Terror watch lists help track potential terrorists, but they are only as good as the validity of the indicators to get on the list, the intelligence on the suspects, the manpower to monitor the highest threats, and the aggressiveness of law enforcement to step in before the radicals act upon their desires. France’s terror watch list with its 15,000 individuals gives insight into the extent of how radical Islam is plaguing one of Europe’s largest countries. The UK’s Express provides some details about the list and some of its failures stating:

French authorities began tracking people on a database in March of 2015 following the Charlie Hebdo attacks and shootings at a kosher market in January of that year that killed 17 people.

However that did not prevent the subsequent co-ordinated attacks in Paris in November of last year which killed 130 or the horrifying slaughter of 86 people at the Bastille day celebrations in Nice in July.

There has been a total of 21 terror attacks across the country since December 2014 sparking widespread anger and a backlash against French president Francois Hollande.

Now special forces are said to believe that at least 4,000 of these individuals pose a significant threat to society and are being tracked on a daily basis by the Directorate of Internal Security.

Could one imagine the kind of time and effort needed to track over 4,000 people on a regular basis effectively? In addition, nearly 2,000 children are on the overall list – surprisingly, most are girls. The UK’s Express also reports:

Authorities say the majority of the people being watched live on the outskirts of the country’s cities in urban areas.

They are largely delinquents, with drug and alcohol addictions who experience problems with their own families.

Authorities also say that the majority of the young people being tracked have a low attainment level.

The majority of the people being watched are men aged between 18 and 25 and are said to be “psychologically confused.”

Even though factors like amount of drug and alcohol use, family background, educational level, and mental condition can all influence one’s radicalization; however, any successful strategy needs to focus on the Sharia ideology that motivates these jihadis as well as uncovering the networks that pump these radical values into their minds (radical mosques, certain communities, family members, digital influences, etc.). Another possible weakness is the lack of intelligence sharing (names of radicals on list) between French intelligence and local authorities with Bernard Cazeneuve, French interior minister, referencing the alleged “unconstitutional” nature of such an exchange.

While France’s efforts to prevent another Bataclan, Nice or Hebdo are noble – they need to use their resources more effectively and efficiently. Combatting Islamic terrorism takes necessary measures.