A consortium of researchers dedicated to improving the understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism

From Extremist to Terrorist: Identifying the Characteristics of Communities Where Perpetrators Live and Pre-Incident Activity Occurs

Abstract:

The goal of this project is to identify the characteristics of communities where persons indicted under terrorism related charges lived, planned, and prepared prior to carrying out terrorist attacks. Are there potential markers that can be identified to assist in intervention efforts before violence occurs? Although some research has been conducted on the community characteristics of the locations of terrorist incidents, no empirical examinations have been conducted on the characteristics of the places where residential and pre-incident activities occur. The locations where perpetrators live and conduct preincident activity – both planning and preparation – are hypothesized to be different from the places where incidents occur.

Publication Information

Full Citation:

Roberts, Paxton, Kevin M. Fitzpatrick, Brent L. Smith, and Kelly R. Damphousse. 2013. “From Extremist to Terrorist: Identifying the Characteristics of Communities where Perpetrators Live and Pre-Incident Activity Occurs Prior to Attacks.” Report to the Resilient Systems Division, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. College Park, MD: START, (April).