Lone Wolf Terrorism in Legislation : A Legal Overview
goods , provides a more straightforward solution to remove a terrorist from the general population . Rather than waiting for enough evidence to prosecute someone under a terrorism statute and risk the individual conducting his / her attack , it is easier and quicker to charge and convict them of a more straightforward crime . This absence of discussion of this issue in the literature exemplifies the incomplete reporting , which fails to include all instances of terrorism , making studying and understanding difficult due to lack of data .
Analysis — Pre-9 / 11
What is essential about the above brief review of the history of terrorism laws is the lack of consideration of the threat from individuals operating alone who conspire or commit political and religious violence . Legislators did give some forethought to providing law enforcement and the USIC some legal mechanisms to deal with terrorism in general but failed to incorporate individual terrorists or lone wolves . From a legal perspective , laws consider small groups part of larger groups , but individuals , especially those who were not working on behalf of a foreign power , would not be included or even envisioned under the existing statutes . As a result , law enforcement and the Department of Justice ’ s enforcement arms were forced to use laws already on the books addressing murder , arson , and bombings . These legal tools worked but did not specifically address the threat at hand . Consider this within the context of law enforcement and prosecutors tending to work from a perspective of “ What can we charge an individual with ?” and proceed with investigative steps to fulfill those prosecutorial goals . Law enforcement is lacking specific statutes targeting lone wolf terrorism and must search for other avenues from which to pursue these individuals and their threats .
Federal Intelligence and Terrorism Law — Post-9 / 11
USA PATRIOT Act
The defining period in legal policy regarding terrorism immediately followed
the 2 nd attack on the World Trade Center and the ensuing debate over the
USA PATRIOT Act . The USA PATRIOT Act ( formally : The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 ) laid the necessary groundwork and provided many useful tools for law enforcement and the USIC . Unfortunately , the USA PATRIOT Act failed to consider lone wolf terrorism and left gaps requiring later attention .
The USA PATRIOT Act was controversial almost from its inception . This public debate , a contentious discussion lasting about a month and a half , revolved around the limits of government power ; it ultimately became law but incorporated a “ sunset ” clause of December 31 , 2005 , for several of its provisions ( P . A . T . R . I . O . T .
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