Syracuse University students may not be aware of it, but SU has a global effect on one of today’s most hot button issues – terrorism.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, associated with SU, recently released a report on the enforcement of criminal terrorism in the U.S. after Sept. 11, 2001.

The report contains plenty of data and statistics regarding the amount of terrorism cases handled by the U.S. Justice Department. The data relates to how the amount of prosecution of terrorism cases is declining.

Out of the 6,472 individuals classified as terrorists by the U.S. government, only 625 have served a prison sentence of more than one day, according to the study. The median prison sentence is 28 days, doubled from 2003’s median of 14 days, said Susan Long, co-director of TRAC.

‘What this report is looking at is what the government is actually doing in the area … of criminal enforcement against terrorism,’ Long said. Many of the research results were surprising to the team while they were conducting their study.

The study also indicates that government prosecutors filed charges on only 18 percent of cases referred to them by the FBI. Less than one in 10 defendants in an FBI-referred case during the five-year period of the study resulted in a conviction.

There are many opportunities for students to get involved in at SU in the fight against terrorism.

One such organization is the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism at SU. INSCT is involved with interdisciplinary teaching, research and public service focused on problems of domestic and foreign issues of security and terrorism.

The program also offers distinct certification for graduate students and law students.

‘We allow grad students at Maxwell and the law school to demonstrate to the world that they’ve concentrated their studies in security,’ said Keli Perrin, the assistant director of INSCT.

At INSCT, students can receive a Certificate of Advanced Study in Security Studies or a Certificate in National Security and Counterterrorism Law if they are interested in pursuing a career that involves national security against terrorism.

Additionally, SU also offers the Student Association on Terrorism and Security Analysis. John Fritz, a second year College of Law student and the organization’s president, said there are things his organization can do in terms of public diplomacy.

The TRAC report has already gained plenty of momentum in the media. The study was the basis of a Sept. 4 article in The Washington Post, Long said. Similarly, the Duluth News Tribune published an article that used the TRAC study in its research.

‘On one hand you want the government to have powers to protect us, but on the other hand, sometimes there are a lot of people that get caught up … that did nothing,’ Long said. ‘Everybody is interested in the war against terror, and so you want our government to be doing a great job, right?’

TRAC is a joint center of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications which employs plenty of graduate students, Long said. These students work as essential components in research teams that aid with data analysis, graphics and a Web site.

To view the TRAC report online, go to http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/terrorism/169. Additionally, visit the INSCT Web site at http://insct.syr.edu to understand the way terrorism is being handled by the Justice Department as well as affiliated campus programs.

Published on September 6, 2006 at 12:00 pm