Following the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001 (9/11), law enforcement officials implemented a crackdown that resulted in the arrest, conviction, and incarceration of hundreds of radical extremists. Many of these individuals have been released and are now living in the community. Their presence offers a unique opportunity to examine the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions on the reoffending patterns of terrorists. Although the question of effectiveness has plagued policy makers for some time, it is not one that terrorism researchers, as of yet, have been able to answer. This is largely due to a lack of data. The project presented here aims to address this gap in research. Specifically, this proposal requests funding to support the creation of the Terrorism Recidivism Study (TRS) database, a database that documents release and recidivism information on offenders convicted of terrorism-related crimes in the United States following 9/11. The TRS is a pilot project; the goal is to collect and analyze data on a smaller sample and to publish results as preliminary findings. This will advance understanding about terrorist behaviors, inform criminal justice policy, and offer an opportunity for student/faculty collaboration. In addition, as a pilot project, the pilot TRS will be used to seek external funding opportunities which will allow for the continuing development of the database.
