DOI: 10.3886/icpsr04639
title: American Terrorism Study, 1980-2002
title: Archival Version

description: This study was conducted in response to a lack of existing data collections relating specifically to acts of American terrorism. A primary goal of the study was to create an empirical database from which criminological theories and governmental policies could be effectively evaluated. The American Terrorism Study began in 1989 when the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Terrorist Research and Analytical Center released a list of persons indicted as a result of investigation under the FBI's Counterterrorism Program. Since that time, FBI has released additional lists to the principal investigators. After receiving a list of persons indicted in federal criminal court as a result of an official terrorism investigation, the researchers reviewed the cases at either the federal district court where the cases were tried or at the federal regional records center where the cases were archived. The researchers divided the dataset into five distinct datasets. Part 1, Counts Data, provides data on every count for each indictee in each indictment. This is the basic dataset. There were 7,306 counts from 1980 to 2002. Part 2, Indictees Data, provides data on each of the 574 indictees from 1980-2002. Part 3, Persons Data, provides data on the 510 individuals who were indicted by the federal government as a result of a terrorism investigation. Part 4, Cases Data, provides one line of data for each of the 172 criminal terrorism cases that resulted from a federal terrorism investigation. Part 5, Group Data, provides one line of case data for each of the 85 groups that were tried in federal court for terrorism-related activity. Each of the five datasets includes information on approximately 80 variables divided into four major categories: (1) demographic information, (2) information about the terrorist group to which the individual belongs, (3) prosecution and defense data, and (4) count/case outcome and sentencing data.
description: This study was conducted in response to a lack of existing data collections relating specifically to acts of American terrorism. A primary goal of the American Terrorism Study was to create an empirical database from which criminological theories and governmental policies could be effectively evaluated. In addition to this goal, the study had three objectives: (1) to examine the characteristics, patterns of behavior, and tactics of American terrorist groups in the post-guidelines era to determine if terrorist groups have been modifying their tactics in response to prosecutorial success, (2) to assess the impact of potential changes in the first objective on prosecutorial and sanctioning strategies employed during the post-guidelines era and to determine the types of evidence and charges most likely to lead to successful prosecution of terrorism cases, and (3) to determine whether the introduction of federal sentencing guidelines have reduced the sentence disparity between terrorists and similarly situated non-terrorists.
description: The American Terrorism Study began in 1989 when the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Terrorist Research and Analytical Center released a list of persons indicted as a result of investigation under the FBI's Counterterrorism Program. Since that time the FBI has released additional lists to the principal investigators. Because the FBI released these lists to the principal investigators, the American Terrorism study strictly adheres to the FBI's definition of terrorism, which is: "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" (see TERRORISM IN THE UNITED STATES, Washington, DC: US. Government Printing Office, 1997). Furthermore, the study ensures adherence to the practical application of the definition by restricting itself to data collection only, on cases that occurred as a result of an indictment stemming from a federal "domestic security/terrorism investigation." After receiving a list of persons indicted in federal criminal court as a result of an official terrorism investigation, the researchers reviewed the cases at either the federal district court where the cases were tried or at the federal regional records center where the cases were archived. The researchers divided the data collection into five distinct datasets. Part 1, Counts Data, provides data on every count for each indictee in each indictment. There were 7,306 counts from 1980 to 2002. This is the basic dataset, and it is the one that should be used to conduct count-based analyses. Part 2, Indictees Data, provides data on each of the 574 indictees from 1980 to 2002. This is the dataset to use to analyze the outcomes for individuals indicted for an act of terrorism in the United States. Part 3, Persons Data, provides data on the 510 individuals who were indicted by the federal government as a result of a terrorism investigation. This would be the appropriate dataset to use for demographic analyses. Part 4, Cases Data, provides one line of data for each of the 172 criminal terrorism cases that resulted from a federal terrorism investigation. Part 5, Group Data, provides one line of case data for each of the 85 groups that were tried in federal court for terrorism-related activity. The "common denominator" for all cases in the sample is the count. All subsequent data on individuals, terrorist group affiliations, prosecution/defense strategies, and sentencing are replicated for each count. Consequently, analyses can be conducted on variables using any of the four major units of analysis.
description: Each of the five datasets includes information on approximately 80 variables divided into four major categories: (1) demographic information such as the age, race, and sex of the defendant, (2) information about the terrorist group to which the individual belongs including types of preferred and actual targets of the group, (3) prosecution and defense data, which includes identification of the charges, method of prosecution, and other variables reflecting defense strategies such as types of motions filed, and (4) count/case outcome and sentencing data for each defendant.
description: None
description: Response Rates: Not applicable
description: Presence of Common Scales: None
description: The American Terrorism Study began in 1989 when the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Terrorist Research and Analytical Center released a list of persons indicted as a result of investigation under the FBI's Counterterrorism Program. That initial list included over 200 persons from more than 20 terrorists groups active in the United States from 1980 to 1989. Since that time, the FBI has released additional lists to the principal investigators. The second list included those indicted from 1990 to 1996. The third list included persons indicted from 1997 to August 15, 1998. The fourth list included those indicted from August 16, 1998 to August 15, 2002. The fifth and most recent list included those indicted from August 16, 2002 to August 15, 2004. To be included in this dataset, individuals must have been indicted under a federal "domestic security/terrorism investigation" between 1980 and 2002. Data collection from those indicted from 1998 to 2002 is approximately 98 percent complete. With the exception of a few defendants who have remained fugitive, data collection on cases filed between 1980 and 1997 is complete.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Counts Data DS2: Indictees Data DS3: Persons Data DS4: Cases Data DS5: Group Data
description: Indictments from federal "domestic security/terrorism investigations" in the United States from 1980 to 2002. Smallest Geographic Unit: Federal judicial district
description: record abstracts(1) Data include persons indicted as a result of a federal "domestic security/terrorism investigation." Users should note that some persons included in this dataset were acquitted or their cases were dismissed. (2) New data on the 2002 to 2004 cases are still being collected and will be available in subsequent releases of the dataset.