Operational framework for the DRNC Convention - Research Paper Example

Operational Framework for the DRNC Convention Abstract The threats that political party meetings entail requires the planning for a proper operational framework for emergency management. The emergency response framework should consider the potential sources of threat, particularly the risk of attack arising from the crowds of protestors who always flock such nationally critical meeting. Intelligence gathering should be done before and during the convention to identify any threat in order to implement appropriate security measures. The goal of the whole venture is to prevent any damage from happening and curtailing any adverse effects. The direct participants in ensuring security and emergence response, and the community hosting the event should be prepared for any emergency situation. No room should be left for either infringement of security or avoidable suffering due to any unforeseen emergency situation. In such regard, this paper entails the operational framework for the DRNC Convention. Introduction A convention of the Democratic and Republican National Committees requires the exercise of stringent security measures. The threat of terrorism has increased greatly in the post 9/11 era, prompting the need for proper planning of events that may be targeted. Indeed, the September 11 attacks made the George Bush administration adopt a security focused emergency management at the national level, while also encouraging the adoption of the same at state and local levels of emergency management (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2014). Anti-terrorism efforts to protect American citizens in their homeland or abroad are undertaken through a collaboration of the military, the intelligence community, law enforcement agencies, the diplomatic community, and emergency management. Presently, the threat to American leaders arises from within, where there are some disgruntled groups such as anarchists as well as foreign based groups like al Qaeda. Therefore, for the sake of securing the DRNC Convention and ensuring that any damage caused by threats is minimized, the collaboration of the event planners with all the stakeholders is required. Discussion The operational framework should be designed in a way to cater for all emergency situations that may happen within the precincts of the venue. Though the main event may without a hitch, there is a risk of problems arising among the protestors who are expected to picket nearby. The protestors are normally American citizens who are genuinely concerned about various issues, but the problem arises if their assembly is infiltrated by members of terrorist organizations. It is not hard to find an al Qaeda member disguised as a Greenpeace movement activist. Moreover, though majority of protestors may observe decorum, there could be a few elements out to cause trouble. Therefore, disguised security agents should be deployed among the protestors to detect any people who have intentions to cause harm. There is always a threat of violence that lurks whenever the political parties’ top organs meet. For instance, the 2008 Republican Convention was marred by chaos, with police being forced to fire tear gas, foam, and plastic bullet at rowdy protestors (Moynihan, 2012). Without quick and firm intervention from the police, the situation can easily degenerate and the agitated protestors could harm the delegates attending the convention. Personnel from the homeland security in charge of intelligence should be involved at every step of planning the event. Notably, intelligence is particularly importance in the emergence management operations. Remarkably, security personnel can only use the tactical prowess within their ranks to stop terrorist attacks if they gather reliable intelligence. The use of aerial drones to gather the intelligence therefore provides a big advantage. Drones are very effective compared to helicopters since they can stay on the air throughout the period the security agents need to monitor the crowds. Moreover, they can be used to discreetly zoom in on suspect characters. Helicopters can still be used in case of the unavailability of drones. Clearly, resistance of occurrence of an emergency situation should be the focus of the event planners. According to Kahan Allen & George, (2009), resistance entails interdiction and defeat of damage mechanisms used by human threats such that the damage potential of the threat is brought down to almost zero. For the RDNC convention, resistance measures to be used are active and passive. The active resistance measures include intelligence, security personnel and law enforcement, while passive measures include physical barriers such as stand-off distance, fences and walls. A combination of the active and passive damage resistance measures ensures the convention plenary is secured. In this case, the security personnel are to be deployed beforehand to detect whether the building hosting the convention is clear of any threats to safety. It is only after this is done that they can secure the venue. In any case, the active and passive resistance measures should be robust enough to keep any threat at bay. Creating a positive relationship between the protestors in the event and the law enforcement agencies in the venue should be done. If this is observed, the demonstrators can have their way and be heard and perhaps make a positive impression among citizens. For example, during the 2012 Republican Convention, where the police were friendly to protestors, anarchists marched without causing any violence which they are normally associated with, but they surprisingly picked up trash and offered food to the homeless in the vicinity (Moynihan, 2012). This kind of happening is encouraging and there is need to encourage similar behavior. The protestors who represent genuine concerns can indeed help the security agencies to deal with troublemakers. Taking on board all stakeholders in the locale of the event is very critical for the success of any event of emergence response. The strength of operations is based on sufficient coordination among the stakeholders. Some of the deliberate measures are setting up a unified command, mutual aid and outside support, and sharing experiences and exercising and training together. Unified command allows for incisive targeting of the threat; outside support makes it possible for all levels of government, volunteers, and private businesses to help; and shared experiences, training, and exercising among the public safety enforcers ensures smooth operations (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2014). This is important since there is a likelihood of more damage happening in the aftermath of a disaster than from the event itself. For instance, if injured people do not get first aid due to miscommunication between the rescuers, they can easily die due to blood loss. Conclusion In conclusion, the success of the DRNC convention lies in the proper operational framework of the emergency management. The planning should involve active and passive measures for prevention of damage. The most potent threat arises from radicals who hide within the crowds with intention of causing harm. Intelligence and physical presence of security personnel is crucial, not forgetting the need to bring local people on board. Proper management of the emergency operations during the convention surely provides the peace of mind required for the delegates to make meaningful deliberations. References Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2014). Introduction to Emergency Management. Waltham, MA: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Kahan, J. H., Allen, A. C. & George, J. K. (2009). An operational framework for resilience. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 6(1), 1- 48. Moynihan, C. (2012, August 31). For the police and protesters, a quieter convention. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/us/ politics/for-police-and-protesters-a-quieter-convention.html?_r=0 Read More