Reacting to the last of four distinct terrorist campaigns in Northern Ireland, the British Parliament in 1973 passed the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act, which was amended in 1974. The Act marks the first time in United Kingdom statute law that terrorism is defined as the use of violence for political ends, including any use of violence for the purpose of putting the public in fear. The goal of security policy in Northern Ireland is to develop police effectiveness to the point where a military involvement in the maintenance of law and order is no longer required. Fundamental to this policy is the belief that terrorists are criminals under the law; they are prosecuted for criminal offenses and not for their political beliefs. Terroristic acts in Great Britain, usually connected with Northern Irish affairs, led to the introduction of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary provisions) Act, which provides for two important powers: 1) the power given to the Home Secretary to exclude a person from Great Britain or from the United Kingdom as a whole, and 2) the power to detain a person for up to a maximum of 7 days without bringing him before a court. Because some loss of civil liberties is imposed by these acts, periodic review of the legislation is necessary to prevent continuing encroachment upon basic freedoms. The United Kingdom has also ratified the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, which is designed to prevent terrorists from escaping justice through taking refuge outside the country in which they committed their offense.