The Extremist Crime Research ProjectSince 2006, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directly, as well as through the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), has funded the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB). The ECDB collects information on violent incidents & financial schemes committed by the extreme far-right, Al Qaeda and similar groups supporters, and animal and environmental rights extremists in the U.S. The ECDB is the first of its kind database and it is a valuable resource for policymakers and researchers.
The ECDB’s principle investigators include Drs. Joshua D. Freilich, Steven M. Chermak, Jeff Gruenewald & William S. Parkin. Dr. Freilich is a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Director of the Program of Doctoral Studies in Criminal Justice, Dr. Chermak is a professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Criminal Justice, Dr. Gruenewald is an assistant professor at the Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, and Dr. Parkin is an assistant professor at Seattle University. |
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The ECDB expands the universe of cases relevant to the study of terrorism. Unlike other terrorism-focused databases, the ECDB includes ideological and non-ideological crimes, violent and non-violent (e.g., financial) crimes, terrorist and non-terrorist acts, crimes committed by groups and lone wolves, and cases prosecuted federally and under state-jurisdictions.
The unique data collected by the ECDB allows us to examine important policy-relevant questions not previously addressed. The data will be used to investigate the connections across different types of offenses, whether divergent crimes covary on the micro or macro-levels, whether these patterns have changed over time, and whether there are individual or regional variations in activity. The data allow for the study of whether offenders "escalate" (e.g., from non-violent tax refusal cases to violent racist attacks or terrorist bombings), and whether comparisons of criminal activity exist by group type, ideology, structure, recruitment, or organizing characteristics. Importantly, the data allows for the comparison of criminal and extremist groups that do not employ "terrorist" methods with those that do. In addition, the ECDB is uniquely positioned to study the "criminal careers" of the suspects it codes. Once a suspect is included any prior or subsequent criminal incident (s)he committed are also noted in the study.
The data will also be used to examine important theoretical questions such as whether ideologically motivated offenders also commit non-ideological routine crimes. Finally, the ECDB’s exhaustive methodology will allow us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of using open source materials because we systematically document what types of data are available from specific types of open sources for specific variables. These findings will advance the state of knowledge and will be useful to scholars, law enforcement and funding agencies. The "process" of creating this database will identify an important data compilation process that will be transferable to scholars investigating the criminal activities of other types of extremists and terrorists.
The unique data collected by the ECDB allows us to examine important policy-relevant questions not previously addressed. The data will be used to investigate the connections across different types of offenses, whether divergent crimes covary on the micro or macro-levels, whether these patterns have changed over time, and whether there are individual or regional variations in activity. The data allow for the study of whether offenders "escalate" (e.g., from non-violent tax refusal cases to violent racist attacks or terrorist bombings), and whether comparisons of criminal activity exist by group type, ideology, structure, recruitment, or organizing characteristics. Importantly, the data allows for the comparison of criminal and extremist groups that do not employ "terrorist" methods with those that do. In addition, the ECDB is uniquely positioned to study the "criminal careers" of the suspects it codes. Once a suspect is included any prior or subsequent criminal incident (s)he committed are also noted in the study.
The data will also be used to examine important theoretical questions such as whether ideologically motivated offenders also commit non-ideological routine crimes. Finally, the ECDB’s exhaustive methodology will allow us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of using open source materials because we systematically document what types of data are available from specific types of open sources for specific variables. These findings will advance the state of knowledge and will be useful to scholars, law enforcement and funding agencies. The "process" of creating this database will identify an important data compilation process that will be transferable to scholars investigating the criminal activities of other types of extremists and terrorists.