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Lone actors as a challenge for P/CVE

This new paper provides an overview of past research on so-called ‘lone actors’ and discusses more recent lone-actor profiling and their psychology, as well as the challenge of identifying them.

date:  13/09/2021

The increase in lone-actor terrorist attacks in Europe is concerning: lone actors’ relative isolation compared to group actors, as well as the near-spontaneous character of their attacks, have made it harder for law enforcement to detect and disrupt their plans.

The latest Europol terrorist threat assessment highlights that in 2020 all completed jihadist attacks in the EU were committed by individuals acting alone, while most foiled plots by jihadists involved multiple suspects.

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