U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 Geospatial Analysis of Terrorist Activities: The Identification of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Preparatory Behavior of International and Environmental Terrorists
Award Information
Awardee
              Board of Trustees University of Arkansas
Award #
              2005-IJ-CX-0200
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Fayetteville, AR
Congressional District
              3
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2005
Total funding (to date)
              $314,840
Original Solicitation
              Terrorism Research Full Applications
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2005, $314,840)
Limited data availability has precluded a thorough analysis of the spatial and temporal patterns of terrorist activities.  Until recently, quantitative or relational datasets that included detailed information about the incident, as well as preparatory acts or crimes, detailed offender information, and information on associated terrorist groups(s) had not been available.  Even if the data had been available, it was not certain whether spatial and temporal patterns could be identified.  Currently, a quantitative and relational database created by the Terrorism Research Center in Fulbright College (TRC) at the University of Arkansas (NIJ Award #2003-DT-CX-0003) has been established and patterns of terrorist activities are indeed emerging.  The spatial and temporal patterns that have been identified are most prominent among two types of terrorists: international and environmental.  This is fortuitous because these are also the two categories of terrorism that the FBI has identified as posing the greatest threat to the United States over the next decade (Jarboe 2002).  The proposed project will collect additional data on ancillary offenses and proposed targeting by members of these two types of terrorist groups.
The goal of the proposed project is to divulge spatial and temporal patterns of terrorist activities that will enable law enforcement personnel to detect, disrupt, and prevent terrorist acts.  There are five key objectives:
'	Extract temporal and spatial data from federal court case records on terrorism defendants who were classified by the FBI as environmental or international terrorists and indicted during the period 1980-2004
'	Compile temporal and spatial data on other environmental and international terrorist incidents identified by subject matter experts that will render adequate data for analysis.
'	Conduct spatial and temporal analysis of the activities committed by these offenders for the period beginning with the inception of the terrorists' plan to the occurrence/intervention of the terrorist incident or act
'	Conduct comparative analyses of terrorist groups' activities for divulgence of different methods and patterns
'	Provide access to these patterns through GIS architecture linked to the Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Activities database.
The sample will be derived from two primary sources.  The first source included only federal criminal cases resulting from indictment under an FBI terrorism investigation as designated by the Attorney General Guidelines for FBI terrorism investigations.  Data collection continues on these cases under separate funding as part of the American Terrorism Study.  The second source is derived from data on terrorist incidents compiled by the Institute for Intergovernmental Research for the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) program.  Information on approximately 280 variables will be extracted from open source documents and case files to create a relational database and GIS.  These variables will be analyzed for spatial and temporal patterns using
GIS software, and other applicable statistical procedures.  Promising results from the current NIJ project suggest that the proposed project will provide extremely useful spatial and temporal indicators/predictors of environmental and international terrorist activities in the U.S.  The emerging patterns appear particularly important for local law enforcement.  The researchers believe that the study will reveal patterns of terrorist activities that can be used to refine or modify anti-and counter-terrorism strategies, improve the cost effectiveness of terrorism investigations, and increase the probability of successful intervention.
ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Patterns of Precursor Behaviors in the Life Span of a U.S. Environmental Terrorist Group
                  A Look at Terrorist Behavior: How They Prepare, Where They Strike
                                                                      NIJ Journal,
                  Geospatial Analysis of Terrorist Activities: The Identification of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Preparatory Behavior of International and Environmental Terrorists
                  Geospatial and Temporal Patterns of Preparatory Conduct Among American Terrorists




  
Grant-Funded Datasets
        
                      http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR04639

  
Date Created: August 16, 2005
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      NIJ Innovations in Measuring Community Perceptions Challenge Winner: MCHawks
                  A Statewide Mixed-methods Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s 8th Edition Sentencing Guidelines and their Impacts on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Sentencing Outcomes
                  Developing a Portable and Fast Opioid Assessment Tool for Improved Field Decision-Making
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov