An Exploratory Analysis of Terrorism Prevention and Response Preparedness Efforts in Municipal Police Departments in the United States: Which Agencies Participate in Terrorism Prevention and Why?

Abstract

In the post 9/11 era of homeland security in the United States, American local law enforcement agencies are expected to play an integral role in terrorism prevention and response. Literature suggests that local police agencies are more likely to engage in terrorism response activities than prevention activities because: (1) policymakers place greater emphasis on response, and (2) the prevention component of homeland security is incompatible with traditional policing functions. Missing from the literature is an explanation of why some agencies engage in terrorism prevention activities whereas others do not. To address this research question and other issues concerning terrorism prevention efforts, this study evaluates data from the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2003 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey. Results show that agencies engaged in terrorism prevention activities were more likely to invest in a few areas of terrorism response preparedness, but they were not more likely to be engaged in terrorism response planning activities. Findings from the structural equation model (SEM) reveal that high levels of violent crime are a strong correlate of agency activities in terrorism prevention activities.