Operationally defining the lone offender terrorist is challenging, as the nature of terrorism is both highly political and contextually dependent. Over the years, there has been disagreement over the classification of violent acts under the label of "terrorism." While an argument can be made that the infliction of fear upon a targeted group or the public is sufficient to classify an act as terrorism, the FBI definition of terrorism requires a purported motivation that goes beyond exclusively personal motivations and attempts to influence change in furtherance of extremist ideologies of a social, political, religious, racial or environmental nature. The focus of the current study examined offenders who carried out their attacks independent of any direction from a terrorist group or organization.Lone offender terrorism continues to pose a threat as violent ideological groups and terrorist organizations place emphasis on inspiring lone offender-style attacks. Additionally, individuals who view violence as an accessible and justified method for advancing their own ideological goals can independently mobilize toward violent action. While attacks directly coordinated by terrorist organizations are generally more lethal globally, the United States departs from this trend: lone offender attacks in the United States are more deadly, possibly due to strong U.S. counterterrorism capacity for disrupting.The current report provides an overview of the data, exploring the various topics encompassed within the coding protocol, including bystander observations, offenders' backgrounds, family and social networks, behavioral characteristics, radicalization, and attack planning. Predicting lone offender terrorism incidents is not possible, but prior research and operational experience support the conclusion that acts of targeted violence, including lone offender terrorist attacks, may be preventable through early recognition and reporting of concerning behavior. The report aims to inform broader goals of enhancing bystander education and awareness, as well to aid the prevention efforts of law enforcement and multi-disciplinary threat assessment teams working to counter targeted violence threats every day. To work toward this objective, the authors examine relevant contextual factors and analyze the statements and behaviors offenders exhibited before carrying out their attacks.

The lethality of lone-wolf terrorism has reached an all-time high in the United States. Isolated individuals using firearms with high-capacity magazines are committing brutally efficient killings with the aim of terrorizing others, yet there is little consensus on what connects these crimes and the motivations behind them. In The Age of Lone Wolf Terrorism, terrorism experts Mark S. Hamm and Ramón Spaaij combine criminological theory with empirical and ethnographic research to map the pathways of lone-wolf radicalization, helping with the identification of suspected behaviors and recognizing patterns of indoctrination. Reviewing comprehensive data on these actors, including more than two hundred terrorist incidents, Hamm and Spaaij find that a combination of personal and political grievances lead lone wolves to befriend online sympathizers—whether jihadists, white supremacists, or other antigovernment extremists—and then announce their intent to commit terror when triggered. Hamm and Spaaij carefully distinguish between lone wolves and individuals radicalized within a group dynamic. This important difference is what makes this book such a significant manual for professionals seeking richer insight into the transformation of alienated individuals into armed warriors. Hamm and Spaaij conclude with an analysis of recent FBI sting operations designed to prevent lone-wolf terrorism in the United States, describing who gets targeted, strategies for luring suspects, and the ethics of arresting and prosecuting citizens.

This book provides the first empirical analysis of lone-actor terrorist behaviour. Based upon a unique dataset of 111 lone actors that catalogues the life span of the individual’s development, the book contains important insights into what an analysis of their behaviours might imply for practical interventions aimed at disrupting or even preventing attacks. It adopts insights and methodologies from criminology and forensic psychology to provide a holistic analysis of the behavioural underpinnings of lone-actor terrorism. By focusing upon the behavioural aspects of each offender and by analysing a variety of case studies, including Anders Breivik, Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh and David Copeland, this work marks a pointed departure from previous research in the field. It seeks to answer the following key questions: Is there a lone-actor terrorist profile and how do they differ? What behaviours did the lone-actor terrorist engage in prior to his/her attack and is there a common behavioural trajectory into lone-actor terrorism? How ‘lone’ do lone-actor terrorists tend to be? What role, if any, does the internet play? What role, if any, does mental illness play? This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism/counter-terrorism studies, political violence, criminology, forensic psychology and security studies in general.

Criminals and Victims analyzes economic decisions made by offenders and victims before, during, and after a crime or victimization.

Offenders convicted of violent crimes accounted for almost 15,000 (7.5%) of the federal inmate population in recent reports; and, despite the public's perception that the overall crime rate is down, there are indications that rates of violent crime may actually be increasing in certain geographic areas and populations. In response, forensic psychologists are increasingly being called upon to understand the causes of violence, predict violent behavior and the likelihood or recidivism, develop treatment programs, and even assist law enforcement in solving crimes. The assessment of violence is an ever-evolving field of study and the need for updated analysis of personality constructs, etiological links, corollary elements, and tools for violence prediction are of primary import. Violent Offenders addresses the numerous challenges and issues facing individuals working with this population and provides broad coverage regarding specific groups of violent perpetrators. It looks at a wide-range of topics and offending populations including violent children and adolescents, intimate partner violence, terrorism, sexually based crimes, gang violence, institutional violence, and violence perpetrated by police officers. Skillfully edited by Christina Pietz, a forensic psychologist, and Curtis Mattson, a clinical psychologist, this volume offers insight into current psychological theories of violence and addresses the links, both evident and assumed, between psychological disorders and violence. Chapters are authored by leaders in their fields and cover topics such as the psychiatric treatment of violent behavior, assessment and prediction of risk for future dangerousness, special considerations for ethical conduct, research considerations, and the etiological associations of violence with neurophysiology, substance abuse, and environment. Violent Offenders will benefit clinicians and professionals working in correctional and forensic fields and is appropriate for use in clinical and counseling graduate programs that offer specialized training in correctional and/or forensic psychology and for courses in deviant behavior and setting-specific assessment.

This annual Sourcebook brings together data of interest to the criminal justice community. A compilation of information from a variety of sources. The book has six sections: 1. Characteristics of the Criminal Justice System, 2. Public Attitude Toward Crime & Criminal Justice-related Topics, 3. Nature & Distribution of Known Offenses, 4. Characteristics & Distribution of Persons Arrested, 5. Judicial Processing of Defendants, 6. Persons Under Correctional Supervision. Over 400 charts & Tables.

Presents data from the Nat. Crime Victimization Survey, one of two U.S. Department of Justice measures of crime in the U.S. Data are collected every year from a sample of 45,000 households with about 94,000 individuals age 12 or older. Victimization is categorized as personal or property crimes. Basic demographic information such as age, race, sex, & income, is collected to enable analysis of victimization of various subpopulations. Interviews are translated for non-English speaking respondents. Also includes appendixes on survey instrument; changes to data reporting procedure; survey methodology; & glossary. Charts & tables.