LOCAL POLICE RESPONSE TO TERRORISM Research Paper

LOCAL POLICE RESPONSE TO TERRORISM - Research Paper Example In the United States, federal law enforcement agencies such as Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and other local police agencies at the state, county, and municipal levels have been assigned with the duty of policing terrorism. Although contribution of local police to counterterrorism practices does not generally get wide media coverage, local police plays a major role in fighting terrorism. The local contribution to counterterrorism policing is particularly important in the United States since the US police practices were historically focused at the local level. This paper will specifically discuss local police response to terrorism. The concept of intelligence-led policing has attained wider attention in the United States since FBI reports indicate that the US is the world’s one of the hottest destinations for terror attacks. Although the intelligence based policing policy was developed as a way of reducing policing costs in the US, nowadays the nation uses this approach to address counterterrorism activities. According to the 9/11 Commission report (as cited in Gill, 2006), intelligence-led policing is a potential approach to ‘join up the dots’. Currently, the New York Police Department is the largest high profile user of intelligence-led policing tactics, with over 1,000 officers working to fight terrorism. This policing strategy would be accessible to the local police departments to easily identify suspicious activities (For instance, high volume purchase of hydrogen peroxide) and thereby timely respond to them. The US local police also encourage people to report any suspicious activity t o local authorities through the police hot line. Through media broadcasts, today people have good knowledge about which situations are likely to develop into a terrorist attack. Hence, the local police hotline system together with