Practitioner Training: Turning Research Into Knowledge for Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism

• In Event: Characterizing and Preventing Domestic Terrorism: A Mixed-Methods Study of Far-Right Extremist Incidents and Perpetrators

Abstract

Trainings for law enforcement (LE) and counterterrorism (CT) practitioners are an essential component of maintaining effective operational capabilities in the face of criminal and terrorist elements both foreign and domestic. The need for ongoing and updated trainings remains undisputed, and prior literature has identified some of the core components necessary for developing functional LE and CT training programs. However, the mechanisms behind the production of these training programs are somewhat less clear. Moreover, agencies that participate in trainings may not actually shift their policies, behaviors, or methods. Many agencies have limited resources, and at the least, trainings should be able to enhance agency capabilities, increase practitioner awareness of their operating environment and potential threats, and maximize the allocation of resources. Training modules for practitioners were created based on a dataset of far-right extremist incidents (n = 9,304) and their perpetrators (n = 5,618) in the United States, and initial feedback from participants in the trainings were used to inform our approach. This paper explores the utility of developing trainings for LE and CT practitioners based on academic research, in addition to addressing the potential challenges and complexities involved with data-driven policing practices.

Author

• Kat Smith, University of Massachusetts Lowell