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Citation |
Gill P, Corner E. Behav. Sci. Law 2016; 34(5): 693-705. |
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Affiliation |
Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, 35 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9EZ, U.K. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
27868271 |
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Abstract |
Lone-actor terrorist attacks have risen to the forefront of the public's consciousness in the past few years. Some of these attacks were conducted against public officials. The rise of hard-to-detect, low-tech attacks may lead to more public officials being targeted. This paper explores whether different behavioral traits are apparent within a sample of lone-actor terrorists who plotted against high-value targets (including public officials) than within a sample of lone actors who plotted against members of the public. Utilizing a unique dataset of 111 lone-actor terrorists, we test a series of hypotheses related to attack capability and operational security. The results indicate that very little differentiates those who attack high-value targets from those who attack members of the public. We conclude with a series of illustrations to theorize why this may be the case. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en |