Homeland Security Department Plays Very Significant Role in Ensuring Security of the US - Research Paper Example

National Defense/Homeland Security Introduction Homeland security is a vital constituent of the American security apparatus and it is in this regard that it is accorded the attention it attracts. Many players come in handy to make the Department of Homeland Security function to the letter and spirit of the American constitution and the government that implements it. In the latter part of this paper, we are going to highlight some of the key agencies that contribute a great deal to the functioning of the Homeland security department and moreso, gaze in depth into their missions, responsibilities and values. C.I.A. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is a federal intelligence agency heavily involved in homeland security since its establishment in the year 1947. The agency is involved in providing security intelligence on a national scale to USA’s senior policy makers and implementers. The agency’s director is nominated by the President on the consent and advice of the state senate. The appointed director oversees the agency’s budget, personnel and operations. At present, the number of people working in CIA cannot be disclosed publicly neither is its budget. The agency’s budget and number of employees are known and scrutinized only by the Budget management office and the Senate Intelligence committee. The agency has a number of responsibilities in the homeland security setup: Its most basic mission is to gather, analyse, conduct evaluation, and disseminate intelligence deemed foreign with the aim of assisting the country’s President and high-level policy-makers in the government in formulating strategic decisions that are related to the overall security of the country (Gurr et al, 2009). This complex process integrates a number of steps. Identification of a national security problem, collection of information, assessing present and perceived future situations based on the collected information, are definitely some of these steps (Douglas and Olshaker, 1999). The agency analysts only report the collected information and are not in any way mandated to make any policy recommendations (Sauter & Carafano, 2005). Making policy recommendations is left to other related agencies such as the Defense Department and the State department. The CIA is also not involved in law enforcement that is done by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) (Douglas and Olshaker, 1999). The agency can also be engaged in actions deemed covert based on the President’s orders in line with the applicable law(s). CIA’s role in Homeland security is widely important. Its association with Homeland Security is generally based on the agency’s four components/departments that work together in the processes of collecting information, analyzing the collected information, and disseminating it to senior officials in government (Douglas and Olshaker, 1999). These departments under the CIA are the National Clandestine Service, the Intelligence Directorate, the Science and Technology Directorate, and the Support Directorate. The agency has mainly focused on collecting intelligence information on the terrorism threat aiming protecting USA and its citizens from terror related crimes. In the public domain, CIA has been seen as a tactical security division where its members get involved in field security operations that have need of urgent suppression (Gurr et al, 2009). Sources that analyze operations of the agency also claim that CIA gathers information about individuals, corporations and most importantly, foreign governments. It is also said that the agency imposes political influences using its tactical divisions/departments that include the elite division on Special Activities. New Jersey State Police The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is a Law-of-the-state Enforcement Agency (State Police Agency) that is mandated to operate within the state of New Jersey. The NJSP has a number of responsibilities that it conducts in its area of jurisdiction. For a start, the agency is mandated to provide General Policing Services and these are functions that are correlated to state law enforcement, crime prevention, pursuit and effective apprehension of offenders and the empirical gathering of evidence in conviction processes of suspected offenders/criminals. In addition, the agency is mandated to protect state property and officials including providing adequate security to national and foreign dignitaries if they happen to be in the state. The agency is also involved in Management of emergencies. This is the agency’s responsibility within the state, to prepare adequately for, enforce response measures to and pull up in recovery from disastrous incidents that may occur and overwhelm municipality and county capabilities in implementing effective response mechanisms. In this line, the NJSP is mandated with the responsibility of coordinating and supporting emergency services, adding up to mitigating immediate damages that arise from emergency incidents. The agency is also involved in investigations and intelligence services within the New Jersey state. These are unique functions/responsibilities that are vital in the identification and prosecution of activities deemed criminal, which are sometimes complex and pervasive such that local police institutions are not capable of pursuing and concluding them effectively (Douglas and Olshaker, 1999). NJSP is also mandated to enforce General traffic and highway regulations by patrolling all highways in the state, investigating accidents/incidents that occur in the state highways and also conducting rounds of inspection and programs of enforcement that are deemed essential to citizen’s safety in those state highways. The NJSP has the responsibility of maintaining criminal records and existing systems of identification in the quest to achieve reliable and comprehensive resource for all judicial, non-criminal and criminal functions and responsibilities that are required by law to be accurate in the identification processes. The agency is also involved in regulating certain kinds of commerce in which the agency oversees individuals and business practices that the legislature has seen to have significant effects on the welfare and safety of the New Jersey population and which exert their presence in the state due to their nature of existence and operations. The NJSP also supports enforcement of laws by the state/local authorities/agencies. This is made achievable through the provision of technical and scientific services and expertise in the conduction of state investigations. In isolated cases where such services are deemed to be beyond the capabilities of the county/local authorities and the authorities have requested them, the NJSP may put forward these services in line with the limits of the agency’s resources. Local: Municipal or County Police The Sussex County sheriff’s Office (SCSO) is mandated to police the county of Sussex. Number of SCSO members is not public but is of necessity within the county. The agency is involved in criminal investigations and enforcement of traffic rules/laws. It is also mandated to provide security to the county and circuit courts as well as serving court processes. A Sheriff is in charge of the SCSO and is mandated with overseeing the overall service delivery processes and strategies that are used in civil processes, security in jails and courts, law enforcement and prevention of crime. The Corrections Bureau under the SCSO is mandated with the responsibility of caring, custody and controlling of inmates incarcerated at Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility. The facility has in excess of 100 staff members out of which 85 are sworn members and 18 provide food, medical and administrative services. The Law enforcement Bureau represents the arm of enforcement of the SCSO and its staff has the responsibility of doing sheriff’s statutory responsibilities as spelt by the state constitutional framework. There are a number of units that make up the Law enforcement Bureau and they include the Canine unit, the unit of civil processes, the communications center, the unit on courts and transport, unit on internal affairs, the unit on tactical response, the traffic unit, the search and rescuing unit and the warrant unit which has a 5-detective team. The warrant team has the responsibility of investigating crime and overseeing warrant executions. Study cases There are a number of cases where the above named agencies have collaborated in the quest to suppress crime and ensure security for every citizen and property n America. One of the examples is dated back in the year 2001 (November 1st) where Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, both working in the Fox media channel, were reportedly hit by letters that were laden with anthrax. This was connected to the bio-terror strategy adopted by the Al-Qaida terror network, responsible for the 9/11 American terror attack. The same anthrax letters had been mailed to Senator Tom Daschle, and Tom Brokaw, a news anchor. In this regard, the New Jersey State Police collaborated with the CIA and other agencies like the FBI in investigating the terror-related matter. It was established that the letters were originating from one person and had been mailed even before the 9/11 terror attacks. The letters had been addressed in similar styles of block letters and was handwritten.However; investigations established that the letters contained no traces of the deadly anthrax bio-terror chemical. Case number two revolves around authorities probing the February 2001 anthrax-poisoning incidents that were occurring in private laboratories and universities situated in New Jersey. The security agencies sought to establish clues that would factify the theory that stated a group of persons or a single person with established connections in the country or region and not the prospect of foreign terrorists, may be accountable for the terror letters. CIA and NJSP did contact the facilities to question about missing employees and equipment. The employees who were fired from the facilities or left their work under debatable circumstances were also sought to help in the investigations. The results of the investigations showed that the groups/individual involved in the sending of anthrax related mails was indeed from within the region (Gurr et al, 2009). Senior security agents had also developed a theory that instigated terrorists who were home-based but the investigations were operating on caution that there were fast-moving events/developments that would catalyze the investigations anytime. Initial analysis of the said mails/letters by CIA, FBI and NJSP suggested a similar profile and outlook to the one of Unabomber Kaczynski Ted, the anti-technology mathematician whose letter bombs killed 3 people and injured 24 people in a span of 20 years or more. The investigations revealed that the debatable letters were written by an educated person of foreign descent, who had stayed in the USA for a long time gaining the ability to become good at speaking and writing in English. Core Values of the above named agencies: The CIA’s vision is to achieve one community and one agency, an agency that is unmatched in its capabilities with the support of a unified and functioning team and fully incorporated into the intelligence community. The agency’s mission is in line with the agency being the country’s first lineup of defense. The agency boosts of accomplishing what others have not yet accomplished. The agency has also gone to places where other domestic and foreign intelligence agencies have failed to reach. The agency carries out the mission through collecting information that is aimed at revealing intentions, plans and capabilities of the country’s adversaries. This will in turn provide the basis for decisive actions and strategies. The agency also strives to achieve its mission through production of timely analytical results that provide warning, insight and opportunities for the senior decision makers and the president who are mandated to protect and advance interests of the American country. The agency also works hard in carrying out its mission through conduction of covert actions at the orders and directions of the country’s president to deal with threats and achieve objectives of the country’s policies (Sauter and Carafano, 2005). The agency operates on a 3-coere value basis: service, Excellence and Integrity. On the service value, the agency members put and consider the country first and the agency setup before self. The agency also operates on the patriotism hallmark where it takes pride in responding to the needs of the country. The integrity value calls for the agency’s members to uphold the highest possible standards of ethics and conduct. The agency seeks to speak truthful facts for the betterment of service delivery. The excellence value calls for the agency and its members to hold itself to the highest of standards. The agency also embraces personal responsibility where it reflects on its overall performance and deducts lessons from the reflections (Sauter and Carafano, 2005). The NJSP has its mission statement that connotes its commitment to preserve, protect and safeguard the civil and constitutional rights, of all people through courteous and impartial law enforcement with professionalism and integrity. The agency seeks to ensure and maintain uttermost public safety and provide excellent service in collaboration with the communities. The agency’s mission is achievable through the incorporation and use of 3 core values; Honor, Duty and Fidelity. The value of honor entails acting always with utmost integrity, truthfulness and honesty. The agency ought to enforce laws without bias/prejudice. In addition, a police member serving in NJSP is required to hold him/her and fellow members with the highest standard of ethics. The duty value entails serving and protecting the public, crime prevention and apprehension of offenders/criminals. The NJSP seeks to deliver service of the highest quality to the public where duties are performed honorably with the acceptance of the mandate and responsibility to perform the spelt-out duties. The Fidelity value entails upholding faithfully NJSP traditions and striving to embody and embrace the principle foundation on which NJSP was founded.Furthermore, it seeks to maintain pride among members in NJSP and the organization as a whole (Sauter and Carafano, 2005). The Sussex County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) also has a mission that guides the entity in its daily operations. The mission of SCSO is to dedicate itself fully in protecting lives of citizens in the county plus their property, provision of fundamental support services to agencies involved in law enforcement along with upholding traditional sheriff’s duties and services. SCSO recognizes the capability to complete the mentioned mission successfully relies heavily on responsibility and mutual respect shared by the involved agencies, and the citizens that SCSO strives to serve. As an entity of professionals, SCSO is expected to enforce constitutional and civil laws in impartial and fair means, in recognition of the judicial and statutory limitations of policing authority and protecting constitutional freedoms and rights of citizens. Core Values in comparison with those of SLU SLU operates on certain core values based on its Christianity affiliations. It is on this basis that the university operates as the first Catholic university in Florida. The core values that guide the institution are Excellence, Respect, Personal development, Responsible Stewardship, Integrity and Community (the institution is involved in developing hospitable learning communities based on the catholic doctrine everywhere it serves, both in Florida and beyond. The community value fosters a belonging spirit, interdependence and unity based on respect and mutual trust in the quest to initiate responsible social environments that have capabilities to challenge everyone in learning, listening, changing and serving. The SLU core values match the security agencies’ core values through the similarity of striving to achieve excellence in service delivery and realizing objectives through empirical methodologies and strategies. Core values are essential in the agencies’ missions since they all guide the agencies’ involved in the quest to realizing the goal of a safe America. All these agencies play there roles in different capacities and levels in ensuring that traditional constitutional liberties and freedoms of the American citizens are not subject to violations. Core values of each of these agencies play a part in the overall operations of the numerous agencies working in the overall security apparatus in America and specifically, in crucial security issues encompassed in the Department of Homeland security (Sauter and Carafano, 2005). Conclusion As highlighted above, the agencies that fall in the different levels of jurisdiction of the Homeland security department play very significant roles in ensuring security of America is upheld to the uttermost, both in the inside and the outside. Missions pursued by these different agencies have also been seen as social-friendly, fueled by viable values and principles that are embraced by other social institutions like Saint Leo University. References Douglas, J. and Olshaker, M. (1996). Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit. New York: Pocket Books. Gurr, T., Hewitt, J, and Wilkenfeld. J. (2009). Peace and Conflict 2010. Colorado: Paradigm Publishers. Sauter M. and Carafano, J.J. (2005). Homeland Security: a complete guide to understanding, Preventing and surviving terrorism, The McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Series, McGraw-Hill. Read More