The RAIS data, which has been privately compiled for the past 20 years, also indicated a 10 percent increase in lethal attacks in 1989. RAIS statistics also highlighted a marked increase in attacks against United States business interests. Such contradictory data bases place security professionals in a real quandary. A spread of 54 percentage points in describing worldwide terrorist violence seems impossible. The United States Department of State defines terrorism as premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine state agents,usually intended to influence an audience.
International terrorism involves the citizens or territory of more than one country.
Law enforcement authorities , recognizing that criminal statutes contain neither a definition of terrorism nor a specific crime of terrorism, have been forced to another definition. The law enforcement definition states that terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property through a criminal act designed to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. The designation of a political act or a criminal act becomes a very significant issue. The criminal act is generally codified in law. This means the elements of the crime have been spelled out and that the evidence must directly relate to these elements.