| This dissertation examined state and local law enforcement personnel's anti-terrorism training needs after police agencies across the country were summoned to assist federal agencies with post-9/11 national security in the United States. Thirty-two (32) federal, state, and local law enforcement officials with anti-terrorism responsibilities were surveyed regarding their training experiences and recommendations for the terrorism-related training that would optimize their agency's participation in the ongoing national homeland security effort. A follow-up panel was interviewed to add to the interpretation and analysis of the results of the survey.;The study's findings were that respondents generally expressed as their wish that the rivalry between police agencies, which in the past characterized routine law enforcement inter-agency relations, be replaced with a more coordinated, cooperative effort to maximize the resources of all levels of law enforcement in order to better protect the United States from international terrorist attacks. Nearly half of the respondents held some level of dissatisfaction with the post-9/11 anti-terrorism training effort, specifically in the areas of training availability, training variety, and training that addresses the respondent's needs. Terrorist origin and culture, as well as intelligence-gathering techniques, were most commonly listed as desired training topics, while the amount of simulated training offered fell far short of that desired by respondents. Training would be most effective with some degree of federal coordination, and held at varying training locations in 2-to-3-day blocks, with multi-agency participation encouraged. Finally, anti-terrorism training was found to be largely generalizable across the country, and most or all anti-terrorism training topics should be made available to first-line personnel, particularly patrol officers.;Key Words: anti-terrorism, anti-terrorism training, state and local law enforcement, 9/11... |
