Target Hardening Essay

“The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the federal United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to secure the nation against terrorist attacks, to protect against and respond to threats and to ensure safe and secure borders” (Andrew, C., & Walter, F., 2013). “In addition to reducing the nation’s vulnerability to terrorism, the act was also created minimize the damage and facilitate recovery from any attacks that may occur” (Homeland Security, Department of, 2017). Many people want protection from dangerous situations, but what’s the cost of protection.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was formed more than a decade ago with a very significant mission of safeguarding America's homeland from hazards, threats, and national disasters. This department conducts its mission through securing the country's borders, preventing terror attacks, and responding to incidents or threats to its citizens (Miller, n.d.). Generally, the most important roles of the Department of Homeland Security are to lead a concerted national effort in securing the United States and preserving the American way of life. The department was established in 2002 in reaction to the 9/11 terror attacks and has since developed a nationwide strategic plan for evaluating and updating its mission statement and effectiveness of operations. These plans can be updated and transformed to accomplish the needs of the Department for Homeland Security and the American people.

Intelligence and Warning is Border and Transportation Security is responsible for protecting America's borders, territorial waters, and transportation systems by centralizing information-sharing and databases that track and monitor all aspects of border control and America's transportation systems. Domestic Counterterrorism covers a wide variety of activities, ranging from National Security Agency monitoring of telephone conversations to local police monitoring of persons of interest. Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets identifies a clear set of national goals and objectives and outlines the guiding principles that will underpin our efforts to secure the infrastructures and assets vital to our national security, governance, public health and safety, economy, and public confidence. Defending against Catastrophic Threats reduces vulnerability of the United States to terrorism. Emergency Preparedness and Response will create one emergency response plan to be used at all levels of government and will ensure that first-responders, from the federal government level down to local levels, receive proper training and equipment.

Why is gun violence such a major issue in american and in what way could we help to stop it. It is important to consider that 12,000 people lose their lives in the U.S. each year due to gun homicides. Another thing is there has been 286 mass shootings in 2017 alone. Some more things to be put to thought is the school shootings and better ways to prevent them. Another key thing to remember is gun control and how it can be fixed.

Over the last years gun control has become a very widely debated topic. The city, county and state lawmakers seem to be having different stands about the public having easy access to guns. Adam Small states, “After centuries of relative obscurity, the Second Amendment has become the center of an intense academic and legal battle during the last twenty years” (1213). The supporters of gun control and its opponents both claim to have the best interest of this country’s citizens .However, there are private citizens who believe that there should be laws to limit the number of people who own a gun. Even though the United States has enacted laws for regulating firearms, the recent shootings at Aurora movie theatre and Sandy

Security managers apply evaluation techniques to; identify threat assessments, evaluate vulnerabilities, and identify critical assets. Security managers can then mitigate the threat against their facility with countermeasures, to protect facilities, operations, and personnel. The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) monitors individuals, groups, and organizations that pose a threat to the U.S. homeland. To be considered a threat, the group must have the capability and intent to carry out an attack. If the IC determines a group or organization has the capability and intent to conduct an attack, they will issue a threat assessment to protect national interests. The security manager needs critical information concerning the date, time, place, and method of a planned attack. “Counterintelligence aids national security by

Changes that need to be in place to ensure effectiveness of these critical issues is met would be starting with collecting intelligence about possible and likely terrorist attacks. Intelligence collection is so important for combating terrorism. Sometimes a little bit of information can go a long way, to further make up a bigger picture. Possessing this type of information isn’t going to put an end to terrorism by any means but it will lead into action. It will be more effective when it’s shared with other law enforcement agencies all over the world. The more information that others know it is easier to work together to prevent an attack etc. Another change that needs to be made is to ensure that targets are protected. I know that ever since September 11th security was on a rise for a little while. Now that so many years have gone by the security has dwindled away. For example the security at airports. A few years after that terrorist attack the airports were so efficient with searches and making sure that everyone was safe and no one got past them with any weapons etc. Homeland security was on top of their game. Many years later, things are back to the way they use to be before that attack. I believe that they need to ensure the safety of places like this as much as they do court houses or government buildings. Law enforcement needs to take technology and use it to their advantage in this situation and

The concepts of Homeland Security and Homeland Defense, although have similar missions, tasks, responsibilities and operations, are very different. This paper will take a look at Following the both Homeland Security and Homeland Defense separately and well as how they work together to secure the United States

By understanding the steps to prepare for countering and responding to a terrorist, the well-being of US national security interests can be promoted and the exposure to risk and susceptibility to experiencing harm can be efficiently managed for communities, families and individuals in the event of a terrorist incident. The welfare of US national security, citizens and property can be effectively safeguarded through the understanding of protection strategies administered collectively by local communities, families and individuals. Local emergency operations planning, family disaster planning, as well as self-protection planning each represent important protective measures, which serve to educate the nation and its citizens how to

The security of the United States and living without being under a constant threat should be very important to all citizens and those who visit this country. The research revealed some interesting facts, it is impossible to secure every commercial building, airport, bridge, bypass, and government building. One element of the security is that terrorists will not have the ability to attack every place in the United States. However, everything is a possible target and terrorists want to do as damage as possible and cause the greatest amount of disruption in our way of life as possible.

The major goal in any antiterrorism plan is to prevent the attack from ever occurring. Federal agencies are the primary actors that deal with terrorism, but they rely heavily on local police to assist in their mission. Local police forces are those that are likely to encounter any

There has been much less consideration in the role of state and local government, which play a major role in preventing and responding to a terrorist attack. Community policing and other federal agencies can share many strategies such as transforming the agencies to take on new mission should be part of the homeland security strategy because fighting local crimes is the more effective approach in dealing fear and social disorder. When law enforcement are being trained toward a national role in homeland

Gun is violence is a very controversial political topic that has been discussed repeatedly over the last couple years. While there are many people that support loosening gun laws there are also just as many people who are 100% against the idea. David Burnett and Darby Dickerson happen to be 2 individuals who both have conflicting views on gun laws and what should and should not be allowed in the United States. In this particular case, the two differ specifically on how gun laws should be treated on college campuses. On one side, there is David Burnett, dean of Texas Tech University School of Law, who completely supports the idea of concealed carry on college campuses. On the other side David Burnett, the director of public relations for Students, who is completely against the idea. Both authors do a very good job at not only standing firm in their position but also providing the evidence to back up their position.

“At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.” This quote by Jodi Rell states the mission of the United States government after the tragic event on September 11, 2001. The nation’s security before nine-eleven was not stern enough to stop a deadly attack from another country. The impact that nine-eleven had on the federal government brought many changes, including the national security. National security is the concept that a government should protect the state and its citizens against national crises. The United States’ national security has become stronger since nine-eleven in areas such as airports, public schools and sporting events.

“We have learned as a Nation that we must maintain a constant, capable, and vigilant posture to protect ourselves against new threats and evolving hazards. But we have also learned that vigilance and protection are not ends in and of themselves, but rather necessary tools in the service of our national purpose.”(Napolitano, 2010, p.iv) In the wake of the September 11th, 2001 attacks our nation has taken upon itself extreme vigilance to ensure the security and defense of the American people. The relationship between homeland security and homeland defense is one that is tightly knit. Each has a very distinct mission set but somewhere along the spectrum they cross over and mutually support each other in the best interest of the nation.