Bioterrorism: A Situational Crime Prevention Approach (From Reducing Terrorism Through Situational Crime Prevention, P 93-109, 2009, Joshua D. Freilich and Graeme R. Newman, eds., see NCJ-229596)

• NCJ Number: 229601
• Author(s): William R. Clark
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter examines how the principles of situational crime prevention can be used to analyze the targets of bioterrorism as well as the bioterrorists.

Abstract

By the end of 2009, the United States will have spent over $60 billion preparing to defend Americans against a bioterrorist attack and its consequences, in spite of the fact that there has never been a single verified instance of the loss of human life to bioterrorism. Many, both within and outside of government, have proposed that we must reassess our approach to defending against a bioterrorism threat. In this chapter, the author proposes that the principles of situational crime prevention could be extended to include a detailed analysis of not just the potential targets of bioterrorism, but also of the bioterrorists themselves: their capabilities and, especially, their weapons. This may lead to a much more realistic estimate of the magnitude of the bioterrorist threat, and a more effective distribution of resources in the overall war on terrorism. Figure, tables, notes, and references (Published Abstract)