| As the ten year anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks has now passed, it is evident that terrorism is still a legitimate threat and preeminent topic in popular discourse. The significance of the attacks has, in the years since, continued to shape and dictate the security portfolios of federal law enforcement agencies and intelligence services in the Western world. Traditionally, literature on terrorism has focused on the extremist act itself, the perpetrator(s), and to a lesser extent the victims. However, there is a lack of research looking at the role of the community in counterterrorism efforts. In order for security services to effectively combat terrorist activity occurring domestically, within Canada and the United States, procuring actionable intelligence is imperative. One of the best sources of actionable intelligence, pertaining to terrorist activity, is the community. Existing literature suggests that individuals are willing to contact the authorities with information pertaining to traditional criminal activity. An individual's likelihood of contacting the police and providing them with information has been found to be influenced by specific factors such as; race, age, and gender etc. However, in the post 9/11 world there is very little research on the likelihood of an individual reporting terrorist activity to the authorities. The aim of this exploratory study is to gain a better understanding of the factors (demographic, social network and/or community) that associate with an individual's willingness to contact the authorities (law enforcement, intelligence agencies) and share information with them pertaining to perceived or actual terrorist activity. Through an original survey comprised of hypothetical vignettes, depicting a variety of terrorist activity, insight will be garnered on the reporting tendencies of regular citizens when faced with extremist activity. |
