Pre-incident Indicators of Terrorist Incidents

Project Summary for 2003-DT-CX-0003 The University of Arkansas, in partnership with the University of Oklahoma, will examine the relationship between prepartory and ancillary behaviors, both criminal and non-criminal, of terrorist group members and the terrorist acts they eventually plan or carry out. The goal of the study is to identify patterns of conduct that might lead to intervention prior to the commission of actual terrorist incidents. The three primary objectives of the project are: 1) compilation of data through case studies relating to the preparatory conduct of terrorist groups: 2) creation of a quantitative dataset linking preparatory behavior to terrorist targeting; and 3) identification of patterns of antecedent conduct that may help local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies preempt the activities of extremist groups before the commission of actual terrorist incidents. The products of this research will serve a long-desired predictive function for prosecutors and law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels. Ca/ncf