Preventing terrorism is more important than ever. Today’s terrorism with its tendency to be directed and committed against people living peacefully in their surroundings is no longer conceived as an inter-state conflict where one power resists interference with its state sovereignty by other powers but as an assault against the humanity and a heinous offense that cannot be justified in any way.

This study examines various measures needed to prevent the crime of terrorism. It conducts a detailed and thorough comparative study on legislations enacted in the United States arguably most exposed to such danger and those of France and Germany considered to be relatively safe. It is specifically focused on the approaches of the three advanced, liberal democracies, all of which afford the greatest civil liberties of their citizens, in investigating suspected terrorists within their territories.

To fill the gap of near absence of current and up-to-ate counter-terrorism practices and policies in existing literature and to suggest policies firmly and throughly grounded in realities, American practitioners, at the level of deputy assistant secretary and director, in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Acquisition and Research Projects Agency (DARPA), each of which is one of the most primary law enforcement and research agencies in the world were consulted at their headquarters. The study nonetheless left much to be desired, for it could contain only unclassified materials without security clearance.

In order for effective investigation in preventing terrorism, it is required for competent authorities (a) to enact a separate clause on investigative procedures for suspected terrorists in the Act on Anti-Terrorism (b) to establish a mechanism for analyzing indicators of terrorist attacks and strengthening international cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies and (c) to reasonably determine the danger and legal status of suspected terrorists based on objective facts. A caveat is to establish a strong measure to preclude any violation of privacy and infringement on human rights.

Protecting lives and properties of citizens and building safer and happier communities should be the sole state responsibility and objective, for no value or ideology can be more lofty and ideal than they are. Preventing terrorism that directly affects public lives and safety is indeed the highest-level goal toward which the best efforts of any nation should be directed.