Treatment Approaches for Terrorists and Extremists

Amid concerns related to ISIS terrorists returning to Europe from Iraq and Syria (see European Police Office, 2016), the resurgence of violent right-wing extremism in the US (e.g., Eichenwald, 2016; Dionne, Pita, and Stelzenmüller, 2016), and ongoing debate surrounding the sending of prisoners to the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay (Welna, 2017), questions related to the treatment of captured political extremists and violent terrorists have come to the fore. What are the best methods for identifying those who pose a violent risk to civilians? How can we best capture individuals who engage in terrorist-related activity? Where should these individuals be imprisoned once they are captured? In addition to these (and other) questions, perhaps one of the most pressing relates to the maintenance of safety for civilians and the weakening of terrorist ideologies within prison walls. Namely, how should we treat imprisoned terrorists such that they do not re-engage in violent activity if they are released?