Disrupting Planned Terrorist Attacks

Abstract

The preventive mechanism in disruption is to stop terrorists from carrying out their attacks by discovering and exposing preparations for attack in advance, and through various means prevent the actions from being carrying out. Thus, disruption has two phases: detection and intervention. The principal actors in the disruption strategy are the security and intelligence services, and the police, although the general public may also play an important role by providing information about suspicious activities and people. The target group for the measures are people actively planning and preparing acts of terrorism. Means may be to arrest suspects but warnings and preventive dialogue may also be used as means of early intervention to disrupt possible involvement in terrorism.