Terrorism: Fear of Crime - Essay Example

Terrorism The events of 9/11 were a realization that the concept of Homeland Security was increasingly becoming a fallacy and that the key riskslay in the management of the airline and airport security in the West. This was mainly due to outsourcing security agreements to Private sector contractors and their recruitment of minimum wage workers.However post 9/11 there has been a major debate as to the causes and impacts of terrorism upon a society and the role of the Governmental agencies in preventing such risks. According to Hansen;(2002) the word terror comes from the Latin word terrere, meaning, "to frighten." Melanie (1998) in a qualitative and quantitative investigation of the "Fear of Crime" has tried to show the psychological link between "fear and the likelihood of becoming a victim". She states that every day experiences and particularly the role of the post modern media has a large role to play here." Gray and Ropeik(2002) have stated that "Fear itself is a risk and must be part of risk-management policy making." In this vein they have stated that the post September the 11th fear has come to involve serious public health connotations and lessened peoples faith in aviation security. The threat of anthrax caused many thousands of people to take "broad-spectrum antibiotics to prevent possible anthrax infections, thereby accelerating antimicrobial resistance"(Gray and Ropeik2002). This was all a result of fear and they propose that this could have been avoided by effective risk communication.The general public should not have to rely upon media awareness but personal experience and conversation should form the pivotal concern for communication here.Gray and Ropeik(2002) further note that this uncertainty caused an even greater uncertainty amongst the victim base which was the query that " .Who were the attackers What will they do next When Where How does anthrax work Just how hard is it to "weaponize" biological agents Is our water supply safe _ Is the risk personal as in "it might happen to me," Jackson(2006) has lent some interesting insights into the fear of crime to risk research, in line with the concept of fear of crime and the politics of fear, emotion and cognition of the victim base and the prospective/feared victim base. He concludes that "the fear of crime may be an individual response to community social order and a generalized attitude toward the moral trajectory of society." It is interesting as Linda et al (2004) note that there has been an increased willingness to sacrifice civil liberties for control of terrorism.Raymond Monsour Scurfield (2002) as a personal victim of the events of September the 11th saga has shown the psychological repercussions of the post 9/11 attacks upon the range of normal and expectable reactions by those present on and distant from the terror site particularly in the form of PTSD ( post-traumatic stress disorder) She has shown that the impact of September the 11th had an overall bearing upon the country's workplace and had psychological impacts even upon the people not at the ground zero site.She has also noted that " for the one-month period following the September 2001 attack, there was a 16 percent increase nationwide in the prescription of antidepressants as compared to the previous year." It is worth learning from yester year's horror bibles like the discovery of the 180 pages long Al Qaeda manual which was seized from the Manchester ,England home of a bin Laden disciple, was a shocking moment for Britain and new dilemma for the counterterrorism forces and anti terrorism think tanks of Britain and the US. The Arabic manual literally translated was about "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants," which was basically a complete guide believed to be the "terrorism textbook" with guidance for jihad members on subjects such as assassination ,forgery and preparing poisons in its 18 chapters for the followers of Osama bin Laden. The manual was subsequently placed into evidence during a federal trial of four terrorists who were sentenced to life prison. The Airports have to come up with better systems of detecting the forgery of passports and for detecting any falsified documents etc.Again these terrorists will never be found with beards when they are mingling with the masses.The system of telecommications requires much attention.There is free wireless on Airports like Heathrow and Dubai and this can be misused easily by terrorists.It should be noted that these terrorists will memorise the phone numbers they use and use public phones whenever possible. It is worth looking at now how these potential risks have been countered by the authorities. The Bush administration has launched the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure safe international trade as well as commercial activity across and within the country's borders and to guard against any unsafe or illegal infiltration. Another measure which is criticised as much invasive and an infrignement of civil liberties is the Operation Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS) program instituted by the U.S Department of Justice.These measures require extensive questioning, fingerprinting, and other such measures regarding individuals of Islamic countries.However critics are beginning to question whether such invasive procedures will help at all apart from causing delays dissatisfaction, and perceived harassment across international airports.Despite the criticism it should be noted that in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) has indeed played a pivotal role in achieving the aims of developing and coordinating the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy for security against terrorist threats or attacks. Currently the advisory system is based upon colour-coded scales of security alerts to communicate and warn the general public against any lurking terrorist threats. The Homeland Security department draws its legitimacy from Homeland Security Act of 2002. However based upon the discussion above there is a lot to be said and debated about the compatibility of this security measure by the US with basic fundamental freedoms of the public. Bibliography Nice, D. C., & Grosse, A. (2001). The evolution of emergency management in America: From a painful past to promising but uncertain future. In A. Farazmand (Ed.), Handbook of crisis and emergency management (pp. 55-67). New York: Marcel Dekker. Eric Lipton, 2007 "Airport Security Alert for Toys With Remotes" New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/us/nationalspecial3/02tsa.htmlth&emc=th[7] For more on this, see James J.F. Forest (ed.), Teaching Terror: Strategic and Tactical Learning in the Terrorist World (Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006). Eric Lipton, 2007 "Airport Security Alert for Toys With Remotes" New York Times, Kathrene L. Hansen; Anxiety In The Workplace Post-September 11, 2001 The Public Manager, Vol. 31, 2002 "Brown, Melanie", Fear Of Crime, (Fear Of Crime Survey) Volume 3 : Summary Volume AIC Publication (1998) George M. Gray And David P. Ropeik (2002)Dealingwith The Dangers Of Fear: The Role Of Risk Communication 2002 Project Hope-The People-To-People Health Foundation, Inc. Jonathan Jackson (2006) Introducing Fear Of Crime To Risk Research Risk Analysis, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2006 Doi: 10.1111/J.1539-6924.2006.00715.X Linda J. Skitka, Christopher W. Bauman And Elizabeth Mullen (2004),Personality And Social Psychology, Pers Soc Psychol Bull 2004; 30; 743,Attacks: An Integrative Approach Political Tolerance And Coming To Psychological Closure Following The September 11, 2001, Terrorist Http://Psp.Sagepub.Com/Cgi/Content/Abstract/30/6/743 Raymond Monsour Scurfield (2002) Commentary About The Terrorist Acts Of September 11, 2001:Posttraumatic Reactions And Related Social And Policy Issues University Of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2002 3-14 2002 Sage Publications Websites http://www.disastercenter.com/terror/ http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/law/terrorism.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2205809,00.html http://cryptome.org/alq-terr-man.htm http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/04/zawahiri.london/index.html Read More