FBI working with state and local prisons to combat terror | 11.09.2006 | 04:14:37 | Views: 5267 | ID: November 9 '06: Working with prison inmates, guards, and prison officials, the federal government is hoping to curb the threat of prison-grown American terrorism, USA Today reported this week. Using tools such as background checks, and potential legislation to curb the rising amount of extremist Islamic beliefs in the nation's prisons, federal law enforcement officials hope to limit radical Muslim clerics' "access to prisoners and coerce them with terrorist literature." The FBI's Counterterrorism Director Donald Van Duyn told USA Today, "It's a concern because we know that violent extremist groups will target people in prisons. ... We're working to improve monitoring, improve training and increase awareness." The national daily reported that intensified surveillance has followed recent arrests "of people alleged to be home-grown terror suspects in London and Canada, which have raised concerns that the USA may be vulnerable to terrorism at the hands of its own citizens. ... Homeland Security officials, who are sending investigators to prisons around the country to gather intelligence on inmate radicalization are worried that similar plots could be hatched in US prisons." Currently, the FBI is working on several initiatives to help increase their information about possible prison-grown terrorist threats. More informants and intelligence units are being created in state prison systems; those systems are also encouraged to share any possible data that could be linked to other threats. Additionally, background checks, intensive training on recognizing extremist behavior and propaganda as well as being alert and aware of radical views being shared among inmates are being employed by the FBI, USA Today reported.
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