Think Like a Terrorist to Combat Terrorism and Radicalization in Prison

Think Like a Terrorist to Combat Terrorism and Radicalization in Prison provides guidelines for hardening facilities, training staff, preparing for radicalized-terrorist inmates’ incarceration, and monitoring these inmates after their release. The book combines practitioner experience with scholarly insights to offer practical suggestions bolstered by research. The authors offer suggestions for housing, programming, security, and staff training with the ultimate goal of keeping correctional facilities, staff, and other inmates, safe from radicalization and spreading terrorist doctrines and terrorist acts, which requires examining and potentially changing prison and correctional officer policies and procedures, hiring and training suitable staff, and ensuring technology is available.

Correctional facilities can curtail the recruitment and radicalization of inmates by developing staff training, de-radicalization programs, management methods, techniques, and practices that address the recruitment issues associated with this threat. The need for understanding, and the role line correctional officers and first-line supervisors play in preventing radicalization, is critical in this process. It is also vital to connect with and maintain communication with appropriate security and intelligence agencies as needed.

Key Features:

• Outlines common terrorist and extremist activities in prison using relevant real-world examples

• Instructs on how to detect and recognize such efforts as recruitment and radicalization and how to curtail and prevent such activity

• Provides guidance on establishing de-radicalization programs within prison facilities

• Presents recommendations on collecting, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence to correctional, law-enforcement, and intelligence agencies on potential terrorist activities and recruitment efforts

Bill Sturgeon received his BS in Criminal Justice Administration from Southern Vermont College, Bennington, VT and his MA in Criminal Justice Administration from Goddard College, Plainfield, VT. Bill’s counterterrorism experience dates back to the mid-1980’s. Bill has been researching the impact of terrorist-extremist inmates on correctional management, operations, and training since the first World Trade Center Bombing in 1993.

Francesca Spina, PhD is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Criminal Justice Department at Springfield College. She earned a PhD in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a BA in Economics from Trinity College.Dr. Spina’s research interests include corrections, race and justice, and criminal justice policy reform.