In the aftermath of the bombing of an arena in Manchester in northwest Britain on Monday night, David Dunn and Scott Lucas of the University of Birmingham offer complementary but contrasting views to BBC outlets about the threat of terrorism and how to deal with it:

Listen to David Dunn on BBC West Midlands

[Raising the threat level to “critical”] is about reassurance. It’s about deterrence. But also it’s about having the capacity to respond across the UK, if necessary.

The target was carefully chosen. The planning was meticulous. That’s why it wasn’t just one individual.

Listen to Scott Lucas on BBC Coventry

Let’s be careful here. This could be a precautionary measure. We don’t know that a strike is imminent but, given the circumstances — that this was more than one individual, that this was carefully planned — then you raise the level….

No act of terror should ever disrupt the sense of community. You should never allow dialogue to be torn apart by those who are not just trying to take life but are trying to take away our respect for each other. If we succeed to the hatred and the anger that motivated this attack, then this attack has been successful.

TOP PHOTO: Floral tributes in St Ann’s Square, Manchester, Britain, May 24, 2017 (Darren Staples/Reuters)