Interview with Simon Perry

 

 

Q: In a few words, please tell us a bit about yourself

A: I served for thirty years as a practitioner in the world of Criminal Law Enforcement and Intelligence, working for the Israel Police in Israel, Europe and North America. I have served in a variety of positions, including: Commander of the Intelligence and Operational Division of the National Unit for Exposing Severe, International and Organized Crime and Terror; Commander of the National Drug Unit; and Head of Interpol.

 

Q: What brought you into the academic world and what is the core of your research?

A: During my service, I was intensely involved with the world of crime and criminals, and was struck by the fact that there seemed to be no qualitative difference between their motives and decision-making processes and those of the normative world. While I was the commander of the National Drug Unit, I began writing my PhD Dissertation, which attempted to explain criminal behavior by emphasizing the similarity between criminals and non-criminals, while focusing on situational factors, opportunities, alternatives, and deterrents. The dissertation provided me with an opportunity to test rational choice theory in the context of a real sample of offenders. My research findings showed that criminals involved in the heroin market who meet the classic criminal stereotype are actually similar to the overall population, both in their process of decision making and in their basic motivations. Similarly, I found that the heroin market behaved similarly to any market for legitimate types of merchandise.

 

Q: Why did you choose this specific subject? Did your professional or personal background lead you in this direction? Did you ask yourself those questions while you were serving in the police?

A:During my years in practice, I was intrigued by the gap between the world of practitioners and that of criminology scholars. It seemed to me that, for the most part, enforcement and treatment programs have not been founded on evidence-based empirical examination of the characteristics of the criminal world or markets. In the past, criminology scholars neglected hardcore policing issues such as performance, effectiveness, and strategies. They did not focus enough on research that might provide practitioners with applicable and relevant findings and evidence in a language that could be easily be understood and converted into practical law enforcement tools.

When I joined the Hebrew University, I attempted together with my colleagues at Criminology Institute to bridge this gap by assisting the Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency to base their strategies on evidence-based research.

 

 Q: Dealing with terror is a complex issue. Do you think that this “cyber age” makes the dealing with that even more complex? In what ways? 

A: In light of increasing terror threats around the world, and the extreme lack of evidence-based models for the new role of policing terrorism, little was known regarding existing and desirable anti-terrorism strategies and tactics. Together with my colleagues, I am attempting to answer the key question: “Is there an effective policing terror model, and what does it include?” I am seeking to determine whether terrorism is similar to regular crime, in that they are both primarily result from making rational situational choices based on an evaluation of costs and anticipated benefits.

A: Having explained the problem, what is your solution? What is the right model? Is it applicable?

 

Q:In my studies, together with colleagues at the Institute of Criminology, we attempt systematically to describe, measure, evaluate, and assess the effectiveness of different police responses to terrorism (Feucht, T. E., Weisburd, D., Perry, S., Mock, L. F., & Hakimi, I. 2009; Perry, S. 2014; Perry, S., & Hasisi, B. 2015; Perry, S., & Jonathan-Zamir, T., 2015; Perry, S., Weisburd, D., & Hasisi, B. 2016; Weisburd, D., Jonathan T., & Perry S., 2009)

As the principal researcher, in collaboration with Clarke, Newman and Apel, we have examined the situational prevention of terrorism. We found that, as with regular crime, the use of physical barriers as a situational prevention strategy is effective in preventing terrorist attacks; most terror attacks do not displace. This particular study is probably the first to examine the “Crime Displacement Theory” within the complex context of terrorism in an attempt to determine whether the use of physical barriers successfully reduces the occurrence of terrorist events, and whether and to what extent terrorist events have displaced to other locations. This research examines the claim that terrorists are more determined than other criminals and will therefore find ways to displace and overcome situational obstacles. In order to isolate the contribution of the barrier and other counter-terrorism tactics, this study took advantage of the fact that the barrier between Israel and the Palestinian Territories began operating in different segments gradually over a period of several years. We also found that the barrier had a greater effect on lethal attacks (which apparently require more suitable situational opportunities) than non-lethal terrorist attacks. The study found that there was a greater than expected benefit in the significant reduction of attacks and deaths on the Palestinian side of the fence, too – a phenomenon known as the ”benefits of diffusion effect” (Perry, S., Apel, R., Newman, G., and Clarke, R., 2016).

In a study I conducted together with Prof. Hasisi, we gathered information about run-over attacks from closed and open sources. We found that there is no unique profile of the attacker, but we did formulate a profile of the attack (Perry, S., Hasisi, B., & Perry, G., 2017). In an ongoing study, Prof. Hasisi and I are examining the entire population of approximately 300 stabbing events that occurred in Israel between 2000 and 2016.

In another ongoing study, I am mapping the entire population of attacks in Jerusalem between 2000 and 2016 (over 250 attacks, including explosives, shooting, stabbings, attacks with a deadly weapon, and run-over attacks) in an attempt to identify terror “hot spots.”

As part of the EU PROTON grant, together with Prof. Weisburd, Prof. Hasisi & Mr. Wolfowicz, we are studying new social media activities and traffic as predictors of terrorism support, involvement, and occurrence. This project is examining the recruitment of individuals to terrorist activity through the internet. The internet poses a new challenge in dealing with terrorism. It constitutes an extremely effective method for promoting rationalization and functions as a “significant other” for individuals involved in the process of radical socialization as part of the “criminal involvement” process – the decision to become a terrorist. At the same time, the internet offers technical support and training for individuals who will carry out specific terrorist attacks (“criminal events.”) In our current study, we are attempting to identify these processes and to identify effective intervention models that can defuse these radicalization processes.

 

Q: What is the next phase in your personal/professional life?

A: I am now in my second career and I am attempting to advance my research and publications in the above-mentioned areas.

At this juncture in my career, I am making a conscious effort to continue to bridge the gap between the worlds of practitioners and scholars in two different ways. Firstly, through my work at the Institute of Criminology, I am involved in educating practitioners in the field of criminology. Secondly, through my connections with practitioners I am engaging in and promoting research intended to benefit the world of the practitioner. 

I hope to continue to develop projects, particularly in the area of policing terrorism, as well as more generally in the field of crime prevention. I also plan to continue to promote the integration of evidence-based policy into police practice in Israel, both through research and through my teaching work at the Hebrew University.