Domestic radicalization and violent extremism are persistent and pernicious challenges to law enforcement agencies and community safety across the country. NIJ has long been committed to providing community leaders, law enforcement, and practitioners with evidence-based practices to help prevent and mitigate these ever-changing threats.
In 2012, Congress tasked NIJ with supporting research on pathways from domestic radicalization to violent extremism. Since then, we’ve invested extensively in pursuit of this mandate, funding more than 50 studies (totaling nearly $40 million) through our domestic radicalization and violent extremism research portfolio.
That research has informed our understanding of the radicalization process in the United States and the identification of potential intervention points. We have helped develop databases that can detect common threats among individuals who radicalize to terrorism. We have also supported research on how to distinguish between individuals who hold radical beliefs and those whose radical beliefs precipitate violence. As the field of terrorism and radicalization research has evolved, so too have our research investments, spurring projects to examine more nuanced and increasingly complex challenges faced by the law enforcement and victim service provider communities.
This issue of the NIJ Journal covers three main areas of research inquiry. First, we describe our data-informed understanding of the radicalization process, how to interrupt it, and how to address those who engage in violence because of it. Second, we document the vital roles of practitioners who work with radicalized individuals. Third, we synthesize findings from across our research investments on violent extremism to extract out key recommendations and present them in ways that are accessible to practitioners and policymakers.
We invited researchers and practitioners, including past and present NIJ grantees and staff, to examine this topic from all angles. This Journal edition explores what we have learned about U.S. radicalization and terrorism, the degree to which it resembles other forms of mass or targeted violence, and how best to collect and analyze data on rare incidents like terrorist acts. Experts also examine the roles of trauma and mental health in the radicalization process and what makes prevention and intervention programs most effective. Importantly, this issue shares research on how to successfully reintegrate individuals involved in violent extremism back into society and the role of the forensic sciences in detecting and responding to terrorist attacks.
Research tells us that communities across our country want to engage in transparent, collaborative efforts to improve resiliency, reduce general violence, and increase overall public health. Therefore, standalone programs to address violent extremism will not succeed. To understand the needs and priorities of communities affected by local and global events, practitioners and policymakers must hold space for them to air their grievances and feel heard by their community leaders. They also need to establish safe environments in which residents can feel comfortable coming forward to report concerning or threatening behaviors to authorities.
The most proactive and collaborative approach we can take to root out the threat of violent extremism across the United States is to promote healthy and resilient communities. This starts with encouraging practitioners to focus on the early identification of precipitators of hate and extremism before they take seed, and to address the needs of individuals at risk of radicalizing before the sentiments manifest into violence.
I encourage those doing this important work in the field to learn and apply lessons from the findings presented in this NIJ Journal edition. This issue represents a culmination of more than a decade of much-needed research on domestic radicalization, violent extremism, and terrorism. My hope is that this knowledge can be used to move both research and practice forward in actionable ways that aid prevention efforts and bolster community resilience.
Nancy La Vigne, Ph.D.
Director, National Institute of Justice