NCJ Number
225832
Date Published
2007
Length
53 pages
Annotation
This guidebook provides law enforcement with an overview of extremism and extremist groups in the United States and the potential threats posed to law enforcement from extremist ideologies.
Abstract
Extremists are people who subscribe to extreme ideologies. Ideologies are comprehensive explanations of how the world works and how society ideally should operate. Most extreme ideologies tend to have negative elements, such as anti-Semitic, racist, anti-government, or anti-democratic. Extreme movements that have a history of criminal actions are the ones of most concern to law enforcement. The potential for law enforcement officers to encounter extremist individuals or groups in today’s world is great and law enforcement must better understand extremism for their safety as well as the safety of the communities in which they serve. This guidebook was designed to answer the following questions for law enforcement: (1) what are extremists and extremism; (2) why should law enforcement be concerned; (3) what are the common types of extremists; (4) how extremist-related crime differs from traditional crime; (5) what is the range of extremist activities; and (6) what are the hate-oriented extremist movements and the anti-government and single-issue extremist movements. The guidebook concludes by presenting an overview of officer safety and extremism.