Britain and Northern Ireland, this book examines the involvement of Muslim and other communities in terror crime prevention work, exploring the complexities of community involvement as well as its advantages and examining how trusting relationships between police, security services and communities can be built.

This timely and important work takes a critical look at the shifting role of police, who are becoming increasingly responsible for handling terrorism threats on top of their regular responsibilities. With an unprecedented empirical study, the authors of this book examine whether this increased focus on security-related threats may come at the expense of addressing “classic” police responsibilities, such as fighting crime and dealing with local, day-to-day community problems. They also examine whether this shift has had a detrimental effect on police-community relationships and perceptions of police legitimacy, as their role changes from “service” to “suspicion.” Through a four-year, multi-method study specifically focused on the Israel National Police, the authors of this work have examined the effects of this shifting role on a number of key areas of policing concern, namely: police effectiveness at fighting crime and police legitimacy, drawing conclusions applicable to any democratic police force. The results of the study provide a number of concrete recommendations for maintaining effectiveness and community relationships of the police, with increasing responsibilities, challenges, and limited resources. This work will be of interest for researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with a focus on police studies and counter-terrorism; police administrators; and researchers in related disciplines, such as sociology and public administration.

The past 18 months have seen a radical increase in incidents of jihadist terrorism within the United Kingdom – from the Manchester Arena attack, to the Houses of Parliament, to London Bridge. As a result, there are renewed calls for a high-level national conversation about the causes of, and the responses to, this particular terrorist problem. This book identifies policy and research gaps from an evidence-based perspective – it analyses what we know, what we don't know and what we need to know in relation to understanding and countering the jihadist terrorist threat. It provides readers with a synthesis of the knowledge and evidence that exists on each of the key topic areas, representing a distinctive and valuable resource for policymakers, academics and students. The contributors to the volume are leading international and national experts, from both the scholarly and policy-making communities, who are ideally placed to comment on the question of jihadist terrorism and the future of the threat in the UK.

This book provides a comprehensive, authoritative and wide-ranging account of the background, theory and practice of crime prevention and community safety. It will be essential reading for anybody with interests in these fields, and will be the major work of reference on this subject for those engaged in the practice, study or teaching of crime prevention. The book provides a detailed overview of the main theories and perspectives informing crime prevention policy and practice, and includes chapters covering efforts to address a number of the main types of crime problem. It also includes chapters relating to research methodologies used in conducting and evaluating crime prevention initiatives.

This book provides an essential introduction to the complex issues and debates in the field of crime control and the new politics of safety and security across the globe. The contributions to this volume present a critique of current policy and open up the field of study to new directions.

"Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Together against Terrorism: Building Terrorism Resistant Communities, Washington D.C., USA, 26-27 September 2008."--T.p. verso.

Law Enforcement, Policing, & Security

This book examines community-based approaches to counter-terrorism through an analysis of the notions of community, partnership, engagement, gender and religion in order to shed new light on the potential of, and drawbacks to these approaches. Dr. Spalek stresses the need for policy makers and practitioners to reflect on the effectiveness of the initiatives that they are engaged with, particularly in relation to how community-targeted or community-focused they are.

Although violent extremism is not a new phenomenon, it is increasingly recognized as a major challenge of our times. The recruitment of foreign fighters by extremist organizations, and its potential impact on public safety in the countries from which they come, is also emerging as a complex issue at the forefront of international preoccupations. This book presents the proceedings of the three day NATO Advanced Research Workshop, "Countering Violent Extremism Among Youth to Prevent Terrorism", held in Milan, Italy, in June 2014. The best way to respond to violent extremism in general, and the radicalization of disaffected youth in particular, is far from clear, but the stakes are so high and the potential threat to countries worldwide so great that inaction is not an option. The goal of the workshop was to enhance the capacity of policymakers and practitioners to design strategies that will achieve verifiable human-rights based outcomes to counter violent extremism. Subjects covered in the 19 papers which go to make up this book include: the causes or drivers of violent extremism; the factors which facilitate the recruitment of youth by violent extremist groups; the risk of growing Islamophobia in some Western and Central European countries; and proactive measures to counter the radicalization of youth. The book will be of interest to all those involved in policy development, prevention programs, de-radicalization programs or research aimed at countering violent extremism and the radicalization of young people.