Introduction On April 16th 2007 in Blacksburg, VA at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Seung-Hui Cho a senior at the university shot a total of 49 people, killing 32 of them, then proceeded to turn the gun on himself in one of the most disastrous school murder-suicides of all time. One of the most casualty producing school shootings of all time. The damage was the lives of the taken students and the psychological health of those at the university. Within this shooting there were two incidents. The first he had killed two people in a dormitory room, in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a residence housing about 900 students.…
Every state has its own plan and communication is an essential part of all emergency management. Establishing a reliable communication that can function no matter how drastic the incident the communications and information systems must achieve interoperability. The communication systems are required to be updated and maintained, but equipment standards and training are not being meet, which is effecting the reliable, portable and scalable of the communication system. 9/11 has proven of vital communication can be and if all equipment is not readily available it can add to the dilemma. Having a reliable communication system that is universally used during an incident ensures that all working under NIMS is always connected.…
Summary: FEMA should remain as an agency incorporated within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since 1979, FEMA has gone through many changes from being an executive level agency to being incorporated into another agency. FEMA’s missions have changed over the years based on political influences instead of the mission outlined in Executive Orders. According to the FEMA Website, FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation, we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards (FEMA.gov).…
Although police respond to emergencies far less frequently than to routine incidents,32 emergency response is a vital aspect of what police agencies do. Emergency responses, often referred to as critical incidents, are used for crimes in progress, traffic accidents with serious injuries, natural disasters, incidents of terrorism, officer requests for assistance, and other situations in which human life may be in jeopardy. Emergency responses take priority over all other police work, and until an emergency situation is secured and some order restored, the officers involved will not turn to other tasks. An important part of police training involves emergency response techniques, including first aid, hostage rescue, and the physical capture of…
In a federal system like America where there three levels of government, the major problem is coordination of government agencies which manifests largely during crisis like Katrina or the Boston Marathon bombing. These two crises differed in terms of response rate, coordination of concerned government agencies and Katrina was used as a lesson for future crises. The United States creates more government agencies to respond to the demand of a growing population. However, the government experiences the mammoth task of coordinating these agencies on a daily basis, let alone during the crisis periods like Katrina and Boston Marathon bombing.…
In the reflections of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the unsteady response associated with dealing with the historic disaster that his New Orleans gives way to thorough discussion the levels of responsibilities and role of the federal, state, and local authorities in times of disaster and emergency response to such disasters like Katrina. Under the systems or practice where more power is pushed to the federal government to spearhead and to always play the lead role is not a good idea and Katrina exposed the truth in that. In as much as federalism exist, Homeland security and the disaster management organization should operate or response to national disasters and not just act on federal missions. Before, Hurricane Katrina made a land…
The Emergency Support Function (ESF) is part of the National Response Framework (NRF) totaling in sixteen different Emergency Support Functions “acting as a guide to how the Nation responds to all types of disasters and emergencies; it is built on scalable, flexible, and adaptable concepts identified in the National Incident Management System to align key roles and responsibilities across the Nation” (Homeland Security, 2013, p. 3). “ESF #2 – Communications supports the restoration of communications infrastructure, facilitates the recovery of systems and applications from cyber attack, and coordinates Federal communications support to response efforts during incidents requiring a coordinated Federal response” (FEMA, 2008, p. 1). Simply put, this Emergency Support Function handles all aspects of Communication before, during, and after emergencies. The National Response Framework was officially adopted from the National Response Plan in March of 2008 but has been around since 1934.…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a department of the federal government tasked with protecting America and its territory from terrorism, securing the borders, securing cyberspace, administering immigration laws, and ensuring disaster resilience (“Our Mission”, 2015). With the assistance of twenty-two other agencies and departments, the DHS has successfully accomplished its mission for fifteen years. The National Strategy for Homeland Security is the starting point for all homeland security related policies and procedures (“National Strategy”, n.d.). This single document sets the guidelines for other regulations such the Quadrennial Review and DHS Budget.…
The National Response Framework (NSF) gives specific guidance on how a nation responds to emergencies and national disasters. The framework is developed on flexible, adjustable and accessible concepts as laid down by the system of National Incident Management to align the major responsibilities and roles across the authorities of our nation (Durant, 2007), (2013). The framework has 14 core capabilities that clearly outlines the best practices as well as the respective authorities for incident management that range from local to large scale national problems such as terror attacks or catastrophic natural disasters (2013). The responsibilities, roles, and structures in the foundation of the framework can be fully or partially executed depending…
To ensure our safety under the national security, we had to have partnership trust within our state, federal and local agencies. This made sharing information effective, that’s why we focus on the post 9-11 threat environment. To support preparedness efforts, there’re many of governmental, commercial, and non-governmental organizations that provide officials with homeland security alerts and updates along with state level government have fusion centers that integrate and analyze homeland security information. “The 9/11 terrorist attacks focused public attention on the need for better information sharing among intelligence, law enforcement, and emergency management agencies” (example 2016). The 9/11 Commission was a direct result in the agencies providing incentives for sharing, to restore a better balance between shared task, knowledge and security.…
The Department of Homeland Security is one of 15 department in the U.S. Cabinet. Homeland Security is in charge of ensuring the safety of Americans from threats of all kinds. This includes the prevention of terrorist attacks, the protection against natural and man-made disasters, the watching of borders, and the protection against cyberspace. To prevent future terrorist attacks the department informs the government about potental targets based on collected information from files. Homeland security is also the first to send aid to victims of disasters.…
During George W. Bush’s presidency, administrators believe terrorism was the major security threat. This is because on September 11, 2001, the United States suffered from several coordinated terrorist attacks. Thus, Bush’s administration made homeland security a top priority at the expense of emergency management. One of the major products from the prioritization of terrorism was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Department of Homeland Security was created to house 22 different agencies in a central department (Smith).…
Additionally, the Response and Recovery go hand in hand. However, the Response portion of the Comprehensive Emergency Management Model refers to any activities that help to stop the spread of a disaster or emergency that is currently taking place (United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015). To better explain, Response is enacted at the same time the incident is taking place (Ryan, 309). There are three goals associated with an emergency response, the first is to protect the public, the second is to limit the danger, and the third is to minimize any secondary spreading of the toxins released (Ryan, 309). Whereas, the Recovery features in the Comprehensive Emergency Management Model is both a short and long-term restoration of the capabilities…
Just a few days after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in New York City and in Washington D.C., Pennsylvania State Governor Tom Ridge was appointed to be the first director of the Office of Homeland Security. This office overlooked and regulated a nationally seen strategy to keep our country safe against domestic and international terrorism attacks. The Department of Homeland Security was put in place to ensure that we are safe no matter time of the day or the year. President George W. Bush signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002 on November 25, 2002.…
Homeland Security and Critical Infrastructure The events of September 11, 2001, highlighted significant gaps in the country’s emergency preparedness and more specifically, its ability to identify threats and protect against terrorist attacks. The resulting analyses of the incident and the response efforts stressed the need for an overarching program that would coordinate the efforts of a multitude of government agencies with competing goals and requirements. A program that would improve the transfer of critical intelligence and maximize response efforts.…