The Need for a Coordinated and Strategic Local Police Approach to Terrorism: A Practitioner's Perspective

Abstract

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have had a profound impact on American policing, requiring that police agencies substantially modify various elements of their policies, operations, and training. This article examines several types of changes local American police agencies will have to implement if they are to effectively meet the challenges of preventing, deterring, responding to, and investigating terrorist acts. Police agencies face a compelling need for more sophisticated intelligence gathering and analysis, as well as better dissemination of terrorism intelligence among local, state and federal agencies. There is also the need for more sophisticated operational policies with regard to terrorism response, greater cooperation and sharing of resources among local public safety agencies, and more comprehensive training that educates police officers to the realities of contemporary terrorist methods and activities. Finally, the need for effective investigation and prosecution of terrorist acts demands that agencies ignore or overcome the traditional organizational boundaries and rivalries that impede the achievement of these and other goals. The article also points some of the difficulties involved in implementing the necessary changes within a highly decentralized system of thousands of relatively autonomous local agencies, and it illuminates some of the initiatives undertaken by the New York Police Department (NYPD) to overcome these obstacles and more effectively prepare for the terrorist threat.