AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: OCTOBER 2017 33 This article first appeared on the Cato Institute website. by Patrick G. Eddington T wo years ago, re- searchers at Duke University, draw- ing on a survey they conducted with police departments around the country (through the Police Executive Research Fo- rum), published a study on police perceptions of the domestic terrorist threat. It’s worth recounting the key findings: Law enforcement agen- cies in the United States consider anti-government violent extremists, not radicalized Muslims, to be the most severe threat of political violence that they face. They perceive violent extremism to be a much more severe threat nationally than the threat of violent extremism in their own jurisdictions. And a large majority of law enforcement agencies rank the threat of all forms of violent extremism in their own jurisdictions as moderate or lower (3 or less on a 1-5 scale). The study looks at post- 9/11 incidents and comes to conclusions comparable to a GAO study on the topic, commissioned by the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, earlier this year. Nearly a decade ago, a then-controversial DHS report on domestic ex- tremism highlighted the potential danger for violent acts by white supremacist or neo-Nazi groups. My colleague Alex Nowrasteh has a very in- teresting and informative piece that goes into some depth about the relative threat from terrorists com- pared to other forms of violence. One point I would make is that the 9/11 attacks rep- resent an anomaly in the overall picture because of the magnitude of the intel- ligence failure involved. As I’ve written previ- ously, that foreign terrorist attack on America was entirely preventable. That’s not to suggest that Salafist terrorism does not pose a domestic threat; clearly it does. But the on-the-ground daily reality — as the stud- ies cited above show — is that in post-9/11 America, the threat from white su- premacists, “sovereign citi- zens,” and those professing similar views and acting on them is at least as great a threat as Salafist-inspired killers. In the wake of the Char- lottesville tragedy, the phrase “anti-government group” is likely to get tossed around rather carelessly, both in the media and by some in the advocacy com- munity. Calling for a smaller federal government whose powers — especially surveil- lance powers — are reduced and properly controlled does not make one an “ex- tremist.” Spewing racial hatred and committing acts of murder is the very manifes- tation of violent extremism, something all of us should condemn and oppose. Patrick G. Eddington is a policy analyst in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies. Risk assessment Experts say an unwillingness to confront all threats poses major security risks White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the so-called “alt-right” with body armor and combat weapons during the “Unite the Right” rally which was declared an unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police in Charlottesville. After clashes with anti-fascist protest- ers and police, the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Emancipation Park, where a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was slated to be removed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Peerless® Handcuff Company Only 5.2 ounces • NIJ Certified • Made in USA www.peerless.net • info@peerless.net • 800.732.3715