Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the post-9-11 era, much has been made politically of the risk of terrorism and what is being done to prevent future terrorist attacks. In fact, it has been argued that in the United States, citizen uneasiness over the threat of terrorism led to the re-election of a president. There has also been evidence from public opinion polls that Americans would be willing to give up certain civil liberties in order to ensure safety from terrorist acts. Using current and historical crime statistics, this paper examines the risk of becoming a victim of terrorism and weighs it against the risk of victimization for other kinds of violent crime. In fact, terrorism is a relatively rare event that has not increased appreciably in probability despite claims by the current administration to the contrary.