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The events of 2015 highlight that New Jersey—and the United States—face a terrorist landscape more dangerous than any since the attacks of September 11, 2001. From the brutal and tragic attacks in San Bernardino and Paris, the year saw a dramatic rise in multi-operative, small-scale attacks on civilian soft targets—all with little to no warning—as well as the decentralization and diffusion of the global terrorism movement. This new dynamic makes it extremely difficult for law enforcement and homeland security professionals, at all levels of government, to detect and deter attacks like San Bernardino, Paris, Philadelphia, or Boston. Now more than ever, state and local coordination is critical to combating the evolving and diffuse terrorist threat we face. Homeland security has become hometown security. And NJOHSP is working diligently with our partners to stay abreast of terrorist capabilities.

This three-part series was adopted from a webinar our office hosted in January and is intended to expand on some of the major themes presented in NJOHSP's 2016 Terrorism Threat Assessment. Episode one discusses the increase in competition between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and al-Qa'ida that we expect to see in 2016. Episode two takes a hard look at domestic extremism throughout the United States, while episode three explores the concept of "Blended Extremism," or individuals that draw their inspiration from multiple radical ideologies and tailor these beliefs to ultimately form a unique worldview to advance their violent goals.