Elements of terrorism preparedness in local police agencies, 2003-2007: an impact of vulnerability, organizational characteristics, and contagion in the post-9/11 era

Citation

Lynch, M.D. (2013), "Elements of terrorism preparedness in local police agencies, 2003-2007: an impact of vulnerability, organizational characteristics, and contagion in the post-9/11 era", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 36 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm.2013.18136aaa.005

Elements of terrorism preparedness in local police agencies, 2003-2007: an impact of vulnerability, organizational characteristics, and contagion in the post-9/11 era

Elements of terrorism preparedness in local police agencies, 2003-2007: an impact of vulnerability, organizational characteristics, and contagion in the post-9/11 era

Article Type: Perspectives on policing From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 36, Issue 1.

Aki Roberts, John M. Roberts, Jr, and Raymond V. LiedkaCrime and Delinquency2012Vol. 58No. 5pp. 720-747

The role of local police departments has changed drastically since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. A dramatic shift from a primarily community-oriented approach to an emphasis on terrorism preparedness is at the center of the debate on policing strategies. Previous research suggests that contingency and contagion factors are associated with terrorism preparedness practices of local police departments. However, research is limited in the evolution of police agencies" preparedness protocol since the 9/11 attacks. In this study, Roberts et al. (2012) examine the relationships between measures of contingency and contagion on elements of agency preparedness from 2003 to 2007.

The study used data from the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) database, to evaluate 374 local police agencies" (populations of 100,000 or more) terrorism preparedness practices. Contingency elements included measures of terrorism vulnerability, organizational priorities, and activities, while contagion elements included potential network influence measures. Five dependent variables that measured terrorism preparedness include terrorism special unit, dedicated assignment of personnel, terrorism-related community outreach, computerized intelligence files, and interagency-shared radio frequencies.

Initially, exploratory statistical models found that there was "substantial change" in terror preparedness across police agencies from 2003 to 2007. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the level of terrorism preparedness of local police agencies, while controlling for time-lagged effects for baseline preparedness in 2003. Agency measures not significantly related with terror preparedness included vulnerability, formalization, community policing and resources. Results indicate that baseline measures (2003) were consistently related to the 2007 preparedness measures. Results also indicate that "agency size" was significantly related to four measures of terrorism preparedness. Also, a contagion measure (occupational differentiation) was related to the assignment of terrorism personnel and community outreach.

Roberts et al. (2012) conclude that unlike previous research, no association between objective vulnerability and preparedness was found. The authors seem concerned and suggest that this may be due to the ineffective distribution of terror preparedness resources. Another noteworthy finding is that community policing does not "encourage counterterrorism preparedness actions," and instead may compete for resources. The strongest predictor of preparedness, agency size, may speak to the likelihood of agencies having a terrorism special unit. Limitations of the study include insufficient measures (training, equipment, aid agreements with non-police agencies). Authors" suggest that future research must explore economic measures that are consistent in today's financial recession.

Mathew D. LynchUniversity of South Florida