Daren Fisher
The Citadel, Criminal Justice, Faculty Member
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Research Interests: Engineering, Criminology, Law, Philosophy, Applied Ethics, and 15 moreArchitecture, Australia, Environmental Planning, Crime Prevention Policies, Advanced Materials, Crime Prevention, Legislation, Case Study, Community Planning, New South Wales, IS success, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design, Public Administration and Policy, Empirical evidence, and ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
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Objectives: While terrorism studies were once castigated as atheoretical and unempirical, criminology has been well suited to apply theories of crime to terrorism and to then test those theories with rigorous methods and robust data. The... more
Objectives: While terrorism studies were once castigated as atheoretical and unempirical, criminology has been well suited to apply theories of crime to terrorism and to then test those theories with rigorous methods and robust data. The present study takes stock of how criminologists have theorized about terrorism and tested those theories over time in 13 of the discipline's leading journals. Methods: The study systematically examines theoretical framing, hypotheses, methodological approach, focus within criminology and criminal justice, and policy recommendations in terrorism-focused articles. Results: While terrorism has become more central within top journals, sparse attention has been paid to many criminological theories that could help us understand terrorism. Additional qualitative, theoretical, and mixed-methods research is needed. Further, few articles address the making of terrorism laws. We identify other systematic strengths and weaknesses across the literature and h...
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As tens of thousands swarmed the US Capitol Grounds on January 6th, 2021, to oppose the election of Joe Biden as President, thousands among them assaulted officers and breached the building to stop the certification of the election... more
As tens of thousands swarmed the US Capitol Grounds on January 6th, 2021, to oppose the election of Joe Biden as President, thousands among them assaulted officers and breached the building to stop the certification of the election results, leading to nine deaths and hundreds of injuries. Despite being an act of terrorism and evidence that far-right extremists planned to take over the government, some dismiss January 6th as legitimate political discourse. This divisive response starkly contrasts with the unifying response to the jihadi attacks on September 11th two decades earlier, raising the question as to why the country has not also united against far-right extremism. This review argues that the Bush administration misused deterrence in response to the September 11th attacks. While unifying the country it also disproportionately punished innocent Muslims and legitimized anti-Muslim ideals, giving rise to anti-Muslim hate crimes and backlash by jihadi extremists and emboldening v...
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Objectives: This study examines the association between a country's gun availability and firearm-related terrorism. Methods: Employing data from 140 countries, we assess the possible relationship between a country's rate of suicide by... more
Objectives: This study examines the association between a country's gun availability and firearm-related terrorism. Methods: Employing data from 140 countries, we assess the possible relationship between a country's rate of suicide by firearm and their count of terrorist attacks involving a firearm through a series of structural equation models. Results: Collectively, we find that there is a positive relationship between gun availability and firearm-related terrorism in 2016 and 2017. However, this result
Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a non-punitive method for reducing crime through the design of the built environment. The relevance of CPTED strategies, however, is less clear in the context of computing... more
Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a non-punitive method for reducing crime through the design of the built environment. The relevance of CPTED strategies, however, is less clear in the context of computing environments. Building upon prior research indicating that computing environments may change computer users' behaviors, this study tests the effectiveness of CPTED-based approaches in mitigating system-trespassing events. Findings from this randomized controlled field trial demonstrate that specific CPTED strategies can mitigate hacking events by reducing the number of concurrent activities on the target computer, attenuating the number of commands typed in the attacked computer, and decreasing the likelihood of hackers returning to a previously hacked environment. Our findings suggest some novel and readily implemented strategies for reducing cybercrime.
Why do some governments negotiate with insurgent organizations while others use force? This study examines the factors that influence these strategic government approaches to insurgencies using an original data set of state actions toward... more
Why do some governments negotiate with insurgent organizations while others use force? This study examines the factors that influence these strategic government approaches to insurgencies using an original data set of state actions toward 140 insurgent groups between 1998 and 2012. We develop a simple model to explain government policy choice and test on these original data. After accounting for ideological differences and insurgent organization alliances, our findings suggest that the size of the insurgent group, the extent of previous lethal violence, and previous government decisions all influence government selection of conciliatory, repressive, mixed, and non-response strategies. We conclude by discussing the implications for how governments make counterterrorism/counterinsurgency strategy.
Understanding how and why people and groups desist from committing acts of terrorism is a central but understudied topic. As recent findings suggest that recidivism from terrorism is higher than for other crimes, the value of... more
Understanding how and why people and groups desist from committing acts of terrorism is a central but understudied topic. As recent findings suggest that recidivism from terrorism is higher than for other crimes, the value of understanding terrorism desistance has large policy implications for the reduction and prevention of future terrorism. Despite the increasing attention that has been paid to why people commit acts of terrorism and the impacts of specific counterterrorism initiatives, insights on terrorism desistance have lagged behind this progress. Leveraging developments from criminology, this chapter discusses some of the key perspectives on the nature and measurement of desistance. It then examines some of the key theoretical perspectives on desistance from the criminological literature, including deterrence, rational choice theory, control theories, and general strain theory, and explores how these perspectives inform our understanding of desistance from terrorism. The chapter concludes by providing guidance for future research on desistance from terrorism.
Over the last 15 years, the literature on the impact of both the Iraq war and the September 11 terror attacks on the behavior of states and terrorist organizations has grown immensely. Despite this attention, there has been little... more
Over the last 15 years, the literature on the impact of both the Iraq war and the September 11 terror attacks on the behavior of states and terrorist organizations has grown immensely. Despite this attention, there has been little research on how the invasion of Iraq impacted violent non-state actors (VNSAs), and particularly insurgent organizations killing of civilians and security personnel. Differentiating between the killing of police/military personnel and civilians is of key theoretical and policy importance, particularly if there are differences between the two in terms of insurgent behavior before and during the Iraq war. In this paper, we use the Big Allied and Dangerous Insurgency (BAADI) dataset to examine what factors impact the killing of police/military personnel and civilians by insurgent organizations between 1998 and 2012. We argue that before the invasion of Iraq, social and political factors influenced organizational lethality. During the Iraq war, however, we argue that this relationship changed because the United States and the West changed their policies and invested enormously in global resources to fighting non-state actors. Given this, the organizational factor that will determine an organization's lethality would simply be the organization's capability-captured most effectively by its size. Our analysis provides support for this argument.
Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a non-punitive method for reducing crime through the design of the built environment. The relevance of CPTED strategies, however, is less clear in the context of computing... more
Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is a non-punitive method for reducing crime through the design of the built environment. The relevance of CPTED strategies, however, is less clear in the context of computing environments. Building upon prior research indicating that computing environments may change computer users’ behaviors, this study tests the effectiveness of CPTED-based approaches in mitigating system-trespassing events. Findings from this randomized controlled field trial demonstrate that specific CPTED strategies can mitigate hacking events by reducing the number of concurrent activities on the target computer, attenuating the number of commands typed in the attacked computer, and decreasing the likelihood of hackers returning to a previously hacked environment. Our findings suggest some novel and readily implemented strategies for reducing cybercrime.
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Lately, discussions about hepatitis C prevention have reframed the focus on young people to include not only those who are injecting but those at risk for taking up injecting. By focussing on this group the hope is to reduce harms among... more
Lately, discussions about hepatitis C prevention have reframed the focus on young people to include not only those who are injecting but those at risk for taking up injecting. By focussing on this group the hope is to reduce harms among those who might eventually inject, including of course to reduce the incidence of hepatitis C infection. Indeed the highest incidence of hepatitis C infection occurs among people who have been injecting for three years or less. With funding from NSW Health, we conducted one of the first known studies of this group. We used surveys and in-depth interviews with young socially marginalised drug users in Sydney, asking them about a range of issues including their own drug use and that of their peers, their experiences and knowledge of harm reduction services and what they thought about injecting and hepatitis C. Over a 12 month period during 2010–2011 we visited 15 sites in metropolitan Sydney that offered emergency shelter, drug and alcohol treatment an...
The exposure and transition study Exposure to injecting and hepatitis C among young people at risk
One of criminology’s most notable historians, Nicole Rafter, argued that “[i]f criminology is to fully mature as a field of study, it needs to develop a clear sense of its own history” (2004a, p. 736). This sentiment was also earlier... more
One of criminology’s most notable historians, Nicole Rafter, argued that “[i]f criminology is to fully mature as a field of study, it needs to develop a clear sense of its own history” (2004a, p. 736). This sentiment was also earlier expressed by David Garland (1985): the “failure of criminologists to reflect critically upon their own practice has meant that our knowledge of criminology’s development is inadequate” (p. 110), and was the central theme of John Laub’s (2003) American Society of Criminology’s Presidential Address, where he eloquently lamented the prevalent “presentism” or ahistorical view of most criminologists (Laub, 2004). All three of these positions reflect concern that criminologists have ignored Burke’s (1790) advice about the role of the past in instructing the present and future. An important part of learning the scientific field within which one works, then, is gaining a good understanding of its past—past theories, methodologies, philosophies, and controversie...
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Theories are essential for scientific advances, allowing researchers to test assumptions and to dispel superstitions and prejudices. Early theories of terrorism however were often the byproduct of thought pieces, and have since been... more
Theories are essential for scientific advances, allowing researchers to test assumptions and to dispel superstitions and prejudices. Early theories of terrorism however were often the byproduct of thought pieces, and have since been derided by esteemed scholars for dubiously mischaracterizing terrorism. In recent years both sociological and criminological theories have been advanced to motivate a host of research that has supplanted earlier intuitive but inaccurate theories of terrorism. Testing these theories with the benefit of analytic advances and more comprehensive datasets has revealed numerous insights that have guided more effective counterterrorism strategies. This work has also provided compelling evidence that sociology and criminology have much to offer our understanding of terrorism. This chapter documents some of these major theoretical contributions for understanding terrorists’ motives and for informing efforts to prevent terrorism, while highlighting the existing st...
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Over the last 15 years, the literature on the impact of both the Iraq war and the September 11 terror attacks on the behavior of states and terrorist organizations has grown immensely. Despite this attention, there has been little... more
Over the last 15 years, the literature on the impact of both the Iraq war and the September 11 terror attacks on the behavior of states and terrorist organizations has grown immensely. Despite this attention, there has been little research on how the invasion of Iraq impacted violent non-state actors (VNSAs), and particularly insurgent organizations killing of civilians and security personnel. Differentiating between the killing of police/military personnel and civilians is of key theoretical and policy importance, particularly if there are differences between the two in terms of insurgent behavior before and during the Iraq war. In this paper, we use the Big Allied and Dangerous Insurgency (BAADI) dataset to examine what factors impact the killing of police/military personnel and civilians by insurgent organizations between 1998 and 2012. We argue that before the invasion of Iraq, social and political factors influenced organizational lethality. During the Iraq war, however, we arg...
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Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) guidelines have been adopted in Australia and internationally. In 2001 CPTED guidelines were introduced in New South Wales (NSW). Since their introduction there has been little... more
Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) guidelines have been adopted in Australia and internationally. In 2001 CPTED guidelines were introduced in New South Wales (NSW). Since their introduction there has been little discussion or scholarly analysis of these guidelines. This article seeks to address this gap through a critical analysis of the NSW guidelines and related crime risk assessment reports. On the basis of this analysis, we argue that the guidelines provide limited direction for the compilation of crime risk assessment reports and little guidance to local authorities (that is councils) assessing development applications. The existing guidelines are based on four CPTED concepts, which limits assessment of crime risks and the lack of diagrams, photos or illustrations reduces their overall utility. While the introduction of the guidelines triggered an increased focus on ways to design out crime, our research suggests the guidelines require revision. Guidelines fr...
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Purpose Developing policies to curb public alcohol consumption is a priority for governments. In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), local governments have introduced alcohol-free zones (AFZs) and alcohol-prohibited areas... more
Purpose Developing policies to curb public alcohol consumption is a priority for governments. In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), local governments have introduced alcohol-free zones (AFZs) and alcohol-prohibited areas (APAs) to prohibit the public consumption of alcohol and reduce crime stemming from intoxication. Previous studies, however, argue that these policies are driven by stakeholder desire rather than alcohol-related crime and may result in increased criminal justice contact for vulnerable populations. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the number of AFZs and APAs in NSW and examine the extent to which these policies are connected to the frequency of alcohol-related crime. Design/methodology/approach Examining the 152 local government areas (LGAs) of NSW, the authors analysed whether the implementation of AFZs and APAs were linked to the frequency of liquor offences and assaults using group-based trajectory models. Findings The authors found that AFZs a...
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Research Interests: Business, Criminology, Law, Terrorism, Philippines, and 4 moreTurkey, United Kingdom, Natural Disasters, and Routledge
Title of thesis: THE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON KURDISH TERRORISM IN TURKEY 1987-2011: THE IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO NATURAL DISASTERS Daren Geoffrey Fisher, Master of Arts, 2014 Thesis directed by: Professor... more
Title of thesis: THE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON KURDISH TERRORISM IN TURKEY 1987-2011: THE IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO NATURAL DISASTERS Daren Geoffrey Fisher, Master of Arts, 2014 Thesis directed by: Professor Laura J. Dugan Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Natural disasters and terrorism present major challenges in their aftermath to a state and its populace, and help to define the identity of nations (Flynn, 2008). Destructive in their own right, previous research has argued that natural disasters also provide the catalyst for acts of terrorism (Berrebi and Ostwald, 2011), complicating the role that state actions hold in response to a natural disaster. Responses to natural disasters by a state however vary (Perry and Lindell, 2003), and this thesis posits that the response to a natural disaster presents a unique situation for a state, through perceived adequacy of its response, to alter the rational incentives for a group to engage in subseque...
Objectives: This study examines the association between a country's gun availability and firearm-related terrorism. Methods: Employing data from 140 countries, we assess the possible relationship between a country's rate of... more
Objectives: This study examines the association between a country's gun availability and firearm-related terrorism. Methods: Employing data from 140 countries, we assess the possible relationship between a country's rate of suicide by firearm and their count of terrorist attacks involving a firearm through a series of structural equation models. Results: Collectively, we find that there is a positive relationship between gun availability and firearm-related terrorism in 2016 and 2017. However, this result fails our robustness check and is sensitive to the inclusion of the U.S. Conclusion: With important caveats, we believe the U.S. to be unique in terms of both gun availability and terrorism.
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ABSTRACT
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Abstract and figures The increased incidence of natural disasters may be among the major forces driving crime over the coming century. Indeed, pre- vious research suggests that natural disasters provide the catalyst for acts of... more
Abstract and figures
The increased incidence of natural disasters may be among the major forces driving crime over the coming century. Indeed, pre- vious research suggests that natural disasters provide the catalyst for acts of terrorism. However, because governments can choose how they respond to natural disasters, they might be able to select actions that would mitigate hostile reactions. In this article, we argue that government responses’ natural disasters could alter the rational motivations for terrorism. If true, then by responding adequately to a disaster, a government can also reduce both pol- itical violence risks and public health harms. This study argues that it is the portrayal of government responses to a natural dis- aster that impacts subsequent terrorism rather than the natural disaster itself. Using data from the Philippines, Turkey, and the United Kingdom between 1987 and 2013, findings suggest that when disasters occur, governments have a unique opportunity to diminish the incentives for terrorism.
The increased incidence of natural disasters may be among the major forces driving crime over the coming century. Indeed, pre- vious research suggests that natural disasters provide the catalyst for acts of terrorism. However, because governments can choose how they respond to natural disasters, they might be able to select actions that would mitigate hostile reactions. In this article, we argue that government responses’ natural disasters could alter the rational motivations for terrorism. If true, then by responding adequately to a disaster, a government can also reduce both pol- itical violence risks and public health harms. This study argues that it is the portrayal of government responses to a natural dis- aster that impacts subsequent terrorism rather than the natural disaster itself. Using data from the Philippines, Turkey, and the United Kingdom between 1987 and 2013, findings suggest that when disasters occur, governments have a unique opportunity to diminish the incentives for terrorism.