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
                            Library & Multimedia
 Using 911 Calls to Detect Terrorism Threats
NCJ Number
              226874
Journal

*NIJ Journal* Issue: 263 Dated: June 2009 Pages: 24-29
Author(s)
          Kevin J. Strom;
                        John  Hollywood;
                        Mark  Pope
Date Published

June 2009
Length
              6 pages
Annotation
              This article reports on a study that designed and tested a process for reducing a large volume of data collected from 911 calls about suspicious activity to a smaller subset of incidents that could then be reviewed for follow-up investigation regarding terrorist threats.
Abstract
              The study showed that simple analytical processes could produce operationally relevant findings from 911 calls. The process was documented for implementation and refinement in other jurisdictions. The proposed analysis of 911 calls that report suspicious activity involves five steps. The first step analyzes and compiles data from original 911 calls into a single searchable database. The second step filters records based on call type, and the third step narrows records by surveillance-related key words, such as photography, video, note taking, and visual aids. This pertains to possible terrorist surveillance of strategic targets. Step four sorts these surveillance reports by date, time, and location. Step 5 then assesses each call to determine locations with the greatest potential risk. Four main factors are used to assess risk: whether the incident is atypical or can be easily explained by tourist activities; whether the location is attractive for a terrorist attack; whether the call is part of a larger cluster for the same target; and whether a police report was filed. This five-step process reduced the amount of information to a manageable level for an analyst. Out of the more than 1.3 million calls that initially went into the database, 175 calls for 12 locations were identified as potentially related to preoperational terrorist activities. Plans are being made to continue to refine this method by automating some of the data-processing steps and testing it in additional U.S. jurisdictions. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is working on establishing a nationwide capacity to collect, analyze, and share terrorism-related suspicious activity reports. 4 listings for additional information, 9 notes, and 3 figures
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2006-IJ-CX-0024


  
  
        
  Agencies
        NIJ


  
  
        
  Publication Type
        Report (Study/Research)


  
  
        
  Award
        Using Data Mining to Identify Patterns in Hostile Surveillance
    
  
  
Date Published: June 1, 2009
    
          Downloads
        
                      PDF
                  HTML

Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              NIJ Journal
    
      
            
            
            
      Podcasts
    
      
            
            
            
      Publications Listing
    
      
            
            
            
      Multimedia Listing
    
      
            
            
            
      Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
    
      
            
            
            
      Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
    
      
            
            
            
      Software & Databases
    
      
            
            
            
      Datasets
    
      
            
            
            
      PatentsRelated Topics
        
                Community involvement
        Counter-terrorism and domestic preparedness
        Counter-terrorism intelligence
        Intelligence acquisition
        Intelligence analysis



  
Similar Publications
        
                      A Novel Two-Step Method for the Detection of Organic Gunshot Residue for Forensic Purposes: Fast Fluorescence Imaging Followed by Raman Microspectroscopic Identification
                  Estimating the Impact of Research Practitioner Partnerships on Evidence-based Program Implementation
                  An Analysis of Single and Multi-Copy Methods for DNA Analysis by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
 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