Eight Ways of Identifying a Terrorist

The first case termed as terrorism attack happened in 1793 following the French Revolution. Since then, terrorism attacks have been happening with recently four popular groups of terrorists namely, Taliban, ISIL, Khorasan, and Boko-haram leaving 87% of terrorist deaths in ten countries. Countries especially the United States have been at the forefront in combating this crisis. This has seen the total number of terrorist deaths declining to 15,952, that is, 53% since 2014. In his twitter account on 9^th December 2015 at 5:56 AM, the current president of America Donald Trump said that his country is facing a major threat from radical Islamic terrorism. He advised that being smart, tough, and fast before it is too late is the solution. However, even with the increasing threat of terrorism, it is possible to counter the act following eight different ways. This paper explores the eight ways through which a terrorist can be identified.

Keywords: Terrorist, terrorism, security

Eight Ways of Identifying a Terrorist

The first way of identifying a terrorist is trough surveillance. When terrorists choose a specific group of people and target it, they first observe the target to identify people who they can lure into the incident. For instance, they can settle in an area to plan on how to attack a certain church, school, or any social gathering. Those fighting terrorists need to observe such acts by doing surveys across the area. For example, a new person settles in a residential area, the area chief securities should try to get to know who the person is. They also should know what he does, and track their activities because the person might be a terrorist. Some of the activities that may indicate terrorism include someone recording activities, drawing maps, using visual instruments such as cameras among others (Letschert, 2009). Such acts may indicate that something is not right and immediate action ought to be taken. One importance of conducting surveys is that it uncovers answers and enables one to base decisions on objective information (Newman, McNeil, &MacNeil, 1998). Therefore, by surveying, the security will get the answers they need about new people

Another way of identifying a terrorist is by observing transaction activities made. Large transactions, deposits, or withdrawals indicate a sign of terrorism (Levitt, 2012). Of late terrorists have been depending on charity organizations for funding because it provides a sign of authenticity. Boko-Haram group has been using this technique across Africa. However, 40 charity agencies have so far been blocked by the US treasury (Ryder, 2012). Usually, when large cash payments are done, criminologists believe that it is a sign of criminal funding (Ryder, 2012). This is because many terrorists are lured into acts through huge amounts of money. For example, if two people go to a bank and one deposits billions of money into the other person’s account, the banker should have a second thought and dig into that act. The reason being people are not prone to transacting such huge amounts of money. The banker can even go the extra mile of informing relevant security agents about the issue. This way, it will be easier to identify suspect terrorists and take necessary actions. 

The third way is being vigilant when one is acquiring supplies. It may be someone buying or stealing explosives, ammunition, weapons, or installing chemicals and explosives (Burke, 2006). Also, terrorists may develop counterfeit uniforms or identity cards similar to those of the military. They may do this when they don’t have a chance to steal the original uniform from the state. In 2013, an incident happened in the United States where a terrorist named Dykes had kidnapped a five-year-old boy. Dykes had dug a deep bunker and had installed it with communication pipes which were loaded with grenades and explosives (FOX News, 2013).  It was very difficult to rescue the boy with that kind of a bunker but fortunately, after six days of hard work from the military, the boy was rescued, Dykes then committed suicide inside the bunker. If the military had been vigilant before to observe Dykes buying and loading the explosives, they could have identified him and prevent the act. Therefore, it is important to be vigilant with people acquiring such supplies if terrorism is to be minimized.

Another way of identifying a terrorist is through reporting elicitation. Elicitation is someone using communication in trying to gain sensitive information such as security-related information (Free Dictionary, n.d). Terrorists usually find someone who knows a country’s state of security such as military capabilities, operations, or security procedures of the country, they use then use that information to find weaknesses in the security agents and finally perform attacks. If someone tries to gain access to such information, then it is likely that they are planning for a terror attack. To counter this, the state can urge citizens to report any person soliciting them to give them such information. For instance, a security officer may be lured by a terrorist using a lump sum of money to speak about the security secrets of their country. In such a case, the officer should be bold enough to report the suspect. Through that, many terrorists will be identified.

The fifth way is keeping an eye on strangers who seem nervous and out of place. People who may seem to be confused, sweating, anxious, or just acting in a panicked manner especially in social events should be keenly observed. Such people may have harming intentions to crowds (United States Department of Information, n.d). This means that people should profile the behavior of such confused people on big gatherings because social gatherings are prone to terrorism. Some of such gathering areas include shopping malls, stadiums, schools, or churches. For example, the Berlin Christmas Market attack that happened in December 2016. Another one is the London Bridge attack that happened in 2017 (Johnston, 2018). In such cases, the attacks are usually planned and it is easier to prevent them. First, the state can opt to deploy security officers in crowded places or advise people in crowded places to take personal responsibility for their security and report any suspicious people.

Another possible way of identifying a terrorist is by use of computers to track online activities.  . Some terrorists usually plan their activities online while at the same time luring other people into the acts. If the security agents track the original posts and identify the person who posts them, it is important to take immediate action to them. To aid in this, social media regulators should partner with the security agents in identifying people who post such.

The seventh way is by recognizing the attire and posture of a person. The US government explains the initials in ALERT as an easy way to do so (Barlow, 2015). A- Stands for alone and nervous. Someone who is staying alone and in fear. L- Stands for loose and bulky dressing not likely to match weather conditions. E- Stands for exposed wires. R- Stands for rigid mid-section. This means that the person has something like a belt that makes them sit upright and supports their heavy bodies. T- Stands for tightened hands. If the person’s hand appears tight, the person may be holding a weapon such as a gun. If a person posses these characteristics, then they might be terrorists. With that in mind, it is possible to identify a terrorist and it is imperative for one to always be quick in reporting such people.

The eighth and last way is noticing chemical or explosives odor. Terrorists carry chemicals and explosives which produce a strong odor. Some of the smells that chemicals emit are sweet burning smell, motor oil, and an acrid smell (Krausa, 2004). If one notices such smells, it is crucial to dig into the causes or identify the person associated with them. For example, if a person frequently visits remote areas and then comes back home smelling chemicals, that person may be associated with terrorism. In some instances, like in the US, trained dogs help police officers identify areas with explosives. The dogs are taught how to recognize thousands of explosives’ ingredients (Smith, 2011). Thus, it becomes easy to spot a terrorist.

In conclusion, it is possible to identify terrorists in eight different ways. Some important ways include surveillance, reporting elicitation, observing huge financial transactions, being vigilant on those who purchase security supplies among others discussed in this paper. The ultimate goal of identifying terrorists and dealing with them is to save lives. Therefore, everyone should take personal responsibility in preventing attacks. Furthermore, the state should be quick in dealing with suspects before they implement their plans. John Locke said that the only defense against the world is a thorough knowledge of it. Thus, the only defense against terrorism is to have a thorough knowledge of it. So, people need to be educated on different aspects of terrorism for their safety.

References

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