Entry
Reader's guide
Entries A-Z
Subject index
Homeland Security
Homeland security as a domestic defense strategy became a national priority after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in northern Virginia, and United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. The attacks, conducted by the terrorist group, al Qaeda, resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths, including 343 firefighters and 60 police officers who responded to the attacks. Those attacks led to changes in how government bodies in the United States respond to terrorist threats.
The attacks and the new emphasis on homeland security resulted in changes in government at all levels, particularly the federal government. It created new thinking in the Department of Defense. Rather than focusing primarily on traditional warfare involving wars with nation-states, the U.S. military began using unconventional warfare tactics and engaging in military operations designed to combat terrorist groups and terrorist threats. In 2002, as mandated in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107–296), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created by reorganizing many departments and agencies in the federal government. Agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Secret Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration, and the National Domestic Preparedness Office became part of the newly organized Department of Homeland Security, creating the third largest department in the federal government.
This entry begins by defining homeland security and then details government efforts involving homeland security since 9/11. Last, this entry explains how the strategies involved in community policing fit into a homeland security strategy.
Homeland Security Defined
Homeland security refers to efforts to protect a nation against terrorism and other hazards that may threaten it. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified five core mission areas of the nation’s homeland security strategy: (1) preventing terrorism and enhancing security, (2) securing and managing the nation’s border, (3) enforcing and administering the nation’s immigration laws, (4) safeguarding and securing cyberspace, and (5) ensuring resilience to disasters. As can be seen from the DHS’s missions, homeland security not only applies to terrorist attacks but also encompasses natural disasters (e.g., fires, earthquakes, tornados, and hurricanes) and man-made disasters (e.g., chemical fires or transportation accidents involving hazardous materials).
When terrorist attacks, natural disasters, or other events involving homeland security occur in a local community, the initial response comes from local public safety and disaster response personnel, including police officers, firefighters, medical personnel, and other disaster agency officials. If the situation requires greater resources than the local authorities can provide, state agencies may become involved. States have disaster relief and response agencies, and personnel from these agencies often assist local first responders in the event of a disaster. Finally, if the state does not have adequate resources to respond effectively, the federal government is available to assist. The primary federal agency is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but other agencies may be called in depending on the nature and severity of the event. This layered response places considerable responsibility on local authorities, especially the police, who very likely are first on the scene. Because of this tiered response strategy, local law enforcement has to develop critical homeland security capabilities, including substantially increasing the number and types of skills that police officers possess.
...
- Changing Agency Culture
- Agency Mission and Values, Changes in
- Community Policing, Discretionary Authority Under
- Community Policing: Resources, Time, and Finances in Support of
- Customer-Based Policing
- Decentralizing the Organization/Organizational Change
- Implementation of Community Policing
- Involving Local Businesses
- Learning Organization
- Measuring Officer Performance
- Officers’ Job Satisfaction
- Publicity Campaigns
- Recruiting for Quality and Diversity
- Roles, Chief Executives’
- Roles, First-Line Supervisors’
- Roles, Middle Managers’
- Roles, Officers’
- Strategic Planning
- Crime Analysis: Technologies and Techniques
- Evaluation and Assessment
- Foundations: Evolution of Community Policing and Problem Solving
- Broken Windows Theory
- Building Partnerships and Stakeholders
- Citizen Patrols
- Collaboration With Outside Agencies
- Community Cohesion and Empowerment
- Community Justice
- Community Policing and Problem Solving, Definition of
- Community Policing, Evolution of
- Community Policing: What It Is Not
- Community Prosecution
- Community, Definition of
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
- Directed Patrol, Studies of
- Evidence-Based Policing
- Fear of Crime
- Flint, Michigan, Experiment
- Foot Patrols
- Generations (Three) of Community Policing
- Intelligence-Led Policing
- International Community Policing
- Investigations, Community Policing Strategies for
- Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment
- Metropolitan Police Act of 1829
- Place-Based Policing
- Police Mission
- Police-Community Relations
- Policing, Three Eras of
- Predictive Policing
- Problem-Oriented Policing, Goldstein’s Development of
- Problem-Oriented Policing: Elements, Processes, Implications
- Problem-Solving Courts
- Problem-Solving Process (SARA)
- Problem, Definition of
- Restorative Justice
- Situational Crime Prevention
- Social Capital
- Team Policing
- Volunteers, Police Use of
- Wickersham Commission
- Future Considerations
- Public Safety Issues
- Supporting Legislation and National Organizations
- Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
- Community Oriented Policing Services, Office of
- Community Policing Consortium
- Executive Sessions on Policing
- Homeland Security
- National Center for Community Policing
- National Crime Prevention Council
- Neighborhood Associations
- Operation Weed and Seed
- Police Foundation
- Regional Community Policing Institutes
- Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
- Training and Curriculum
- “What Works”—Selected Strategies and Initiatives
- Colleges and Universities, Community Policing Strategies for
- Domestic Violence, Community Policing Strategies for
- Drug Crimes, Community Policing Strategies for
- Elderly Victimization, Community Policing Strategies for
- Gang Crimes, Community Policing Strategies for
- Immigrant Populations, Community Policing Strategies for
- Immigration: Issues, Law, and Police Training
- Public Housing, Community Policing Strategies for
- Repeat Victimization, Community Policing Strategies for
- Rural Areas, Community Policing in
- School Violence and Safety, Community Policing Strategies for
- State Police/Patrol, Community Policing Strategies for
- Traffic Problems, Community Policing Strategies for
- Youthful Offenders, Community Policing Strategies for
- Loading...
Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL
-
Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life -
Read modern, diverse business cases
-
Explore hundreds of books and reference titles
Read next
More like this
Sage Recommends
We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.
Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches