How to Spot a Terrorist

In this global age, one of the most important skills an average citizen needs to develop is the ability to spot a terrorist. This is a vital skill to ensure both national and personal security. Being aware of your surroundings and knowing how to properly respond to a threatening scenario can make all the difference between stopping dangerous criminal activity and putting your entire community at risk.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Pay attention to your surroundings at all times, particularly during times of elevated terrorist alerts in densely crowded areas. Terrorism is most successful when it threatens a large number of people, eroding the general population's sense of personal security.

2. Remain distant from perceived threats. While you must remain vigilant, your job is not to become a vigilante when you try to spot a terrorist.

3. Notify appropriate law enforcement officials when you believe you spot activity that may threaten security. Hesitation is a danger in cases of extreme physical danger.

4. Leave the scene once you have notified others of your concern. It will do you no good to remain a bystander when you may also be making yourself an easier target.

5. Look for individuals wearing baggy clothes that might possibly conceal dangerous materials. Particularly worth noting is anything that obscures a person's face in areas and times where it is not climate appropriate.

6. Report any luggage left unattended and be aware of packages with strange smells or that reveal a leaky or oily surface. These items can potentially be bombs.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't stereotype an individual as a terrorist simply because of their ethnic or religious backgrounds. A terrorist can be a person of any race and equally threaten the population's security.
• Never continue to remain in an area where you suspect to spot continued terrorist activity is active. Doing so, despite the best of intentions, simply endangers your security.

Resources

• Foxnews.com features stories listing ways to spot a terrorist.
• Department of Homeland Security.
• Emergency preparedness.
• Fire and rescue domestic preparedness training.