TERRORISMWhy Public Views of Terrorism Don’t Match the Evidence, and What the Government Needs to Do to Keep People Safe
It is essential to address the misalignments between public understanding of terrorism and the current evidence. The public needs clear, easy to remember, and updated information about current threats. Without this, people will struggle to recognize current threats and attune their instincts on how to react to them correctly.
The mass shooting during Hanukkah in Bondi Beach is a horrific reminder that contemporary terrorism can affect the places where we meet others, shop, celebrate and conduct our daily lives. However, our research suggests that what the UK public fears and assumes about terrorism threats is quite different from reality.
In 2022, we asked 5,000 people in the UK about their experiences and perceptions of terror threat and counter-terrorism measures.
Respondents told us the first word that came to mind when they heard the word terrorism. Most prominent in their responses are references to bombs and bombings. This isn’t surprising, given the global prominence of such terrorist tactics for some time. However, evidence shows that nearly “80% of UK domestic terrorist attacks since 2018 have been carried out with bladed or blunt force weapons”.
In recent years, a global shift in terror tactics has made explosive attacks less common. Less sophisticated means of attacks – such as arson and the use of bladed weapons and firearms – have become more appealing financially and logistically, especially among lone actors.
In western Europe, terrorism is increasingly perpetrated via “low-tech attacks against public spaces carried out with everyday items”. This includes attacks using vehicles as weapons, which has led to a recent increase in hostile vehicle protective infrastructure in cities.
The UK public isn’t neurotically expecting explosions and deadly attacks, however. Only 8% of our respondents saw terrorism as the most important problem facing the UK, ranked behind poverty, health, the environment, and unemployment / job security. It is also seen as more significant than racism / discrimination, delinquency, and road safety.
It is important that the public knows what the nature of that problem is, especially considering the National Terrorism Threat Level has remained either severe or substantial for the past several years meaning an attack is likely.
Diverse Perceptions
We also asked respondents how they felt about the threat of terrorism compared with a few years previously. Similar numbers felt more concerned about terrorism threats than in previous years (39.83%), as those feeling less concerned (35.65%). However, when breaking data down by religious belonging, a more complex picture emerged.
We saw diametrically opposed feelings of concern among Christians and Jewish respondents on the one hand, and Muslims and Sikhs on the other. In 2022, 49.6% of Jewish respondents declared themselves more concerned about terrorism threats than a few years earlier. Importantly, this preceded the Manchester Synagogue attack in November 2025 and the Bondi Beach attack.
