Counterterrorism Policies and Government-Community Polarization in London: A Literature Review

This literature review analyzes the studies carried out on the counterterrorism environment in London at both government and community level. It discusses the policies of counterterrorism that the Metropolitan Police Service and the London Fire Brigade deliver, and the way the individuals are groups react to it. The review aims to identify the gap in the literature regarding the counterterrorism policies and the government-community polarization concerning the policies.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Introduction
Terrorism has been and continues to be one of the major issues that have raised concern
for almost all the nations in the world. The issue of terrorism is raised in almost all the major
global meets that happen throughout the year around the globe. In the recent years, those
countries that were until now untouched by terrorism are being targeted as well. The attacks in
France, Denmark and other European nations demonstrate that there has been a steady rise in
terrorism with new populations being targeted. One of the chief reasons for this is the emergence
and spread of globalization, state Quan Li, and Drew Schaub1. The impact of globalization on the
world has been such that there is hardly any area or aspect of life that has not been touched by it.
However, it has been seen that terrorism has penetrated into those realms of the society that were
not thought to be vulnerable to it2.
The threat of terrorism in the contemporary world has changed and it has influenced the
perspective of the government and the public alike. In the previous years, the nations feared
threat from existential terrorism but now the threat is inward and both the government and the
public are aware of this threat. The events of September 11 in the United States, July 7 in the
United Kingdom, London to be precise and the March 11 in Spain have reinforced the inward
threat of terrorism. Added to that, are the influence of globalization, the media, and the hyper-
connected social areas that continue to increase the threat. The UK government has taken several
steps to increase the public security and safety. However, it has been criticized for being biased
against one particular group and labeling it as the ‘suspect other’.
1 Li, Quan, and Drew Schaub. "Economic globalization and transnational terrorism: A pooled time-series analysis."
Journal of Conflict Resolution 48, no. 2 (2004): 230-258.
2 Spalek, Basia, and Douglas Weeks. "The Role of Communities in Counterterrorism: Analyzing Policy and
Exploring Psychotherapeutic Approaches within Community Settings." Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 40, no. 12
(2017): 991-1003.

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The literature review aims to analyze the studies that have been carried out on the
counterterrorism environment in the UK, especially London at both government and community
level. In addition, the review will also discuss the policies of counterterrorism that the
Metropolitan Police Service and the London Fire Brigade deliver, and the way the individuals
are groups react to it. The literature review however mainly aims to identify the gap in the
literature regarding the counterterrorism policies and the government-community polarization
concerning the policies. The review will also focus on understanding the experiences of the
minority community that has been targeted majorly by the government and that has caused the
government and the community to stand at opposite poles.
The aim of the literature review is thus also to understand whether the current policies of
counterterrorism further lead to marginalization, extremism and radicalism. To state specifically,
the aim of the literature is to understand the radicals and the reactionaries in the community-
government interface. According to Charles R Hale, while radicals refer to those liberals who are
at the extreme end of liberalism, reactionaries are those conservatives who too are ultra-
conservative3. In this paper, the radicals are the terrorist groups; the reactionaries are the
government, and organizations that believe in the establishment of a society or a state that was
previously there.
2. Concept of Radicalism
The concept of radicalism and the reactionaries has a long and debatable history in the
process of the social and the politics of the social context. One of the most debatable times in the
history of London began around the year 1520 when the legitimacy of the Roman Catholic
3 Hale, Charles R. "Does multiculturalism menace? Governance, cultural rights and the politics of identity in
Guatemala." Journal of Latin American Studies 34, no. 3 (2002): 485-524.

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Church was challenged. The 18th century witnessed some more movements of radicalism that
swept London. The movement also included the newly developed French revolution and the
constitution of America that initiated the rally against the ruling aristocracy for the reform of
aimed at fundamental changes in constitution and the redistribution of the seats of the
parliament. During the 19th century, there has been the rise of the enlightened and the collective
voice of the middle class community people that was established forever. According to the
concept of the radicalism and the reactionaries rose to address the approaches related to the
lesbian and gay rights, civil and women rights, issues of the environment and the theology4. In
the broader sense, it targets to the understanding of the concept of violence, Islam and terrorism.
The concept of terrorism and radicalism frequently are intermingled in the jargon of the current
day and are more often assumed to be linked with some of the degree of the violent outcomes.
Unlike the concept of the radicalism in the 19th and the 18th century that were narrowly associated
with the advocating parliamentary reforms, the 20th century witnessed the considerable diversion
of radicalism. In the context of Britain, radicalism has been long identified as one of the four
drivers of the strategies for the context of the terrorism and is generally defined as the procedure
by which people generally support the violent extremism or join the group of the terrorists. The
assignment highlights the rising scenarios of the homegrown terrorism and countering of the
threat of radicalization and the increasing polarization among the societies that have upstaged the
struggle of the global military against the major terrorist organizations5. With the increase of the
threat of the terrorism and the dissemination regarding the major terrorist organization that are
4Sukarieh, Mayssoun, and Stuart Tannock. "The deradicalisation of education: terror, youth and the assault on
learning." Race & Class 57, no. 4 (2016): 22-38.
5McCauley, Clark, and Sophia Moskalenko. "Understanding political radicalization: The two-pyramids
model." American Psychologist 72, no. 3 (2017): 205.

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transitional in nature , the government of London have intended towards the development of own
radicalization schedules for keeping worth the cultural and the socio-political particularities.
3. Counter-terrorism atmosphere in London
Urban psychological oppressor assaults or the terrorism threats have turned out to be
progressively increasing in the last few years in Britain. As per the review that was conducted by
the London preparedness during the year 2016, responded to some of the major incidents and
events of terrorism highlighting the improvement of the emergency services of London regarding
their capability towards responding to the threats and the suspected community regarding any
sort of anti progressive and violating actions. According to the research, the safety of the citizens
can never be thoroughly guaranteed and thus the preparation is essential for adjusting to the
tactics and the planning’s in response to the incidents of the terrorist that have frightened the
whole nation and the environment from the last few years6. The series of incidents related to the
terrorism in the year 2017 has led to multiple levels of fatalities. The threat of the terrorism is
often subjected as severe or highly likely in the United Kingdom by the researchers and the
survey analysis. As per the record of the national bureau, United Kingdom has been suffering
with a lot number of major attacks of terrorism with multiple fatalities in the year 2017. March
22 witnessed the killing of two people with the stabbing of the police officer, two months later to
May 22, the instance of the suicide bumbler blowing himself before the Manchester Arena
shocked the whole nation killing and injuring many lives. Further reports said that on June 3,
6Argomaniz, Javier, and Orla Lynch. "Introduction to the Special Issue: The Complexity of Terrorism—Victims,
Perpetrators and Radicalization." (2018): 491-506.

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more than 8 people were killed and 48 were injured due to the sudden attack of the terrorists that
furthermore shot the perpetrators to death7.
In the context of the counter terrorism attack, some of the attacks include Islamophobic
attack that is close to Finsbury Park Mosque on the date of 19 June. The attacks that have been
most recent have occurred in the series of the incidents related to the terrorists across the western
part of Europe which included the attack of the terrorist on the Bataclan concert hall, Brussels
bombings, driven by heavy lorries and crashing of hijacked trucks challenging the lives of many
of the nation8. The counter terrorism strategy in the case of the London emerged the importance
shortly after the election of 2016, where the mayor illustrated the importance to prepare for the
incident of major terrorism attack are threatening the lives of the community people. According
to the research, the mayor furthermore expressed his suspicion regarding the certain categories of
the community who may be harmful and connected to the antisocial activities9. The British
strategy of counter terrorism included the review report that consisted of 127 recommendations
among which few were finalized. According to the news, four strands of the counter terrorism
atmosphere in London included pursue, prevent, protect and prepare. These strategies inevitably
focus on the review of the effective marauding terrorist attacks that has been threatening the
nation. The research studies furthermore illustrated how the responses to the attacks and the
threats of the terrorist had been rapid, though it is still an important and salutary lesson that
7Liang, Christina Schori. "Europe for the Europeans: The foreign and security policy of the populist radical right."
In Europe for the Europeans, pp. 19-50. Routledge, 2016.
8Syal, Rajeev, and Peter Walker. 2019. "Theresa May Responds To London Bridge Attack With Anti-Terror Laws
Promise". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/04/london-bridge-attack-pushes-theresa-
may-into-promising-new-laws.
9Yom, Sean, and Katrina Sammour. "Counterterrorism and youth radicalization in Jordan: Social and political
dimensions." CTC Sentinel 10, no. 4 (2017): 25-30.

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would enable in the facilitation of the prevention against the terrorist attacks10. As per the
research analysis and the survey reports, the incidents and the attacks in the heart of the London
involved multiple assailants with knives and sharp objected rather than the bombs and the guns.
It has been estimated that had the incidents and the attacks in the the place included the use of
the automatic weapons like the explosive devices, the toll of the death in the crowded place had
been higher than the normal. It is thus essential to understand the challenge and the results
caused by the threat of the terrorist attacks by the government of the country towards addressing
the question whether the level of the risk is acceptable in nature.
4. Policies of counter-terrorism delivered by Metropolitan Police Service and London Fire
Brigade
The metropolitan division of the counter terrorism of the police in London intends to
fulfill some of the wide range of the roles that safeguards the population and the capital of the
country. In case of the scenario where the city had been deployed by itself, the equipment of the
units operated on an effective mode.11 However, as per the research, in case of the scenarios
where the teams have been deployed in the areas that are outside the premise of the London, the
related operation had been more challenging. This has been due to the certain restrictions of the
existing technological moves and the connectivity that poses a threat from the special and the
suspected group of the community of the region.
10Spalek, Basia, and Douglas Weeks. "The Role of Communities in Counterterrorism: Analyzing Policy and
Exploring Psychotherapeutic Approaches within Community Settings." Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 40, no. 12
(2017): 991-1003.
11Boyce, Geoffrey A., Sarah Launius, and Adam O. Aguirre. "Drawing the Line: Spatial Strategies of Community
and Resistance in Post-SB1070 Arizona." ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies 18, no. 1
(2019).

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The challenges of the metropolitan police force in London needed a division of the
solution that tends to create a seamless technological advancement or the mobile device that can
be used on the move. As per the research, the division of the police force required solution
creating move smooth operation of the technology12. Some of the recommended and the
strategically implemented solution and policies by the police force of the London metropolitan
and the fire brigades are the recommended use of the surveillance equipments and the vislink
cameras. Furthermore, policies included broadcasting the live images in real time, from the air
towards the remote side like the field. In addition, the tent or the school building that enhances
the chances of enabling the team towards the provision of a complete and a clear picture of the
events and the scenarios from the air, in the case of the immediate decision-makings on the
ground. As per the research, the policies regarding the implementation and the facilitation of the
technology regarding the equal effectiveness in the remote areas, which are the general target for
the terrorist to reside and plan needs to be implemented13. Furthermore, policies regarding the
safe checking of the identity proof and religious determination needs to be enabled with in case
of the immigrants and the residing citizens of the London to ensure that no suspected individual
is found connected to the anti- social and the terrorism activities. Despite the fact that no
individual should be charged and held guilty just for his or her religion, as per the Universal
Declaration of the Human Rights, the government of the nation should keep an eye on the
suspected community. In his research, Thomas highlighted the effective use of the mobile
technology by the metropolitan police force and for brigade force of London for unveiling the
12Nacos, Brigitte L. Terrorism and counterterrorism. Routledge, 2016.
13Ragazzi, Francesco. "Countering terrorism and radicalisation: Securitising social policy?." Critical Social
Policy 37, no. 2 (2017): 163-179.

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unreliable remote locations to track the people in danger14. Policies regarding the improvement
of the broadcasting of the satellites towards the head office for the police force of the
metropolises of London are some of the factor that needs to be highlighted for further intelligent
work.
Some of the focused priorities and the policies of the police force and the fire brigade
people are keeping the children and the young people in safe zone. According to the international
campaign regarding the safeguarding of the child raised some of the challenges to the police
officers and the staff towards thinking about the signs that may intend to harm the child in the
scenario of explosion, crimes and the terrorist attacks in the midst of the city15. The policies of
counter-terrorism delivered by Metropolitan Police Service and London Fire Brigade
furthermore included the ensuring of the safeguarding and the tackling of the violence against the
girls and the women who are often the victim in case of rapid attacks and the threats of the
terrorism. According to the research, mostly, youngsters from the nation belonging from various
categories of families tends to get engaged in the terrorist activities in the name of peace and the
right of the religion of the state or in the name of jihad16. Thus, it is the responsibility of the
police force to enable protection to these youngsters who are being involved in these crimes and
forwarding in the pathway of destruction. As per the report, there had been a dramatic rise in the
rate of the Islamophobic offense following the attacks in the Manchester and London and the
14Thomas, Paul. "Youth, terrorism and education: Britain’s Prevent programme." International Journal of Lifelong
Education 35, no. 2 (2016): 171-187.
15Berman, Russell A., and Arno Tausch. "Support for Terrorism in Muslim Majority Countries and Implications for
Immigration Policies in the West." Strategic Assessment 20, no. 1 (2017): 7-21.
16Archick, Kristin, and Paul Belkin. "European Security and Islamist Terrorism." Congressional Research
Service (2016).

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policies of the police force included the tackling of the hate crimes17. Robert in his research study
illustrated the context that since the attack of the terrorist in the Westminster in the date of the
March 2017, the region has witnessed a major number of the hate crimes and he indicators of the
tension18. The research study furthermore illustrated how the aftermath of such of the events
tends to develop a pike in the rate of the hate crimes, which are specifically the Islamophobic
ones.
As reported by the data of the Home office and the London’s Metropolitan Police
Service’s Counterterrorism Command (SO15), the policies by the state government and the
metropolitan police force and the fire brigade of the London enshrined the ai towards the safety
and making the London a better and a safer place19. The policy D10 safety, security and
resilience to emergency target the safeguarding of the local people from the threats and the
attacks of the terrorism without the imposition of any sort of marginalization. The policies of the
counter terrorism environment explores the realities regarding the lived experiences connecting
to the context of the radicalism and extremism in the heart of London.
5. Reactions to the policies by individuals and groups
Though there has been certain number of the policies regarding the threats and the attacks
of the terrorist in the heart of London, the lack of effective implementation of the counter
terrorism policies and the strategies has resulted in much issues and challenges among the people
in the nation. The below figure illustrates the various number of survey reports that highlights
how the implementation and the evaluation of the policies are very much limited a compared to
17Freilich, Joshua D., and Gary LaFree. "Criminology theory and terrorism: Introduction to the special issue."
(2015): 1-8.
18Burke, Robert A. Counter-terrorism for emergency responders. CRC Press, 2017.
19Silke, Andrew, ed. Routledge Handbook of Terrorism and Counterterrorism. Routledge, 2018.

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the policies that have been developed or introduced by the metropolitan police force and the fire
brigade.
Figure: Development/ monitoring, implementation and the evaluation of the policies
Source: (Argomaniz, Oldrichand Christian Kaunert)
The figure above is the accumulated report by the majority of the people residing in the
heart of London regarding the effectiveness of the policies that have been developed. According
to the research study, there has been far too much tolerance regarding the context of the
extremism regarding the proposed counter terrorism strategy and the policy20. Despite of the
international agreements and the legislative policy for the aim of the protection of the people of
the community of the nation, there has been rampant terrorist attacks followed by high level of
death and injury targeting the inefficiency of the policies aiming the protection of the public on
the cheap. As per the reports by Angela, some of the factors contributing to ineffective
20Argomaniz, Javier, OldrichBures, and Christian Kaunert. "A decade of EU counter-terrorism and intelligence: A
critical assessment." (2015): 191-206.

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measurements include the low number of the arrests by the police, the number of the convictions
regarding the issues of the judge in the scenario of the counter terrorist. The lack of the material
effectiveness of the policies towards the safety and the well-being of the people of the nation is
also included21. As per the insight of the researcher, it is one of the intrinsic parts of the mandate
and the measure for the adoption, which needs to be in the line with the rights of the human
which are fundamental in nature and are connected to the charter of the fundamental rights22.
The funding towards the extremist ideology and the facts of the conservatives intimate alliance
with that of the Saudi Arabia regarding the funding of the Islamist organization in the London
are some of the factors that has contributed to the inefficiency of the policies of the nation.
Aziz Z Huq, Tom R Tyler and Stephen J Schulhofer conducted study on the mechanisms
for extracting cooperation for the counterterrorism policies with evidence from the UK. The
authors found that the policies of counterterrorism employed by the UK government could work
better if the police and security officials employed fair “procedural justice or policing tactics”23.
Imran Awan however found that the Muslim population in the UK has come under threat
because of the counterterrorism strategies implemented by the UK government. The author
specifically mentions the Prevent Strategy 2011 plan of the UK government and its adverse
affects on the British Muslim population24. The study reveals that the strategy has risked further
alienation of the Muslim community rather than include them as participants in the strategy. Jytte
21Quartermaine, Angela. "Discussing terrorism: a pupil-inspired guide to UK counter-terrorism policy
implementation in religious education classrooms in England." British journal of religious education 38, no. 1
(2016): 13-29.
22Thomas, Paul. "Changing experiences of responsibilisation and contestation within counter-terrorism policies: the
British Prevent experience." Policy & Politics 45, no. 3 (2017): 305-321.
23 Huq, Aziz Z., Tom R. Tyler, and Stephen J. Schulhofer. "Mechanisms for eliciting cooperation in counterterrorism
policing: Evidence from the United Kingdom." Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 8, no. 4 (2011): 728-761.
24 Awan, Imran. "“I am a Muslim not an extremist”: How the Prevent Strategy has constructed a “suspect”
community." Politics & Policy 40, no. 6 (2012): 1158-1185.

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Klausen nonetheless found in his study that the reactions of the local public against radical
Islamists led to the formation of policies that reflected this reaction25. Therefore, the reactions
against the counterterrorism policies are not credible.
Samaneh Hassanli notes that any policy that attempts to counter terrorism or any sort of
threat, is made up keeping in mind the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the
International Human Rights Law (IHRL) as well26. Although the author talks about following
the IHL and IHRL in conducting military operations in other nations, it is applicable in the case
of implementing the policies of counterterrorism. Anthony Richards analyzes the effectiveness of
counterterrorism strategies in the UK especially after the July 2007 incident and finds that the
numerous strategies although had positive effects in terms of controlling the attacks, it could not
be called a success. The reason the author gives is that the strategies such as CONTEST,
PREVENT, PURSUE and PROTECT were all effective in terms of reducing the number of
deaths in terrorist attacks but not in mitigating the inherent threat of terrorism within27. Rachael
Briggs finds that the strategy of CONTEST that encouraged community engagement to tackle
terrorism on the international level has set an example for other nations to follow28. However,
states the author, this community-based approach to counterterrorism has many shortcomings. It
does not directly engage the targeted community in the strategy instead, makes them feel left out
from the strategy.
25 Klausen, Jytte. "British counter-terrorism after 7/7: Adapting community policing to the fight against domestic
terrorism." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 35, no. 3 (2009): 403-420.
26 Hassanli, Samaneh. "A proposal for the implementation of human rights treaty obligations in armed conflict." PhD
diss., 2014.
27 Richards, Anthony. "The problem with ‘radicalization’: the remit of ‘Prevent’and the need to refocus on terrorism
in the UK." International Affairs 87, no. 1 (2011): 143-152.
28 Briggs, Rachel. "Community engagement for counterterrorism: lessons from the United Kingdom." International
affairs 86, no. 4 (2010): 971-981.

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Counterterrorism policies implemented by the UK government to cope with the threats
within the English society are marred with biasness. In the academic discourse, views regarding
the implementation of counterterrorism policies in the UK vary. In a study conducted by Mary E
Brinson, it has been found that the fear amongst the native citizens concerning “domestic
homegrown” terrorism is much greater than the threat posed internationally29. The author states
that this finding proves the negative effect of restricting civil liberties of the Muslims as the
general feeling of the local people becomes increasingly negative.
6. Realities of the ‘suspect community’
6.1 Who are the ‘suspect community’?
The history of suspect communities in London dates back to the early 20th century when
the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was targeting the British population during the 1970s and
1980s. After the bombings of 1974 in Guildford and Birmingham, the Labor Government in the
UK introduced the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 197430. The Act
empowered the security services and the police to detain or arrest anyone merely based on
suspicion. The notion of ‘suspect community’ developed because of these events and policies.
Paddy Hillyard introduced the concept of ‘suspect community’ based on these events that led to
every Irish person being suspected in Britain. Marie Breen-Smyth further explains the concept in
his paper. According to the author, “the suspect community is not merely the product of legal
and security apparatuses, but the product of a larger cultural apparatus or ‘imaginary”31. The
‘suspect community’ in the UK comprises those belonging to the Muslim community. Christina
29 Brinson, Mary E., and Michael Stohl. "Media framing of terrorism: Implications for public opinion, civil liberties,
and counterterrorism policies." Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 5, no. 4 (2012): 270-290.
30 Alam, Yunis, and Charles Husband. "Parallel Policies and Contradictory Practices: The Case of Social Cohesion
and Counter-Terrorism in the United Kingdom." (2012).
31 Breen-Smyth, Marie. "Theorising the “suspect community”: counterterrorism, security practices and the public
imagination." Critical Studies on Terrorism 7, no. 2 (2014): 223-240.

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Pantazis and Simon Pemberton however argue that the concept has been forced to deviate from
its original meaning as more and more studies focus on the Muslims as the ‘suspects’ without
even understanding the depth of it. They further state that the “categorization of Muslims as
suspect may be serving to undermine national security rather than enhance it”32.
This community has been and continues to be in the radar of almost all the departments –
government and non-government – counterterrorism policies. In the aftermath of the September
11 attacks, Muslims across the Western world came under the radar of the government. This
reflected in the strategies adopted by the UK government as well.
6.2 Effectiveness of counterterrorism policies concerning the suspect community
Stefano Bonino explores the socio-political dimensions of these strategies and finds that
the strategies employed by the UK government are not effective because it does not include the
suspect population. The author suggests that the government must adopt policies that address the
“drivers and ideological grounds on which radicalization and terrorism pose a threat”, the
government should, the author further states, “tackle the socio-political grievances experienced
by Muslims; and partner with and empower Muslim communities”33. Francesco Ragazzi on the
other hand, highlights the impact of the policies of counterterrorism and counter-radicalization
on the suspect community. The author argues that most of the literature has focused on only the
discriminatory effects of counterterrorism policies. The author proposed that instead if
encouraging assimilation and alienation, as the government and the suspect community
32 Pantazis, Christina, and Simon Pemberton. "From the ‘Old’to the ‘New’Suspect CommunityExamining the
Impacts of Recent UK Counter-Terrorist Legislation." The British journal of criminology 49, no. 5 (2009): 646-666.
33 Bonino, Stefano. "Policing strategies against Islamic terrorism in the UK after 9/11: the socio-political realities for
British Muslims." Journal of Muslim minority affairs 32, no. 1 (2012): 5-31.

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advocates would expect, the policies “produce and reinforce a government of society in discrete
and divided ethno-religious groups”34.
Tufyal Choudhury and Helen Fenwick explain the influence of the counterterrorism
policies from the different contexts including the community and policing context as well. The
authors explain that the counterterrorism policies adopted by the government could not afford to
overlook diverse Muslim population present in the UK35. In contrast to this study, Mary J
Hickman, Lyn Thomas, Sara Silvestri and Henri Nickels provide an extensive research on the
policies of counterterrorism that has created a divide in the society between the government and
the community. The authors present the two eras of political violence pre and post 200136. They
included in their research, the Irish and Muslim communities both as the suspect communities.
Prior to the 2001 September 11 attacks, the Irish constituted the ‘suspect community’ identity
and it shifted to the Muslim community post the attacks. Jytte Klausen on the contrary, presented
the argument that the British government applied “community-policing principles” to address the
domestic jihadism after the Madrid and London bombings37.
Hence, there is enough ambiguity regarding the suspect community and the policies that
the UK government proposes or has proposed could not be validated as effective.
7. Gap in the literature
Several gaps have been identified in the literature that has been reviewed above regarding
the counterterrorism policies and reactions of the public especially the ‘suspect community’.
34 Ragazzi, Francesco. "Suspect community or suspect category? The impact of counter-terrorism as ‘policed
multiculturalism’." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 42, no. 5 (2016): 724-741.
35 Choudhury, Tufyal, and Helen Fenwick. "The impact of counter-terrorism measures on Muslim communities."
International Review of Law, Computers & Technology 25, no. 3 (2011): 151-181.
36 Hickman, Mary, Lyn Thomas, Sara Silvestri, and Henri Nickels. "" Suspect Communities?" Counter-terrorism
policy, the press, and the impact on Irish and Muslim communities in Britain." (2011).
37 Ibid 5

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First, the literature did not clearly talk about the role the Metropolitan Police Services (MPS) and
London Fire Brigade (LFB) have played in tackling the terrorism issue that arose within London
and not internationally. The Metropolitan Police Service in London runs a Specialist Operations
branch known as the Counter Terrorism Command (SO15). The SO15 has the responsibility to
detect, investigate and prevent terrorist threats. It works with partner agencies to attain and
utilize the evidence and intelligence about extremism and terrorism. The reviewed literature had
hardly any study dedicated to the role and effectiveness of the MPS or even the LFB. According
to Nick Vaughan-Williams, most of the studies have focused on the counterterrorism policies
and departments in the whole of the European Union (EU) rather than just on London38.
Second, there was no study conducted about the effectiveness of the counterterrorism
policies that were implemented in London. Pete Fussey conducted a study on the effectiveness of
the electronic surveillance in the streets of London not just to avert “conventional forms of
terrorism” but also to avert terrorism in “London’s public spaces”39. Although this study does not
provide enough evidence about the effectiveness of counterterrorism policies, it does give an
indication.
Third, the literature lacks studies on the impact of globalization on the formulation of
counterterrorism policies by the government that could help London come up with better
policies. Globalization has caused terrorism to reach inside the previously safe societies. Adam
Svendsen finds that although globalization has caused terrorism to reach previously untouched
38 Vaughan-Williams, Nick. "Borderwork beyond inside/outside? Frontex, the citizen–detective and the war on
terror." Space and Polity 12, no. 1 (2008): 63-79.
39 Fussey, Pete. "Observing potentiality in the global city: Surveillance and counterterrorism in London."
International Criminal Justice Review 17, no. 3 (2007): 171-192.

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societies, it has also expanded the reach of intelligence40. The literature reviewed had no such
studies dedicated to the influence of globalization on terrorism.
Fourth, the literature reviewed has the flaw of not focusing on the neglect of the
community in the making of counterterrorism policies. Les Johnston examined the recent
developments concerning the “governance of community policing in Britain”41. The author
touched on the issues of community policing that creates a friction between the national and the
local government. The author is of the view that members of the community especially the so-
called ‘suspect community’ must be included in the policy making activity.
Therefore, it is visibly clear that the literature regarding counterterrorism policies and the
polarization of government and community has these major shortcomings. The present study
thus aims to fill these gaps and provide a new approach towards understanding the need for
developing counterterrorism policies that could bring the government and the community in the
same platform.
8. Conclusion
As a conclusion, it needs to be reiterated that proper study has to be conducted to analyze
the counterterrorism environment in London. In addition, the role and contribution of the
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has to be understood
more prominently because this would help the police to prepare better policies. The review of
literature has found several aspects of the counterterrorism policies implemented within London
that need refining. The review found that the counterterrorism policies that were introduced and
40 Svendsen, Adam. "The globalization of intelligence since 9/11: frameworks and operational parameters."
Cambridge Review of International Affairs 21, no. 1 (2008): 129-144.
41 Johnston, Les. "From ‘pluralisation’to ‘the police extended family’: discourses on the governance of community
policing in Britain." International journal of the sociology of law 31, no. 3 (2003): 185-204.

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Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
implemented by the MPS were only partially successful as per the community people for whom
the policies were implemented in the first place. The community members were of the view that
the police and the fire brigade often imposed policies that were biased against a specific group of
people. Further, the review found that the inclusion of Muslims in the ‘suspect community’ has
also caused the policies to be biased against the community. Previously, the Irish Republican
Army (IRA) was considered the ‘suspect community’ in Britain but after the September 11
incident in the US, the Muslims began to be targeted as ‘suspect community’. The review found
that such labeling further distances the government and the community in terms of the
counterterrorism policies that were implemented. The literature review also found the influence
of globalization on the policies of counterterrorism and on terrorism in general. It was found that
little research has been done in understanding the globalization effect on counterterrorism
policies. The review further identified the gaps found in the reviewed literature and explained
these as well. The first gap that was found was the lack of research done on the responsibilities
and contributions of the MPS and LFB in tackling terrorism activities within London. The
second was the lack of studies on the effectiveness of policies to counter terrorism. The third gap
was the lack of studies in the impact of globalization on counterterrorism policies and the fourth
gap identified was the neglect of the community members in making policies of
counterterrorism.

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Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
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Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
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Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
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