Experts fear prisons will foment radicalism.TRACKING POTENTIAL TERRORISTS is a difficult proposition, even in the highly controlled environment of U.S. penitentiaries, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report on extreme ideologies among inmates. "Out of the Shadows: Getting Ahead of Prisoner Radicalization The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. " sparked a Senate hearing that asked, "Are terrorist cells forming in U.S. cell blocks?" The report, produced by the George Washington University's Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States Policy Institute and the University of Virginia's Critical Incident Analysis Group, argued that a lack of resources and understanding of the problem in the U.S. penal system means no one knows for certain whether there are festering fes·ter v. fes·tered, fes·ter·ing, fes·ters v.intr. 1. To generate pus; suppurate. 2. To form an ulcer. 3. To undergo decay; rot. 4. a. beds of radicalism that could one day pose a threat to national security. While racist and Christian extremist groups were mentioned in the report, and during the Government Affairs and Homeland Security Committee hearing, radical Islam was its main focus. "While the federal prison system has made great strides in addressing the issue of religious radicalization and recruitment within prisons, our level of awareness and understanding is still quite limited, particularly at the level of state prisons, community corrections and local jails," said the report's co-author, Gregory Saathoff, executive director of the University of Virginia analysis group. John Vanyur, assistant director of the correctional programs division at the Federal Bureau of Prisons Noun 1. Federal Bureau of Prisons - the law enforcement agency of the Justice Department that operates a nationwide system of prisons and detention facilities to incarcerate inmates sentenced to imprisonment for federal crimes BoP , said his agency is committed to ensuring that prisoners under its charge are not radicalized or recruited for terrorist causes However, of the nation's 2 million prisoners, only 7 percent are in the federal prison system. There is no way to track radical prisoners when they are transferred between systems. Saathoff suggested an integrated computer network that could be used to track such inmates. State and local prisons also need the expertise to spot inflammatory literature and screen out religious leaders who may voluntear at such facilities and surreptitiously sur·rep·ti·tious adj. 1. Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means. 2. Acting with or marked by stealth. See Synonyms at secret. spread radicalism, he added. There is currently a shortage of qualified imams who can administer to Muslims inside prisons, so inmates may turn to radical forms of the religion, the report said. The most famous case of a prisoner allegedly radicalized inside a U.S. prison is that of Kevin Lamar James, who was part of an inmate-founded group, the Assembly of Authentic Islam. A cell first formed inside New Folsom State Prison Despite this case, and evidence of ongoing attempts to recruit prisoners for radical causes, Javed Ali, senior intelligence officer at the Department of Homeland Security's office of intelligence and analysis The Office of Intelligence and Analysis is a part of the United States Department of the Treasury and is responsible for the receipt, analysis, collation, and dissemination of foreign intelligence and foreign counterintelligence information related to the operation and , said such groups "while of concern and keen interest, do not yet present the level of operational threat that [is] seen in other parts of the world." Nevertheless, in light of "homegrown home·grown adj. 1. Raised or grown at home. 2. Originating in or characteristic of a locality: "Rock is homegrown music in the United States, evolved from blues and country and Tin Pan Alley" " terrorists who have carried out attacks in Madrid and London, the department has formed a team to investigate "how, why and where radicalized ideas and beliefs develop over time in the United States Time in the United States, by law, is divided into nine standard time zones covering the states and its possessions, with most of the United States observing daylight saving time for part of the year. ." The investigation carried out regional assessments in the California and New York/New Jersey areas first--and has moved on to examine "nodes" in the Midwest and Washington, D.C. area. The nodes can be any entity that individuals come into contact with during the radicalization process. They can include physical institutions, virtual online communities, charismatic individuals, written and recorded material or shared experiences, he said. "Prisons, and the spread of various interpretations of Islamic extremist beliefs within them, in particular have emerged as a key issue of interest," Ali said. Email your comments to SMagnuson@ndia.org |
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