The Criminology of Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Criminology of Terrorism - Essay Example A soft target, according to terrorist conscious thinking, is an unarmed person or places, whose activities are predictable and thus easy to control and influence (Edwards, 2015). On the contrary, a hard target is a fully armed person or a heavily guarded place, and thus unpredictable because it is prepared to face any challenge brought along by intruders. Terrorist seems to have abandoned such hard targets, which include military bases, and governmental premises because they seem not to convey their intentions and makes it easy for their enemies to study and master their weapon technology and predict their moves. With soft targets, anyone and everyone is a victim. After a series of bombings and killings in megastructures, military bases, governmental buildings, and other highly rated places, people took refuge in hotels, shopping malls, and other social events. Little did they know that it could soon be an easy target? A good example is the Al-Shaabab, which attacked the Westgate Shopping Mall in Kenya last year and a local University this year, killing more than 200 people (Cruickshank, 2013). The latest issue of an Al Qaeda magazine in the Arabian Peninsula advocates the use of soft targets, because they are easy to attack, cause lot damage, and leave without being noticed (Goldstein, 2007). In their suggestion, they urged Jihadists to randomly shoot people in restaurants in Washington DC. Intensity o security by most governments on terrorist hard targets has forced them to change their strategies so that they can accomplish their mission amidst such difficulties. This has seen hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, social events; churches and mosques become easy targets because their acts happen swiftly. In return, they get the attention, while at the same time causing massive havoc in society.