Community Counter Terrorism Initiative
Introduction
Community counter terrorism initiative is a plan developed by the community leaders and other agencies to combat terrorism in the community. The community counter terrorism initiative will help the community counter terrorism activities by preparing early. Terrorism has become a common problem in the society. Most countries like United States have experienced terrorism activities that have led to massive destruction of property and life. The September 11 attack caused massive destruction to the community. Though the government had put measures to prevent terrorism activities, it did not manage to prevent the terrorist attack. The government did not have response systems to alert people of the attack. This made it hard for the community to prevent the attack. The September 11 attack forced the government to develop measures to prevent terrorism activities like racial profiling and enhancement of security measures.
Community counter terrorism initiative
Communities have developed counter terrorism initiatives to prevent future terrorism attacks. The community counter terrorism initiative is aimed at preventing a terrorist attack in the community. Terrorist events have become common in the society like bombing. Terrorists have frequently bombed building and caused deaths. The counter terrorism initiative will help to prevent the bombing of buildings in the region. The initiative states the measures to be used to counter the terrorist attack (Staub, 2000).
Terrorism attacks have adverse effects to the society and the country. Terrorist attack cause psychological impact, behavioral, and neurobiological impact to the society. Also, terrorism attack cause cognitive effects to the society. It also affects special population in the country like elderly people; disabled etc. researchers have carried out research to determine the impact of terrorism on young children, elderly people and other people in the society. Researchers argue that terrorism like other disasters causes depression among family members and other victims. Also, terrorism activates provoke fear and uncertainty among the members in the society. The fear spreads from one person to another in the society. The psychological effects of terrorism are felt by every one in the society.
Some people are affected directly and others are affected indirectly. Terrorism activities cause death among the members in the society and this affects the members of the victims and the survivors. The psychological suffering is more prevalent after a terrorism attack than physical injuries. The psychological effects can be short term or long term. Short term psychological effects live for as shorter time like fear. This happens immediately after the terrorism attack. Long term psychological effects of terrorism can include depression due to all the losses experienced caused by terrorism. Also, the terrorist attacks have long term psychological effects on the children. Most children and elderly people experience fear, sense of looses and distress after a terrorist attack (Staub, 2000).
Assessing the psychological impact has a lot of benefit to the community. It helps the community manage impact of terrorism activities in the country. For example, community members provide the right interventions to the victims and survivors so as to overcome long term psychological effects (Staub, 2000).
Apart from psychological impact, terrorism has behavioral effects to the members in the society. People who are exposed to terrorism activities directly or indirectly display various behaviors (Staub, 2000). A research carried out by Stein, Jaycox, Marc and Elliott to determine the impact of terrorism on young children and elderly people showed that terrorism activities have caused behavioral disorders among those at risk. The findings from the research showed that children and elderly people exposed to terrorism activities withdraw from other members in the society. This is because they find it hard to cope with the situation (Supplemental Resources Staub, 2003).
Also, the elderly people, children and first responders have increased compulsiveness. Terrorism activities lead to drug abuse as children, survivors and first responders use drugs and alcohol to overcome the destruction caused by the event (Stein, Jaycox , Marc &Elliott, 2004) .Researchers (Stein, Jaycox , Marc & Elliott ,2004) claim that the number of children, survivors and first responders using drugs and alcohol has increased. This is because the victims do not get the right assistance to overcome the problems. This has led to other antisocial behaviors like prostitution and involvement in violent crime. Also, the victims become hyper vigilance as they keep monitoring the environment so as to detect any threats. Researchers claim that hyper vigilance is always accompanied by anxiety and exhaustion and victims often become anxious and worn out. This has negative effects on young children, disabled and elderly people and survivors. This is because the groups become worn out and leads to post traumatic disorders (Supplemental Resources Staub, 2003).
Hyper vigilance is a sign of post traumatic stress disorder as well as other anxiety disorders. It can also lead to death or development of other disorders if the victims are not provided with the right care. The victims are also reluctant to leave home as they fear being attacked (Stein, Jaycox, Marc & Elliott, 2004 ).This leads to social isolation and stress among the elderly, children and survivors and first responders. The victims of terrorism attack try to avoid the scene or any event that reminds them of the event. It also leads to increase in aggression among the victims (Supplemental Resources Staub, 2003).
In addition, the study showed that terrorism has cognitive impact. Researchers (Walser, Ruzek, Naugle &Padesky, 2004) claimed that terrorism affected the brain and its functions. People who are exposed to terrorism are more likely to have psychological problems than people who are not exposed to terrorism activities due to the affects on the functioning of the brain. The findings from the research carried out by Walser, Ruzek, Naugle, and Padesky on impact of disasters and terrorism on mental health showed that terrorism attack leads to confusion among elderly people and young children. It also leads to confusion among disabled people and first responders. Confusion results after the brain cells are damaged or processing of signals fails. The brain helps one coordinate activity so as to avoid confusion. Terrorism interferes with the brain cells through psychological problems like depression and injury. Survivors of a terrorist activity are likely to be confused than those who are not affected directly. The study revealed that the confusion is common among elderly people and young children (American Psychological Association, 2007).
Also, terrorism activities cause cognitive problems like poor concentration (Walser, Ruzek, Naugle &Padesky, 2004). Children who have undergone traumatic events or experienced looses are not able to concentrate well in class. Elderly people, disabled people and first respondents also have difficulties in concentrating. The terrorism affects the functioning of the brain cells and leads to low concentration span. Terrorism activities are also associated with memory difficulties as they interfere with the functioning of the brain. The brain is responsible for learning and retrieving information. There are brain parts that are responsible for retrieving information. Terrorism causes brain injuries and wearing of cells. This results to poor memory as the brain cells are not sending signals well (Pope & Gutheil, 2008).
Additionally, some victims of terrorism are prone to night mares. This makes the victims uncomfortable and causes mental disturbances. Researchers argue that elderly people, children and first respondents are more prone to night mares. This is because the groups are directly or indirectly affected by terrorism activities. Also, elderly people and children always have intrusive thoughts. Children who have experienced terrorism attack have intrusive thoughts that result from loose of loved ones and fear of another attack. Lastly, terrorism causes inattention among the survivors of the terrorism activities and other members. The members find it hard to concentrate and perform well in their daily activities (Behnke, 2007).
Lastly, terrorism has neurobiological impact on the victims. Research has shown that terrorism causes damage to the nervous systems and results to neurological disorders. Survivors, children, elderly people and first responders have neurological disorders that result from terrorism activities. Terrorism attacks lead to injuries of the brain and the spinal chord. This affects the functioning of the nervous system and causes neurological disorders. Survivors of terrorism activities and first responders have brain injuries and this interferes with the functioning of the brain (Behnke, 2007).
There are various groups that will be involved in the community counter terrorism initiative. The groups include first responders, the media and relief organizations. The groups will play different roles during the operation. First responders are said to be a rescue team or an emergency medical services staff. First responders are members of the local community. First responders are important in any community counter terrorism activity. This is because they provide intervention during terrorism activities. First responders are required to save lives during a terrorism activity. They are supposed to protect themselves so as to rescue the victims. The responders should be able to rescue the victims within the shortest time possible. This is to avoid more deaths and injuries.
The first responders should be able to identify the possibility of a terrorist attack and take actions to control and contain the condition before the event happens. The first responders should know the importance of rescuing victims of a terrorist activity and the procedures to use. They should have knowledge in maintaining and establishing a terrorist free zone. The first responders are supposed to prepare resources to be used during rescue plan. The community counter terrorism initiative requires various resources so as to achieve the objectives set. The first responders should be able to provide the resources when needed. The first responders are trained on how to provide medical services to the victims of terrorist attack. This will make it easy for the first responders to perform their duties and provident terrorism attack in the community (Behnke, 2007).
Media plays an important role in preventing terrorism in the country and community. The media should educate the community how to overcome the effects caused by terrorism. For example, the media should educate the community how to overcome depression, stress and post traumatic disorders. This will enable the victims of post terrorism activities live well. The media is supposed to keep people in the community informed incase of any attack. This helps fight terrorism in the community.
Further, the relief organization will play various roles. Relief organizations will provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of the terrorism attack. A relief organization is an agency that is aimed at helping the victims of a terrorist attack by providing housing facilities, medical services, food and clothing. Relief organizations are important as they help prevent high death rates and suffering during terrorism. There are various relief organizations in the community. The organizations are either Christian based military or charitable organizations. For example, hospitals, churches should work together with the counter terrorism management team to prevent terrorism activities and provide help to survivors of terrorism (Behnke, 2006).
There are various interventions and post intervention strategies that can be used to help victims of terrorism. First, the relief organization and other groups should provide medical interventions and stress management interventions to help the survivors. Stress and depression are common among the victims of a terrorist activity. Providing stress management interventions and medical treatment to the victims helps relieve the damage caused by terrorism. Also, the relief organizations can provide counseling services to the victims so as to help them coped with the situation (Behnke, 2006).
Disaster response strategies are important as they help prevent disasters in the country. The strategies include emergency communication strategies and rescue plans. The communication system will be able to convey information in case of a disaster. The system will be developed using the current technology so as to make it effective. The communities counter terrorism management team and other groups involved in the implementation of the initiative will use the system to communicate when danger arises. The communication system will make it easy to meet the objectives set. For example, it will make it easy for organizations involved in the counterterrorism initiative work together and provide effective services. The members involved in the process should have good communication skills. They should be able to convey clear information without distorting any information (Behnke, 2006).
Another strategy is the rescue plan. The first responders should be trained well on how to handle terrorism activities. First responders play different roles and they are required to have skills that are related to the job. For example, they should be able to wear protective covering so as to rescue the victims of the attack. They should also be able to act fast so as to contain the situation. This will prevent more deaths and injuries to the victims (Behnke, 2006).
There are prevention strategies that can be used to prevent terrorism activities. The counterterrorism team should develop an alarm system to alert the community incase of an attack. The system should be developed using the right technology. The members involved in the implementation of the counterterrorism initiative should be able to use the system well. They should have skills on how to use the system and how to react during an attack. This will make it easy to provide quick services during an attack (Behnke, 2006).
The post intervention skills include counseling skills, medical skills. The counter terrorism team should have established counseling strategies, medical strategies and relief strategies. The counseling strategies will be used to provide counseling to the victims of the attack. The counseling program should be able to handle the needs of the victims. Also, the team should be able to provide medical services to the victim. The first responders should have good medical skills so as to be able save lives. They should be sable to provide relief services to the patient on time (American Psychological Association, 2008).
There are ethical and cultural considerations that are related to disaster preparation and response to terrorism activities. The ethical issues include privacy. The team will treat any information provided by the members of the victim and the survivors confidentially. The information will not be disclosed to a third party. This will ensure the community counter terrorism initiative offers quality services to the victims. Also, the community counter terrorism team will respect the cultural values, beliefs and elements of the members of the victim, survivors and community when providing prevention and post response services. The community counter terrorism initiative will take into account the beliefs, values etc. The counter terrorism imitative will not be biased so as to avoid interfering with the cultural beliefs and values. The personnel will collect information during counseling and medical services in the right manner so as to avoid discrimination (American Psychological Association, 2008).
There are potential risks and resilience factors that affect recovery of survivors. First, the amount of damage caused during the attack and depression will make it difficulty for the survivors to recover as most people suffer from huge looses. This will affect the treatment offered to the patient and interfere with the recovery process. The damage caused during the attack contributes a lot to more distress and this affects the recovery process. People experience different levels of looses during an attack. Some experience loose in property and others experience loose in their loved ones. People who have experienced huge loses in a terrorist attack are likely to have more stress than people who have not. This makes it difficulty for the group to recover quickly as loses lead to slow recovery. The potential risk is fear of being involved in another attack (American Psychological Association Division 19 Comments on the Draft APA council resolution “Moratorium on Psychologist Involvement in Interrogations at US Detention Centers for Foreign Detainees”,2007).
Conclusion
The community counter terrorism initiative will help prevent terrorist attack in the community. The media, relief organizations and first responders will help prevent terrorism. They will play different roles in the process. For example, first responders will rescue the terrorist victims. The relief organizations will provide humanitarian assistance to the victims. The media will help identify terrorist threats so as to prevent terrorism. The plan will include different strategies like rescue plan, communication system and alarm system. The strategies will help prevent terrorism in the society. The post intervention strategies will involve medical procedures and counseling strategies. Terrorism has negative impact to the elderly, children, survivors, first responders and disabled. It causes cognitive, psychological, behavioral and neurological problems. Terrorism causes fear among the victims and also depression. It causes social withdraw and neurological disorders. This is according to the research carried out to determine the effects of terrorism on children. The recovery of the survivors will be influenced by the level of damage and stress. The community counter terrorism team will respect the cultural values, beliefs and privacy of the victim when carrying out prevention program.
Reference
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American Psychological Association (2008). Statement of the American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2008/08/apa-statement.aspx 12/08/2010
American Psychological Association (2008). Summary of APA policy on psychologists’ involvement in national security interrogations: Association’s strict prohibition against torture and abuse tied to international standards for the protection of human rights. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2008/07/interrogations.aspx On 12/08/2010
American Psychological Association Division 19 (Society for Military Psychology). Comments on the Draft APA council resolution “Moratorium on Psychologist Involvement in Interrogations at US Detention Centers for Foreign Detainees”. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/programs/position/reports/div-19-response.pdf on 12/08/2010.
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Supplemental Resources Staub, E. (2003). The psychology of good and evil: Why children, adults, and groups help and harm others. New York: CambridgeUniversity Press.
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Stein, B.D., Jaycox, H.L., & Marc N. Elliott, N.M. (2004). The Emotional and Behavioral Impact of Terrorism on Children: Results from a National Survey Applied Developmental Science, Volume8, Issue 4, pages 184 – 194
Pope, K. S., & Gutheil, T. (2008). The American Psychological Association & detainee interrogations: Unanswered questions. Psychiatric Times, 25(8). Retrieved from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1166964 on 12/08/2010.
Walser,R.D., Ruzek, J.I.,Naugle A.E.,&Padesky.C.(2004).Disaster and terrorism:Cognitive –Behavioral interventions. Retrieved from http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu/Volume_19/issue_1/walser.pdf
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