Problems Encountered in Investigating and Prosecuting Conspiracies to Commit Terrorist Offences
Terror conspiracies are among the most problematic criminal offences to prosecute because of the difficulty of distinguishing between the mere expression of subversive thoughts and substantive plans to execute an outrage. The afore mentioned dilemma has critical consequences for law enforcement agencies carrying out surveillance of conspiratorial meetings whether by way of SIGINT or HUMINT2 . To find the correct balance between a longer period of surveillance or a relatively short one is a refined technique. The task becomes more reliable when the intelligence base has infiltrated and become integrated in the suspect's community. On the prosecution process when two or more potential terrorists agree upon a plan for an act of terror, the legal elements of the offence of conspiracy may be made out even if the commission of the complete criminal enterprise is beyond their capability. In these circumstances the task of sentencing such individuals is often a conjectural exercise...