According to these authors, satanism is a tiny fringe movement that should not be consuming scarce police resources. There is little or no evidence that occult crime is linked to many other contemporary dangers identified by the claim-makers. The evidence presented for a Satanic crime wave in the U.S. is unconvincing and based on improbable charges levied by questionable witnesses. The current concern over the occult has all the signs of a classic moral panic, where a peripheral issue suddenly assumes the proportions of a major social menace. In this case, the panic reflects the moral and political agenda of extremists representing the fundamentalist religious right, who are calling for the formation of "ritual crime task forces" comprised of local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies as well as extensive training for police officers. 79 notes