Citation

Murray R. Terrorism 1984; 7(1): 11-52.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1984)

DOI

10.1080/10576108408435557

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Governments faced with insurgency often prefer to deploy local security units rather than regular troops; they in turn may become the primary targets of guerrillas or terrorists. This paper examines the circumstances in which police officers and Ulster Defence Regiment personnel have been killed by the Provisional IRA and similar groups since 1969. Significant differences are found between the victims from the two forces; police officers are most likely to be killed on duty and in urban areas; nearly all UDR members are killed off‐duty in rural areas. These are related to the different threats that the police and UDR present to the IRA's operations and objectives. In carrying on with their ordinary duties the police undermine the IRA's attempts to render the country ungovernable. The UDR personnel who live in rural areas represent an invaluable source of intelligence for the government.

Language: en