Law Enforcement Training and the Domestic Far Right

• NCJ Number: 229013
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 36 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 1305-1322
• Author(s): Steven M. Chermak; Joshua D. Freilich; Zachary Shemtob
• Date Published: December 2009
• Length: 18 pages
• Grant Number(s): N00140510629
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Homeland Security; National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Reponses to Terrorism (START)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For other articles in this issue, see NCJ-229010-12 and NCJ-229014.

Annotation

This discussion of issues in law enforcement training for countering terrorism in general and far-right extremism in particular begins with a review of current training that focuses on the far right, followed by information being imparted to law enforcement personnel regarding the nature and extent of the threat posed by far-right extremists, and concluding with recommendations for improving law enforcement training in this domain.

Abstract

Although law enforcement, watch groups, and researchers have concluded that far-right extremists pose a significant threat to public safety, there is little law enforcement training that focuses on the far right. The two organizations that provide a significant amount of training on issues related to domestic terrorism are the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). ADL training provides an overview of the antigovernment movement, hate crimes, legal issues, and officer safety issues. The SPLC has recently partnered with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in offering an online course related to hate crimes, hate groups, and the role of the police in responding to these crimes. In developing law enforcement training to counter the various threats from the far-right, the definition of terrorism must be expanded to include all ideologically motivated crimes, regardless of whether they meet popular views of what constitutes terrorism. Attention must also be given to differences in the ideologies, structures, and criminal activities of the various far-right groups. Intelligence must be developed on the number, types, and structures of far-right groups and individuals involved in criminal activities within a jurisdiction; in addition, a training curriculum on far-right extremism should focus on driving violations, traffic stops, and successfully managing potentially violent situations, such as serving an arrest warrant at a far rightist's home. 1 note and 78 references