Homeland Security and Community Preparedness - Term Paper Example

Homeland Security Terrorism is an act of crime that has been used ever since there has been recorded history. Such acts are done as a reaction to oppression and are used to create fear among the common people. The terrorists show no regard for the lives of civilians and generally attacks targets that stand for what they are fighting against. This paper focuses on the importance of homeland security and preparedness of the local communities against potential terrorist attacks. Homeland Security Issue of homeland security was a matter of concern long before the September 11 attacks. Terrorist attacks of both national and international status threatened to disrupt America’s interests and facilities. Such attacks were going on for decades both within and outside the borders of the country, but these events could only harvest fleeting interest. Any programs regarding counterterrorism did not fetch much help from the government. Only the massive and destructive nature of the September 11 attacks in 2001 managed to awaken the US federal government to make terrorism a major issue in public, political and media agendas. Immediately after the September 11 attacks on America’s World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia, America has taken a strong approach towards security of their country against any future terrorist attacks. The National Commission on Terrorist Attack was created to make all necessary reforms in the government’s focus on anti-terrorism. After the attacks the federal government began to analyse what steps should be taken to avoid any such future disasters. It was accepted that long-term investigation and congressional review was required to make any substantial changes in the security of the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created with the most senior members of the executive branch of the federal government. The most important responsibility of the department is to protect the country from terrorist attacks and any other man made disasters. The Congress went on to pass new laws covering all angles of national security. The US Patriot Act was passed which enhanced the rights of law enforcement agencies in relation to civil liberties. This was done purely to curb terrorism. After the tragedy of September 11, homeland security was recognised as a way to improve and stabilize the social and economic aspects of the country against any attacks, mainly terrorism. The first homeland security presidential directive (HSPD) was issued by President George Bush on October 29, 2001 to “record and communicate presidential decisions about the homeland security policies of the United States”. Texas representative Richard K. Army introduced for the first time in the US House of representatives the legislation for creating DHS. The law was passed on November 25, 2002 by President Bush. (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2009, pp.1,3) Homeland Security Presidential Directives Several HSPDs were issued by the Presidents on the subjects of terrorism and potential attacks. HSPD-1 was about co-ordination of any activities regarding homeland security between the executive departments and anti-terrorism agencies. HSPD-2 talks about handling terrorism by immigration policies wherein any suspected alien will not be allowed to end the boundary of America and any such aliens within the boundary of America will be deported. HSPD-3 establishes a wholesome and efficient means of scrutiny of any information regarding risks of terrorist attacks on “Federal, State, local authorities and the American people.” HSPD-4 establishes means to combat dangerously destructive weapons. This can be done by applying newer technologies, keeping amicable relationships with former enemy countries, fortifying alliance relationships and concentrating more on garnering and analyzing of intelligence reports. HSPD-5 establishes means to manage internal terrorism which means any threatening activities that take place within the boundary of the nation. This can be achieved by creating a “single and comprehensive national incident management system.” HSPD-6 uses Screening Information to establish Terrorist Threat Integration Center. HSPD-7 creates a policy on national level to recognise and emphasise on infrastructural facilities and other important resources to protect the federal government and common people from potential terrorist risks. Similarly, all the other HSPDs deal with activities and strategies of various departments and various anti-terrorism agencies to protect every department of the country like agriculture, maritime interests and aviation. Programs are also made for detecting nuclear weapons and to protect the nation’s biodefence. Initiatives are taken for security of the national cyber world. HSPD-21 forms strategies on national level to enable medical agencies and public health to deal efficiently and promptly during disasters. HSPD-25 creates policy of the United States to implement actions in the Arctic region. (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2009, pp.3-5) Federal Emergency Management Agency Establishment of DHS has made it possible for the United States to identify and prevent any signs of potential terrorist attacks similar to the September 11 events. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has joined hands with the DHS as it had the responsibility to manage consequences of “natural and technological disasters” on the nation’s community. FEMA also played an important part in recovering from terrorist attacks that happened prior to September 11 like World Trade Center bombing 1993. Before the September 11 attacks happened, FEMA was engaged only in alleviating and preparing for natural disasters. With the creation of DHS, many important programs began to focus on dealing with terrorism. Most of the programs and funding of FEMA were created to support terrorism. Governments, who were more active regarding managing and preventing disasters caused by hurricanes and flooding, now began to give top priority to terrorist attacks. (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2009, p.5) Concepts and Goals of DHS DHS has based its functions regarding homeland security on three major concepts – 1) Security of the common people and protecting their interests and normal life, 2) Resilience which means growing adaptability and capability among individuals and communities to recover from disasters, and 3) Customs and exchange which means enforcing trade and immigration that are lawful. DHS has set up five major goals to make the concepts successful. The first goal is to prevent terrorist attacks by preventing acquisition of harmful materials like chemical and nuclear materials and also to increase security by proper infrastructure and leadership. The second goal is to provide security to the air, land and sea borders of America, ensure safe trade and travel and to prevent Transnational Criminal Organisations. The third goal is to ensure an effective Immigration System to prevent unlawful immigration. The fourth goal is to promote knowledge through a safe and secure cyber environment. The fifth goal is to curb disasters and ensure preparedness, emergency response and fast recovery. (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2009, pp.8,10) Criticisms On August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast, the nation faced disastrous affects which resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and the damages were worth billions of dollars. This brought forward significant defects and inefficiency in the nation’s “emergency management network”. It became apparent that too much attention given towards creation and planning of anti-terrorism strategies and policies resulted in lackluster approach towards response capacity for natural disasters. FEMA and DHS became targets of criticisms both by the public and the Congress in the post Hurricane period. A law then was passed in October, 2006 by the Congress that introduced several new positions of management within the DHS and many new functions were also introduced in FEMA. This was done for proper functioning of several entities within DHS. (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2009, p.5) Citizen Corps In January, 2011, President Bush introduced the Citizen Corps to strength the “spirit of service” among the citizens after the September 11 tragedy. All governments of America on local and national basis has encouraged and provided opportunity to the common people to participate in the homeland security policies and to coordinate with emergency responders. For this purpose, citizens are trained and prepared accordingly. Citizen Corps was formed to encourage coordination among volunteer groups to enable communities to prepare themselves and respond to emergency. It also gives opportunities to the common people to protect their homes, families and communities from any impending disasters. The principal mission of Citizen Corps is to effectively train, educate and prepare citizens to respond to disasters and potential threats of terrorism. This will ensure safer and stronger communities (History of Citizen Corps, n.d.) AmeriCorps “AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency whose mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. (What is AmeriCorps? n.d.)” It provides opportunities to the citizens to make their own life and the life of others better and safer. It provides scopes for citizens to utilize their skills and talents to help others and to meet the emergency requirements of the community. It encourages adults of varying ages and backgrounds to cooperate with the non-profit organisations of local and national levels in order to safeguard the environment. Being a member of AmeriCorps, a person can give guidance to the disadvantaged youth, can participate in literacy campaigns and improve health services. The member can also keep parks clean, whether it is a computer teacher and can build affordable homes. It helps in instilling sense of service among members. The three major programs of AmeriCorps are AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps VISTA, and AmeriCorps NCCC (What is AmeriCorps? n.d.). American Red Cross The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton and her acquaintances in Washington D.C. on May 21, 1881. It is an independent organisation of humanitarian nature and the members are volunteers. It is financed by voluntary contribution by citizens. It is America’s most important “emergency response organisation”. The main purpose of American Red Cross is to prevent and alleviate pain and suffering. The American Red Cross supports organisations that help the needy. It also helps members of the military and their families. It collects and distributes lifesaving blood. It supports programs that promote health education. It also provides service to “international relief and development programs”. The American Red Cross motivates people of a community to help one another in times of emergency. It also encourages people to donate blood making it the biggest donor of blood in America (American Red Cross, n.d.). Community Preparedness Following the devastation of September 11 attacks, the government has emphasised collaboration with the general public in matters of policies and strategies regarding terrorism. The Americans have been encouraged to get themselves educated, trained on “how to respond to potential threats and hazards.” Community Preparedness Division of FEMA conducts survey in every house to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of common people on how to act in response to any potential disaster. The government together with civic leaders from every sector strengthens community preparedness by providing nongovernmental resources to plans and strategies of the government. The government encourages people for personal preparedness and to become members of voluntary programs. (FEMA, June, 2009). The Community Preparedness and Participation strives to educate the citizens and train them in “four preparedness mission areas”. Training is the most important element in this mission. More than the general public, training is more important for “first-response” personnel and their family members. In case of emergency situation, they must report to the organisations and take up their assignments. Situation may also arise where professional volunteers may fail to do their duties because of fear or desire to care for their families. (Landahl & Cox, September, 2009). In many cases, community members engage in emergency planning in the background and not visible to the public eye. They do not need to perform any activities regarding the planning. However, the common people can see the effects of their planning. The training of such members takes place away from public eye. Their response during emergency often meets with criticism among the public. Emergency planning as part of community preparedness cannot be achieved with a single meeting of representatives. It is a continuous process. Numerous projects take care of various aspects of preparedness though many public and private meetings. Plans are executed according to potential emergencies. (Schafer, Carroll, Haynes & Abrams, 2008) Conclusion Terrorist attacks have become rampant worldwide. Precautions and responsiveness to disasters must be important elements in all political and media agendas. Educating the common people on potential threats is a very important step taken by DHS. Combined efforts of the government and the citizens can make the community a safer place to live in. References 1. Bullock, Jane A., Haddow, George D. and Damon P. Coppola. (2009). Introduction to Homeland Security: Principles of All-Hazards Risk Management, USA: Elsevier 2. History of Citizen Corps (n.d.), citizencorps, retrieved on 6th February, 2012 from: http://citizencorps.gov/about/ 3. What is AmeriCorps? (n.d.), americorps, retrieved on 6th February, 2012 from: http://www.americorps.gov/about/ac/index.asp 4. American Red Cross (n.d.), redcross, retrieved on 6th February, 2012 from: http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.d8aaecf214c576bf971e4cfe43181aa0/?vgnextoid=477859f392ce8110VgnVCM10000030f3870aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default 5. FEMA (June, 2009) Personal Preparedness in America: Findings from the Citizen Corps National Survey, pp.1,3, retrieved on 6th February, 2012 from: http://www.citizencorps.gov/downloads/pdf/ready/2009_Citizen_Corps_National_Survey_Findings.pdf 6. Landahl, Mark and Cynthia Cox (September, 2009). Beyond the Plan: Individual Responder and Family Preparedness in the Resilient Organisation. Homeland Security Affairs, V(3), p.4, retrieved on 6th February, 2012 from: http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=5.3.4 7. Schafer, Wendy A., Carroll, John M., Haynes, Steven R. and Stephen Abrams (2008). Emergency Management Planning as Collaborative Community Work. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 5(1), p.4, retrieved on 6th February, 2012 from: http://jcarroll.ist.psu.edu/files/emergmangntascommunitywork-jhsem08.pdf Read More