National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is a research and education center at the University of Maryland, College Park focused on the scientific study of the causes and consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world.^[1] It maintains the Global Terrorism Database, which includes over 125,000 terrorist attacks which it describes as the "most comprehensive unclassified data base on terrorist events in the world."^[2]

History[]

START was established in 2005 as a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, tasked with utilizing state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve the understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. START received a 3-year $12 million initial grant from the Department of Homeland Security in 2005 as a fund to start the program. It launched its undergraduate Terrorism Studies Minor in 2007 and its graduate certificate in 2010.^[1]

In 2008, DHS awarded START with a 3-year renewal grant to sponsor new and continuing research projects related to the core research areas of radicalization, terrorist operations and interventions, and community resilience relative to the terrorist threat.

START was previously under directorship of Gary LaFree, a professor of criminology at the University of Maryland, College Park.^[1] Currently, Amy Pate is the Executive Director and Research Director, and William Braniff is the Department Chair and START Director.

Since its inception, START has furthered its mission through hundreds of publications in peer-reviewed academic journals, dozens of public events, and extensive consultations by government agencies and Congress on issues related to terrorism and homeland security. This includes frequent testimony before Congress and hundreds of requests for assistance or advice from DHS and other federal, state, and local government agencies. Click here for more information on START research.

Consistent with its goal of training and mentoring a new generation of scholars and analysts, START launched a Terrorism Studies Minor Program at the University of Maryland in 2007. START emphasizes a variety of approaches to education, including undergraduate and graduate learning opportunities, professional development training, mentor programs, and public presentations, brown bags and webinars. In order to provide educational opportunities to a broader audience, in 2010 START launched an online Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis.

START launched a fully online Master of Professional Studies in Security and Terrorism Studies in the fall of 2021. This program prepares students to examine the complex social, political, economic, and psychologic underpinnings of terrorism, and is ideal for students seeking to advance careers in fields related to intelligence analysis and national security.

Click here for more information on START Educational Programs.

In 2009, START was recognized by DHS for outstanding contributions to the security of the United States for its long-term support of the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), an open-source database including information on more than 113,000 domestic and international terrorist events around the world since 1970. More information on the GTD can be found at http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/.

Activities[]

Teaching[]

START has developed an undergraduate Global Terrorism Minor program,^[3] one of the options in the University of Maryland's Global Studies Minor program (other options include the International Development and Conflict Management minor, the International Engineering minor, the Global Poverty minor, and the Global Engineering minor).^[4] It also offers an online Gradual Certificate in Terrorism Analysis Program,^[5] available to qualified students around the world. START also offers a Master of Professional Studies in Security and Terrorism Studies, a fully online program available to students interested in advancing their careers in government, homeland security, or terrorism and security based research.

Data[]

START offers a number of datasets related to terrorism.^[6] The most important of these is the Global Terrorism Database, a database of over 113,000 terrorist attacks from 1970 till 2015, excluding the year 1993 (as of July 2016).^[2] The GTD is the most comprehensive unclassified database on terrorist attacks in the world, containing information on over 200,000 terrorist attacks, 95,000 bombings, 20,000 assassinations, and 15,000 kidnappings and hostage events. 4 million news articles were reviewed to collect the data to build the GTD.

START also hosts the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base, now known as the Terrorist Organization Profiles, but does not actively maintain or take responsibility for the data.^[7]

Major projects[]

Social media Use during disasters[]

Social Media Use during Disasters is a research project that was conducted from July 2012 to October 2013, and it is one of the major contributions by the START research center to the risk communication field. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are used to collect and distribute information quickly and easily. Because of this function of social media, it is being used as a tool to communicate about disasters. “Given the growing importance of social media as a disaster communication tool, it is vital to understand how individuals use, behave, and interpret information on social media sites to better inform policy, guidance, and operations and to ensure that emergency managers, first responders, and policy makers can best optimize how they use these tools.��.^[8]

A random sample of 2,015 U.S. residents participated in this study. The participants were asked to imagine that a disaster involving multiple terrorist attacks was unfolding. The participants were then presented with information from both local and national sources about the disaster through Facebook posts and tweets. Participants were then asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their responses to the information.^[8]

The study found that the source of the information impacted its perceived credibility. However, the source alone did not influence participants’ likelihood of taking recommended action. The study also showed that after participants were exposed to the information they were more likely to communicate that information through interpersonal channels rather than through organizational media channels. Finally, the study also showed that demographics such as gender and age affected how participants responded to the information.^[8]

Training in risk and crisis communication[]

Training in Risk and Crisis Communication (TRACC) is another major contribution by START to the risk communication field. TRACC is a curriculum presented by the START research center for the benefit of organizations. TRACC is separated into 3 modules that aim to train organizations on how to properly communicate crisis information before, during, and after the crisis situation. "TRACC is a unique curriculum that is research-based and covers the entire life-cycle of a crisis including preparation, response and recovery."^[9]

Organizational dimensions of risk communication during homeland security crises[]

The START research center also completed a project titled Organizational Dimensions of Risk Communication during Homeland Security Crises. This project focuses on risk communication at the organizational level by “exploring how communications within and among organizations affect risk management and risk communication about bioterrorism."^[10] This project aims to improve communication about bioterrorism between organizations and their public. For this study, researchers focused on the anthrax attacks of 2001. The researchers conducted over 50 interviews with local people who were in positions with agency such as law enforcement officers, elected officials, and health professionals. Researchers asked the participants to describe how decisions were made in their organizations and how information was communicated from their organizations. Forms of written communication such as electronic correspondence and reports were also analyzed.^[10]

This study produced 5 major findings. The first is “Organizations faced both technical and social uncertainties."^[10] These uncertainties included that the authorities in the situation were unclear, and these uncertainties negatively affected risk communication. The second major finding of this study is “Organizational networks were essential for risk communication to the public and workers."^[10] This means that successful risk communication depends on how effective the communication process is between agencies. The third major finding is “Relationships among local professional first responders and public health agencies were often constructive."^[10] Informal methods of communication between law enforcement officers and health professionals help facilitate communication to the public. The fourth major finding is, “Communication problems resulted from lack of communication triage."^[10] This means that organizations did not prioritize their many audiences or their channels for reaching those audiences. The fifth and final major finding is, “The concept of elite panic needs further conceptualizing and research."^[10] Researchers noticed the concept of during the interview analysis process. Elite panic is the idea that the unfounded fears felt by the social and financial elite, such as the fear that working-class people will commit violent crimes during a disaster rather than helping their neighbors, drives some responses to disasters.^[11] This concept needs to be better understood to improve crisis communication.

Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS)[]

The Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset contains deidentified individual-level information on the backgrounds, attributes, and radicalization processes of over 2,200 violent and non-violent extremists who adhere to far right, far left, Islamist, or single issue ideologies in the United States covering 1948-2018.

Coded using entirely public sources of information, the PIRUS dataset is among the first efforts to understand domestic radicalization from an empirical and scientifically rigorous perspective. Users can now explore the rich PIRUS data using the Keshif data visualization tool, a user-friendly platform that allows for intuitive and insightful analysis of the data in real-time.

Using auxiliary data and PIRUS infographics pertaining to characteristics of U.S. QAnon Offenders, Michael Jensen and Sheehan Kane have published research titled "QAnon Offenders in the United States," about 79 ideologically-motivated QAnon crimes in the United States. This includes two offenders who were inspired by the PizzaGate conspiracy, a precursor to QAnon, who committed crimes in 2016, and 40 individuals who participated in the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021. The offenders come from 33 states, including 11 from California, 5 from Texas, and 4 each from Arizona, Illinois, and New Jersey.

More information about PIRUS can be found here.

Supporting START[]

If you would like to support START research and education by contributing through the University of Maryland College Park Foundation (UMCPF), visit the UMCPF page and make donations directly to the "START Center."

Media coverage[]

The work at START has been cited and quoted in the Huffington Post,^[12] the New York Times,^[13] The Guardian,^[14] and the Wall Street Journal.^[15]

References[]

External links[]

Official website

Masters of Professional Studies in Security and Terrorism Studies