The following paper will set out to address two separate topics in relation to Homeland Security. The first is the capabilities and limitations of intelligence in supporting homeland security efforts. This will focus on a range of capabilities from the local to federal level and the contributions they make to the intelligence effort. Second will be a critique on their capabilities and how to identify and address the possible challenges they face in the future.
Capabilities and Limitations
When it comes to homeland security one thing is certain it takes the involvement and participation of all levels of law enforcement for it to be a successful undertaking. Law enforcement partnerships between federal, state, local, tribal and territorial agencies …show more content…
First let us start with their mission statement “With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.” Their vision is to “ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards (DHS, 2016c).” These both sound great so what is their primary focus? It comes down to three key concepts security, resilience, and customs and exchange. These concepts are the foundation that the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review process uses to define homeland security missions. These missions not only include the Department of Homeland Security, but also agencies from the state, local, tribal and territorial level. They all have the overall objective of preventing, protecting, responding and recovering from all different types of events. The core missions of Homeland Security falls into five different categories. They are preventing terrorism and enhancing security, secure and manage our borders, enforce and administer our immigration laws, safeguard and secure cyberspace and ensure resilience to disasters (DHS, …show more content…
Under prevention of terrorism and enhancing security they have set out to accomplish three things. They are to prevent terrorism, prevent all unauthorized movement of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials and reduce the vulnerability to critical infrastructure and other high value targets such as crucial leadership from attacks. The big question is, has any of this made us more secure as a nation? There is no doubt that the security posture of the nation has changed. All you have to do to see this is take a look around as you move through your daily life. You see increased security at airports, border crossing and even events that draw large crowds of people. There is no definitive answer as too rather or not all this security has made a difference. Even so called experts in field cannot agree on if the effect has had the intended outcome. Some would say it is working because we have not had another attack like 9/11. Others would say that the threat to the country has only grown due to the nations policies directed towards combating terrorism and the unwanted attention that it brings. Then you have others that state the threat has been overblown and that increased Federal spending on counterterrorism only takes away from fighting ordinary crime that effect Americans on a daily basis. So, which is true? Perhaps all of them to a certain
Capabilities and Limitations
When it comes to homeland security one thing is certain it takes the involvement and participation of all levels of law enforcement for it to be a successful undertaking. Law enforcement partnerships between federal, state, local, tribal and territorial agencies …show more content…
First let us start with their mission statement “With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.” Their vision is to “ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards (DHS, 2016c).” These both sound great so what is their primary focus? It comes down to three key concepts security, resilience, and customs and exchange. These concepts are the foundation that the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review process uses to define homeland security missions. These missions not only include the Department of Homeland Security, but also agencies from the state, local, tribal and territorial level. They all have the overall objective of preventing, protecting, responding and recovering from all different types of events. The core missions of Homeland Security falls into five different categories. They are preventing terrorism and enhancing security, secure and manage our borders, enforce and administer our immigration laws, safeguard and secure cyberspace and ensure resilience to disasters (DHS, …show more content…
Under prevention of terrorism and enhancing security they have set out to accomplish three things. They are to prevent terrorism, prevent all unauthorized movement of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials and reduce the vulnerability to critical infrastructure and other high value targets such as crucial leadership from attacks. The big question is, has any of this made us more secure as a nation? There is no doubt that the security posture of the nation has changed. All you have to do to see this is take a look around as you move through your daily life. You see increased security at airports, border crossing and even events that draw large crowds of people. There is no definitive answer as too rather or not all this security has made a difference. Even so called experts in field cannot agree on if the effect has had the intended outcome. Some would say it is working because we have not had another attack like 9/11. Others would say that the threat to the country has only grown due to the nations policies directed towards combating terrorism and the unwanted attention that it brings. Then you have others that state the threat has been overblown and that increased Federal spending on counterterrorism only takes away from fighting ordinary crime that effect Americans on a daily basis. So, which is true? Perhaps all of them to a certain