September 11, 2001, was one of the most devastating and horrific events in United States history. Americans' sense of security had been shattered. More than 3,000 people and more than 400 police officers and firefighters were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon; in New York and Washington, D.C. Today, the term terrorism is known as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof. here, in the pursuit of political or social objectives (Birzer, Roberson). This term was clearly not defined for the United States because we had partial knowledge and experience with terrorist attacks; until September 11, 2001. At that time, President George W. Bush declared in a televised address from the Oval Office: "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our greatest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundations of America. These actions break steel, but they cannot shake American resolve. President Bush stood by this statement because the United States was poised to strike back and change the face of the criminal justice system for terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, the criminal justice system has improved its methods to protect our nation from terrorist attacks. These improved methods can be summarized into four types of categories and actions. The first key action taken by the Justice Department was to protect America through criminal investigation and prosecution. The following changes were legal and were made to strengthen counterterrorism efforts and facilitate investigations and prosecutions. Then there are structural changes to agency operations to strengthen counterterrorism efforts....... middle of paper ...... previous law. The latest law is FISA of 2008, The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows intelligence professionals to monitor terrorist communications, while protecting Americans' civil liberties, more quickly and effectively. (USDOJ) These legal changes not only made the investigation and prosecution of terrorists more effective, but also helped change the structure of agency operations to strengthen counterterrorism efforts. Works Cited Birzer, Michael L. and Cliff Roberson. Police operations in the field: theory meets practice. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2008. Print. “USDOJ: Fact Sheet: The Department of Justice Ten Years After 9/11.” » USDOJ: Fact Sheet: The Department of Justice Ten Years After 9/11. Np, September 11, 2011. Web. April 12. 2014. .