Dr. Jesse Norris
Associate Professor Jesse Norris authored a journal article examining terrorist motives of civilians who kill police officers.
"The Prevalence of Terrorist Motives Among Civilians Who Kill Police Officers: A Mixed-Method Analysis” furnishes a time series analysis of all 585 recorded homicides of U.S. police between 2008 and 2021.
It found no significant increase in civilian-on-police homicides with terrorist motives after the rise of protests against police in 2014, though certain sub-categories did increase.
The study by Dr. Norris also found that, contrary to the idea that there is a "war on cops" driven by anti-police activism, very few homicides were inspired by protests against police, and even offenders with such motivations were also driven by mental illness and far-right influences.
Some findings from the article – especially the brief case studies of solo terrorists – will be incorporated into Sociology of Terrorism and Criminology courses that Norris teaches in the Department of Sociocultural and Justice Sciences.
The article was published in March in the online journal Terrorism and Political Violence, a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Routledge. The link to the article here.
Norris’ research interests are in criminal law, terrorism and counterterrorism, entrapment and racial disparities.
