eprintid: 1521126 rev_number: 33 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/01/52/11/26 datestamp: 2016-10-18 13:46:44 lastmod: 2021-10-29 22:35:20 status_changed: 2017-05-05 14:36:36 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Gill, P title: Lone-Actor Terrorist Target Choice ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C05 divisions: F52 note: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gill, P; (2016) Lone-Actor Terrorist Target Choice. Behavioral Sciences & the Law , 34(5) pp.693-705, which has been published in final form at https:doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2268. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. abstract: Lone-actor terrorist attacks have risen to the forefront of the public’s consciousness in the past few years. Some of these attacks were conducted against public officials. The rise of hard-to-detect, low-tech attacks may lead to more public officials being targeted. This paper explores whether different behavioral traits are apparent within a sample of lone-actor terrorists who plotted against high-value targets (including public officials) than within a sample of lone-actors that plotted against members of the public. Utilizing a unique dataset of 111 lone-actor terrorists, we test a series of hypotheses related to attack capability and operational security. The results indicate that very little differentiates those who attack high-value targets from those who attack members of the public. We conclude with a series of illustrations to theorise why this may be the case. date: 2016-11-20 date_type: published official_url: http://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2268 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Article verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1183299 doi: 10.1002/bsl.2268 lyricists_name: Corner, Emily lyricists_name: Gill, Paul lyricists_id: CORNE10 lyricists_id: PGILL80 actors_name: Gill, Paul actors_id: PGILL80 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Behavioral Sciences & the Law volume: 34 number: 5 pagerange: 693-705 citation: Gill, P; (2016) Lone-Actor Terrorist Target Choice. Behavioral Sciences & the Law , 34 (5) pp. 693-705. 10.1002/bsl.2268 <https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2268>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1521126/3/Gill_MS%2310PPP_Lone%20Star%20with%20corrections.pdf