Violence committed with firearms devastates communities around the globe on a daily basis. Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; and Gilroy, California, were recent victims of firearm crimes, with dozens of people killed during those attacks, which are only a snapshot of the global tragedies that have occurred due to random shootings, suicides, retaliatory assaults, and targeted mass killings.

Lawmakers, advocates, victims, and public safety agencies have called attention to the issue of gun violence in recent years, including dialogue about how civilians should react if they find themselves in a situation with an active shooter. However, much less attention has been focused on nontraditional types of attacks, such as knife attacks and vehicle attacks.

In fact, many places across the world have experienced considerable increases in knife attacks and vehicle attacks. Some terrorist organizations are even encouraging their followers to carry out these types of attacks rather than using firearms or explosive devices. For instance, the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have each noted the ease of knife attacks due to the relatively simplicity of obtaining and wielding knives. Vehicle attacks are also encouraged because of the potential to quickly inflict great harm. Terrorists have even advised would-be attackers on the most effective way to maim or kill individuals with knives and what model of vehicle is best for targeting congested streets or crowded festivals.

European nations have experienced a serious uptick in terrorist attacks in the last decade, many of which feature knives as the weapon of choice. The United Kingdom has experienced a record amount of knife crime in recent years, and the national threat level has remained “severe” since 2017, indicating a high possibility of terrorist attacks. Additionally, France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and other countries have also experienced knife attacks.

Social media and the Internet provide extremists with an unprecedented ability to spread hate and to influence and recruit followers on a global scale.

Extremist and terrorist organizations are able to utilize the Internet and social media to encourage followers to adopt these nontraditional approaches to violence. Social media and the Internet provide extremists with an unprecedented ability to spread hate and to influence and recruit followers on a global scale.

With the ever-changing landscape and evolving methods for attacks, it is important that law enforcement, civilians, elected leaders, lawmakers, and the entire criminal justice system continue to work together to safeguard our communities on a global scale. This involves training and constantly examining our response methods and tactics for attacks and strategies for intelligence gathering.

On behalf of the IACP, I am currently participating in the Leadership in Counter Terrorism (LinCT) Programme. The LinCT Programme is a joint senior executive leadership program between the Five Eyes (FVEY) countries and includes the Australian Federal Police, Australian Institute of Police Management, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Scottish Police College, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The goal of this program is to develop a cadre of strategic counterterrorism leaders who will make a significant contribution to more effective global counterterrorism strategies and operations.

At the IACP Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, in October, we will have several sessions of relevance to this topic that I encourage you to attend while you are there. Of note, we will be joined by Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price from the New Zealand Police who will provide a policing perspective from a response grounded in a community that cares. He will provide a journey the covers a decade, including the Canterbury Earthquakes in 2010–2011, the Port Hills Fires, and the 2019 terror attacks on two mosques in Christchurch. Superintendent Price will cover these natural and human-made disasters; the lessons learned; insights into the response, recovery, resilience, and cohesion of a community; and the efforts to prevent future tragedy.

I encourage you all as leaders, not only in your agencies but also within your communities, to continue to train, to share knowledge and lessons learned from attacks, and to keep your community members up to date with the latest methods and training on what to do during an attack.

Stay safe.🛡