Number: RL34014
Title: Terrorist Precursor Crimes: Issues and Options for Congress
Authors: Siobhan O'Neil, Domestic Social Policy Division 
Abstract: This report provides an overview of the types of terrorist precursor crimes known, and/or alleged, to have been employed by individuals and/or groups in the United States. The report highlights issues related to the breadth of this activity in the United States, as well as the opportunities for intelligence collection and law enforcement-related countermeasures. The report presents an analysis of the implications of domestically occurring terrorist precursor crimes for U.S. security. The presence of terrorist groups or terrorist sympathizers within the United States possibly conducting precursor crimes presents a series of unique problems and challenges. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a consensus with regard to some of the fundamental questions associated with this issue: How does the presence of precursor activity affect the current threat environment? What is the current approach for dealing with terrorist precursor crimes? How effective are current efforts and what are areas for improvement?
Pages: 27
Date: May 24, 2007