Legal Aspects of Terrorism - Essay Example

?Introduction: Within the varying constitutional forums, the word terrorism can begin to seem ambiguous. The only clear truth that has ever come fromprevious terrorist acts is the hypothetical training to prepare expectant or ensuing police officers for the ethical dilemmas that they may face; that “now-we-know how to better prepare and prevent that from happening again” essence. The individual conscience accrued from police assignments using specific examples is the only way to learn. From the Encyclopedia Britanica, “Terrorism is not legally defined in all jurisdictions; the statutes that do exist, however, generally share some common elements.” A bully-tactic? Most definitely. A planned method of achieving violent intimidation in a pursuit of some form of legislative upheaval? Yes, but that black-or-white definition may include some efforts that don’t quite hit-the-mark, while excluding others that do. “Terrorism involves the use or threat of violence and seeks to create fear, not just within the direct victims but among a wide audience” (Encyclopedia Britanica). For a bit of a more elaborate understanding, an online article within Encyclop?dia Britannica summarizes this brilliantly: “[T]he systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. Terrorism has been practiced by political organizations with both rightist and leftist objectives, by nationalistic and religious groups, by revolutionaries, and even by state institutions such as armies, intelligence services, and police” (Jenkins, 2011). Though any attempt at reaching a federal agreement can at times begin to seem interminable or else come to a stalemate, “State law enforcement represents about 10 percent of total police employment in the United States” (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000). However, immediately following the 11 September 2001 fiasco, an abundance of newly implemented homeland security functions for state police organizations took mandatory precedence. That made the U.S. as a whole regroup and figure out how that could have been avoided. Terrorism has indeed had a major impact on the police mission in the United States. The executive, the legislative, and judicial decision-makers state leaders that exist currently do so with more of a raised brow. All significant policy trends for these three separate branches of government are administrated by the Council of State Governments (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000). Body: “In order to examine the impact of terrorism on state and local police agencies, the research team developed a survey that was administered to all state police, highway patrol agencies, and general-purpose state bureaus of investigation and a sample population of 400 local police and sheriff agencies in the spring of 2004” (Foster, Cordner, 2004). Of course, the only way to comprehend the theoretical reasoning behind what had happened -- well beyond the black-and-white or simplified practical history -- then this all-encompassing and well-grounded examination would need to be performed for sake of establishing future academic research. Only then will a peaceful and peaceable environment be established; the paradox that only with a strong defense can peace be established, then, holds merit. “In order to examine the impact of terrorism on state and local police agencies, a survey instrument was developed by a research team with state and local law enforcement experience. Survey items were developed from scratch since the project's focus was to explore new developments. However, the research team reviewed and utilized several existing surveys related to homeland security to gather ideas about survey structure and wording” (Foster, Cordner, 2004). Pertaining to disagreements that have adamantly come about and exist due to the appropriate law enforcement behavior that opposes terrorism yet still maintains personal liberties, “The project advisory group reviewed the draft survey in December 2003, and their suggestions were incorporated into the survey before the implementation in 2004. The survey was conducted during the spring of 2004, and it was administered to all state police, highway patrol agencies, and general-purpose state bureaus of investigation” (Foster, Cordner, 2004). Of course, to follow suit with every other legality to come about within this elective and representative government, delegating that final, comprehensive, and objective decision is inevitably always seems so redundant and laborious that it seems pointless and ineffectual. On the other hand, diligence, tenacity, and then reassurance are the only way to ensure appropriate completion. Regardless, State Law Enforcement Agency Data constitutes the initial subsection, and “provides survey responses from a total of 64 agencies.” Part 2, Local Law Enforcement Agency Data, contains the results of the survey that was also sent to a sample population of 400 local police and sheriff agencies. Each agency received a survey that contained quantitative and qualitative items. To achieve their response rates, the research team administered a multimodal survey, using mailings and the Internet. Each targeted agency received a mailed questionnaire in January 2004. A Web-based instrument was also developed using Quask software. Respondents had the choice of completing the questionnaire online or by mailing in answers. Four weeks later, the research team mailed a reminder to all agencies with outstanding responses and followed the mailing with phone calls to meet the desired response rates” (Foster, Cordner, 2004). Also, since the 11 September 2001 ordeal, social stigma within the function of police ethics, at least within the highly one-sided and illiberal community of policing that social stigma within the entire span of ethics and corruption within contemporary enforcement has inexplicably shifted onto a new catalyst. The sole “social stigma” would be purely that drastic social criticism and blatant objection pertaining to disapproval with an individual based solely on distinct characteristics (by which to label), which only exist to typecast and exclude him or her from peers within society. Anyhow, now it is the Middle Eastern crowd. The several generalized dimensions of police force plays a fundamental role one either side of the coin. In some cases, however, no culprit or victim exists; for any human to react on an unconscious impulse, and then later unravel such an action while in the heat of the moment (here, I am referring to police actions and immediate executive reactions), then that individual is labeled the black sheep and the actual aggressor or even lawbreaker becomes pitied and then entitled. That is one flaw of the U.S. justice system. By not performing a complete psychological breakdown on the officer, in many cases that officer has become typecast before the media on the basis of racial hatred, outcast socially, when in fact he or she was acting in the heat of the moment (unconsciously) on pure impulse, and the aggressor has become perceived as non-participative and compliant, when in all actuality this criminal was the perpetrator. That is one instance of a role social stigma plays in police ethics. Conclusion: As a contradiction to that point, corruption within the police force also occurs to obtain some form of wealth (lucre), or as a bias against a particular gang, or even for the macho-bravado of the moment. As in the vague consideration (yet situationally tenable; every legal point can be argued) raised in the previous paragraph, police abuses of force at times occur because of officers momentarily losing his or her calmness and escaping a reactionary and momentary lapse of justifiable reason in-the-moment. In essence, (intentional) corruption is bad; human error and anguish should be reasonable and understandable. That use or threat of violence, as recognized as terrorism and terrorist activity (again, that bully-tactic), seeks to create fear, not just within the direct victims but among a wide audience to cause some form of change. Bibliography Jenkins, John Philip ed. "Terrorism". Encyclop?dia Britannica. Web. 11 August 2011. "Terrorism". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th edition ed.). Bartleby.com. 2000. Web. 11 August 2011. Foster, Chad. Cordner, Gary. Impact of Terrorism on State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies and Criminal Justice Systems in the United States, 2004. [Computer file]. ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. ICPSR04677-v1. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments [producer], 2006. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2007-07-20. doi:10.3886/ICPSR04677 Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers NCJ 203350, 2000 LEMAS survey, March 2, 2004 Read More