NCJ Number
204221
Editor(s)
Harold V. Hall Ph.D.
Date Published
2003
Length
125 pages
Annotation
The five papers of this book focus on issues pertinent to strategies for intervention in terrorism, with attention to the psychological study of terrorism, terrorism as group violence, predictive patterns in chemical and biological violence, the evolution of knowledge regarding hostage/barricade crisis negotiation, and ethical concerns in forensic psychological consultation regarding national safety and security.
Abstract
The introductory paper defines "terrorism" and discusses general principles for counterterrorist strategies, with a focus on strategies that do not perpetuate self-generating violent interlocks that foster repetitive violence, but rather on strategies that defuse the factors associated with violent behavior. The second paper focuses on the complexity of terrorism as group violence and the need to consider the interplay of biological, psychological, familial, peer group, religious, cultural, historical, economic, and political influences on terrorist behavior. A third paper features the use of the "lethal violence sequence" as a means of predicting the use of chemical and biological weapons by religious and ethnonationalist terrorist groups. A fourth paper reviews the evolution of knowledge and strategies that relate to hostage/barricade crisis negotiation. The author examines the multiple ways a crisis incident can be classified, analyzes the results of hostage-incident databases, discusses negotiation techniques, and explores the impact of captivity on the victim. A paper on ethical concerns in forensic psychology consultations under the goals and parameters of national safety and security focuses on various scenarios that would precipitate violations of existing standards of professional ethics for psychologists and psychiatrists. The paper notes the importance of forensic psychology's input in national-security policies and practices and recommends that professional ethical standards be re-examined to recognize and provide ethical guidance for the profession in such situations. Tables and references accompany the papers.