Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism in the Post-9-11 Era of Homeland Security

• In Event: Mapping and Responding to Terrorism and Political Violence

Abstract

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks exposed weaknesses in federal law enforcement’s ability to proactively counter threats to American homeland security. Following the attacks, legislative reforms and policy changes cleared both bureaucratic and legal obstacles to anti-terrorism efforts. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) transformed into a domestic intelligence agency responsible for preventing future terrorist attacks. Likewise, the passage of the 2001 USA Patriot Act gave federal agents new discretionary powers to more easily collect intelligence on those suspected of supporting terrorism. Despite these changes, there has been only limited scholarly attention paid to terrorism responses by the federal criminal justice system. Using data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS), this analysis examines how policy changes are reflected in the nature of terrorism investigations, the handling of terrorist defendants by federal prosecutors, and the outcomes of terrorism cases since 2001.

Authors

• Summer Jackson, California State University, East Bay

• Christopher A. Shields, University of Arkansas

• Katie Ratcliff, University of Arkansas