How local and state cops fit into counterterrorism

By Matt Ernst, PoliceOne Member

If you’re like most cops, combating terrorism is not one of your daily concerns — and understandably so. Unless you’re assigned to a Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), you spend the great majority of your shifts dealing with drunks, domestics, car accidents, assaults, mental illness, drugs, etc. Given the law of averages, you are simply much more likely to deal with those types of incidents than a terrorism investigation.

I have found that many cops think only cities like New York City and Los Angeles have to worry about terrorists. While our high-profile cities will always be the popular targets, we need to recognize that terrorists are living all over the U.S. and they can be plotting an attack against a target even while living several states away. Terrorists are mobile and travel the nation’s highways in order to recruit, raise funds, purchase resources, conduct surveillance, and ultimately carry-out an attack....more