As defined by GAO, Risk Management is a systematic process to consider the likelihood that a threat will endanger an asset, individual, or function, and to identify actions to reduce the risk and mitigate the consequences of an attack. (Decker 2002, pg.1) At the end of that definition are two words that define what we face when it comes to terrorism. Some will argue that an attack on the homeland is inevitable and yet others will argue that such an attack is preventable. What is undeniable is that the risk of an attack cannot be completely eliminated. Even the best prevention efforts and methods will only reduce risk and mitigate consequences. As difficult as it for terrorist groups to carry out plans and ultimately attacks on their …show more content…
Most private sector corporations use a risk management process aimed at preventing a drop in demands for their product, hence the loss of money. Our government uses an approach aimed at preventing disasters both man-made and natural. Initially, the sole purpose of homeland security was to prevent terrorist attacks. Terrorist groups have evolved over time and so has DHS to meet the challenges of today that include disasters such as hurricane Katrina. However, terrorist groups do continue to plot against us and therefore the prevention of terrorism remains atop the priority list.
The DHS risk management approach is based on the assessment of threats, vulnerability, and criticality or importance. Not one aspect is more important than the others and all must be assessed with an equal balance. When assessing threats, the capability, lethality, and intention are taken into account. Intelligence agencies such as the CIA and DIA assess foreign threats while the FBI assesses domestic threats. With ever-evolving threats, it is nearly impossible to accurately capture every threat and there is no way to know if they are. Therefore it is critical that other assessments such as vulnerability are taken into account in order for this risk management approach to work. Vulnerability assessments identify weaknesses in areas that may be exploited by terrorist groups such as physical structures and personnel protection systems. How far parking lots are from important buildings and the
After the terrorist attack September 11, 2001, the United States government increased their investments in security. Many innocent lives were lost because of that incident, which worried the United States of America about self-defense or Homeland Security. Homeland Security was signed to become a law by the President George W. Bush in November 2002. Their main priority was to secure the country from the threats such as international terrorism. The Department of Homeland security had to focus on five goals such as prevent terrorism, enhance security, secure the borders, enforce immigration laws, safeguard, and cyberspace. In order to achieve these goals a lot of work was needed.
As we move into a new era were a more robust and urgent homeland security program is needed, it is important to talk about how officials are managing all of the risk. There are a multitude of threats; from terrorism, where tactics are all the more unconventional an unpredictable, to climate change, with extreme weather conditions causing severe droughts or other catastrophic storms. The risk accepted by federal officials must be weighed and prioritized in a manner that is conducive to the longevity of the nation but also eliminates political or other personal agenda. To ensure a standardized approach the Department of Homeland Security adopted a risk management. The following will look at defining what risk management is as well as an example of how it is being incorporated within the homeland security enterprise and how doing so is of benefit.
The homeland security is a department responsible for developing various mechanisms aimed at ensuring that the country is safe. The main focus of homeland security is to shield or reduce the cases of terror attacks. The prevention and response to both manmade and natural disasters also fall under homeland security (McElreath, Jensen, and Wigginton, 10). The Department of Homeland Security, therefore, has a broad range of responsibilities. At its formation in 2003, the department was composed of twenty-two federal agencies with over 180,000 employees. Homeland security’s formation was necessitated by the September 11th attacks in United States. Today, the Department of Homeland Security
Later, the federal, state, and local government responses to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina expanded the concept of homeland security to include significant disasters, major public health emergencies, and other events that threaten the United States, its economy, the rule of law, and government operations (2). Homeland security is the combination of law enforcement, immigration, disaster relief, and terrorist activities within the United States’ borders. This would be based on the local agencies and civilian departments to safeguard the people from any threat within while being assisted by the government. In some aspects of terror attacks, there will be a combination of both homeland security and homeland defense. 9/11 is the perfect example as homeland security was responding to the local disasters and threats while the homeland defense, military, was deploying to get to the root of the threats. This is essential to the way homeland security operates because this will stop the attack on the nation’s soil before it reaches the borders and local government agencies are required. The biggest issue with the homeland security aspect is that the
When one thinks of security, they tend to think of being protected, free from harm or danger. There are various security threats that the world faces today. Threats could range from a series of cyber threats to terrorist attacks. We are incessantly encountered with catastrophic man-made and natural diseases. The Department of Homeland Security measures the nation 's vulnerabilities, meaning it takes initiative in leading and evaluating vulnerabilities and coordinating with other federal, state, local, and private entities to safeguard the most effective response. The creation of the country’s 15th Cabinet Department marked the largest reorganization of government since the Truman administration.
Bellavita Christopher is the Director of Programs for the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Also, from 1998 to 2002, he was the planning coordinator for the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command. The author focuses on the fact that homeland security faces a variety of threats. Many factors such as the economy, weapons of mass destruction and a lack of moral compass pose potential challenges to homeland security (Bellavita, 2009). The terrorist attacks such as the one in Mumbai, the economic meltdown, the disaster on the borders remain potential malefactors to the U. S. homeland. And to no surprise, the threats are gradually transforming into a more complex tactics. Bellavita takes aim towards a realistic assessment
The Department of Homeland Security is liable for establishing the safety and defense of the U.S. from terrorism and natural disasters. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America by terrorists, Department of Homeland Security’s main concern has been on federal measures to prevent terrorism attacks and handle other crisis situations. When the Department of Homeland Security was created it had four goals: to diminish America’s vulnerability to terrorism by securing the borders, minimizing the damage and speed the recovery from attacks that happen to occur, to develop technologies devices to detect terrorism and to share all intelligence gathered from all federal agencies (Haulley, 2006). These four
Vulnerability assessments on terrorism were designed to establish any loopholes in a security system that are prone to harm or attack by a person who may have intentions to harm a particular location, an event or an individual. The main goal of terrorism vulnerability assessments is to establish the weaknesses of facilities across a variety of probable threats. Once such threats are assessed, physical and operational measures of improvement are put in place so as to make sure that such facilities are adequately protected. Such assessments can be administered to a vast range of facilities ranging from existing site management and new construction design over the life of service of such structures. This paper will delve into critical vulnerability assessment of three locations. The first location being Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden City, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and lastly Corriell Institute for Medical Research.
The ability of the Department of Homeland Security to effectively manage risk is vital to national security. Risk in general, is something that is permanent but because this is known, strategies can be used to mitigate situations as they present themselves. Government managers must manage risk in a complex environment taking into consideration the diverse missions and multiple objectives of public agencies (Hardy, 2014). The role of risk management within the homeland security enterprise was managed by best and worst case scenario planning. This is something that is inevitable as we are faced within a definite variety of threats. One way to grade or rank threats is through worst-case analysis. As this analysis can be used for worst-case scenarios the federal government cannot leave out lower ranking situations (Roberts, 2007). Since the Department of Homeland Security is charged with managing risk within the enterprise, a basic equation is used to help figure out different variables and how they would be affected.
When the attacks happened on September 11th, 2001, our nation has an obsession with having there own security measures, and taking steps to be prepared just in case of another tragic incident. Through this has caused leaders of our country to create a system that will allow civilians in our nation safety. Which is called Homeland Security. However Homeland Security was made to serve many purposes. And they include: overall increased reddyness , preferably for state of emergengy situations ,Have better transportation security personell to help transport cargo and people more efficiently and securely , Highten interior enforcement and patrol security to recreate the immigration processes, Change the way information is shared with partners, Improve
Homeland security is not constrained and controlled to terrorist incidents. Terrorism is one of many threats that put in danger the entire society. Homeland security includes both natural disasters and man-made events. Therefore, the domain and area of homeland security must accommodate an
Throughout many readings we have seen the Department of Homeland Security has many different aspects and also has multiple ways of assessing different risk that come out in your everyday lives. Many people in their lives will never look at these risk because you don’t normally see these risk; it is something you notice if you have a keen eye or else a high level of attention to detail. The basic equation for risk is defined as R = ƒ(C*V*T) where R is the level of risk, C is the consequences (public health, our economy, government action, public confidence in our institutions) of an attack, V is an assessment of the vulnerability of a potential target (how hard or easy it would be for it to be hit by terrorists) and T is the threat or the likelihood
After the 9/11 attacks, the growing threat of terrorism has required the United States to return to the drawing board on homeland security and rethink its relationship with homeland defense. Although seemingly similar, each entity serves its own mission, its own responsibilities, duties, and operations in the protection of the United States, its assets, and territories. Homeland security is a joint national effort to prevent terrorism and provide protection and support in response to threats and national disasters in the United States. It seeks to reduce American vulnerability and increase recovery and resiliency of the nation and its people should a terrorist attack occur. Homeland defense is the protection of the United States and its territories against threats, both, foreign and domestic and includes providing support to civil authorities during national disasters. Furthermore, we will examine the role homeland security and homeland defense plays in the protection of our critical infrastructure and identify areas of vulnerability as well as discuss currents efforts being made to ensure its security.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States, a series of risk management evaluations were created by the US Federal Government to assess the future risks the homeland was going to face. When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was officially created in 2002, more effective risk management assessments were re-designed to evaluate the past and present dangers, prevent them and respond successfully to more terrorist attacks. Since 2001 until 2007, a development of risk assessment has been divided in phases to be able to reach a better formula that would analyze the risk within the homeland security and provide the appropriate fund to homeland security enterprise.
Risk is defined as a potential for an unwanted outcome resulting from an incident, event, or occurrence, as determined by its likelihood and the associated consequences (Baranoff et al, 2011). In order for risk to be considered insurable, it must meet two conditions provided by the insurance industry. One is that the risk must identify and quantify or estimate the chances of an event occurring with the likelihood of losses incurred. Secondly, the insurance industry must be able to set premiums for each potential customer or class of customers (Groner, (n.d)). If these two conditions are met, then the risk is considered to insurable. To assess if terrorism is insurable within the context of these two conditions we will begin by analyzing the first condition. It