Have They Said Something? Examining How Terrorism Cases Came to the Attention of Law Enforcement

• In Event: Preventing and Investigating Terrorism: National and Local Responses

Abstract

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the federal government has stressed the importance of an alert public as the first line of defense against future terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign is a prime example of encouraging community involvement in crime prevention. This campaign seeks to encourage Americans to actively watch and report anything suspicious in an effort to proactively prevent another terrorism incident from occurring. However, there is a dearth in the literature whether the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign has actually inspired vigilance. Using the “See Something, Say Something” campaign as a point of departure, the goal of this study seeks to examine how a terrorism enterprise comes to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This study uses the American Terrorism Study (ATS) database and media sources to determine how the FBI is alerted to potential terrorists.

Author

• Summer M. Jackson, University of Oklahoma