Source: Financial Times<\/p>\n
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by Anne-Sylvaine Chassany<\/p>\n
Convicted terrorist plotted murders while under police surveillance<\/strong><\/p>\n The killing of a police officer and his wife by a convicted Islamist extremist near Paris has prompted calls for new ways to detect when suspected radicals are preparing imminent attacks.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe need to revisit completely our analytical approach,\u201d Jean-Charles Brisard, head of the Paris-based Centre for the Analysis of Terrorism said. \u201cPolice rely on objective criteria to determine whether a terrorist is preparing a terror attack, such as an attempt to get weapons. These criteria need to be redefined. We need to be able to read much weaker signals, like a sudden change in behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n The extreme beliefs of Larrossi Abballa<\/a>, the 25 year old Frenchman who stabbed the couple at their home in Magnanville on Monday night, were no mystery to police and intelligence services. In 2011, he was convicted for his involvement in a cell that funnelled militants to ungoverned parts of Pakistan. Investigators had found a list of local police stations at his home and messages showing an intention to hurt French \u201cinfidels.\u201d<\/p>\n Abballa\u2019s attempts to conceal his religious habits from his probation officer should have alerted investigators, Mr Brisard added. Abballa had also opened a Twitter account on June 8.<\/p>\n