This paper consists of two parts. The first part lists and discusses the most critical issues affecting law enforcement and homeland security in America today and profiles five peer-reviewed journal articles on the subject. The second is a policy briefing for the future administration on these vital law enforcement issues of concern.
M8D1: HSE and Criminal Justice: Critical Issues
Communication and education are critical issues in the field of homeland security. That is why we have identified inter-agency cooperation as one of our key issues of concern: namely, the need for different law enforcement agencies to share intelligence with one another. Related to communication are issues pertaining to education, including the education of communities and first responders about how best to respond to security issues and how to share information in digital formats. Another issue also related to education is the need to strike a balance between the civil liberties of suspects and the security of the community.
Coordination between civil and military agencies
Sylves, R.T. (2009). Civil-military relations in emergency management. Public Manager, 38(3),
75-79.
According to this article, there has been increased coordination between civilian and military law enforcement agencies in recent years. "Few appreciate how dramatic the latest penetration of military and national security matters has been in American emergency and public management. There are both positives and negatives associated with ramping up militarization and national security presence in emergency management (Sylves 2009). This article discusses the pros and cons of increased integration of civilian and military operations.
Education of first responders
Hart, S., & Ramsay, J.D. (2011). A guide for homeland security instructors preparing physical critical infrastructure protection courses. Homeland Security Affairs, 7(1)
"Over 350 academic programs in the United States currently offer instruction in the field of homeland defense and security. In spite of this growth at the program level over the past ten years, there still exists a shortage of instructors and coursework in critical infrastructure protection (CIP)" (Hart & Ramsay 2011). The article discusses the optimal way to train first responders in the field of homeland security.
Incorporating civilians into homeland and community defense
Longstaff, P.H., Armstrong, N.J., Perrin, K., Parker, W.M., & Hidek, M.A. (2010). Building
resilient communities: A preliminary framework for assessment. Homeland Security Affairs, 6(3)
This article provides suggestions for creating more resilient and watchful communities that can spot and respond to security threats. Plans for bolstering civilian defenses on an "ecological, economic, physical infrastructure, civil society, and governance" level are discussed (Longstaff et al. 2010).
Digitalization of information in the field of criminal justice education
Tunnell, Harry D. (2013). Homeland security information representation: A case for standardization. Journal of Homeland Security Education, 2, 36-43
According to this article, "homeland security is such a new discipline, however, that it does not have a large body of organized, domain-specific, public digital material. Consequently, educators and students will have to rely on resources from other specialties until the homeland security discipline matures enough to develop adequate discipline-specific, publically available digital sources" (Tunnell 2013). The need for easily-shared digital information within the field is critical to improve both training and law enforcement efforts.
Civil liberties and homeland security
Demmer, V.L. (2002). Civil liberties and homeland security. The Humanist, 62(1), 7-9.
This article criticizes the various initiatives of the Bush Administration for being insufficiently sensitive to individual liberties in the name of national security
M8D2: Future Strategies: HSE
To the next administration:
As you contemplate the future direction of your presidency, issues of homeland security inevitably come to mind. Perhaps the critical issue regarding homeland security is the question of appropriate training of security personnel in the future, spanning from local law enforcement agencies to the top intelligence agencies of the government. All law enforcement personnel must be able to respond to potential threats and engage in intelligence-gathering, regardless of what level of government they are operating at: there have been increased efforts to share information between agencies and engage in information-sharing via 'fusion centers' but the education must be refined so that agents are consistently able to identify and respond to threats.
Training in all-hazards responses or "grouping classification encompassing all conditions, environmental or manmade, that have the potential to cause injury, illness, or death; damage to or loss of equipment, infrastructure services, or property; or alternatively causing functional degradation to social, economic, or environmental aspects" is an effective and efficient way to ensure that all law enforcement and safety management agencies are capable of being responsive to a wide variety of potential threats to citizens' security in a comprehensive fashion, regardless of what threats may be posed in the future (Hart & Ramsey 2001)
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