Article Review on "Homeland Security & Emergency Management"

Article Review 6 pages (2750 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Larger departments were also found to enjoy increased conversation with the federal government and greater access to resources to facilitate reaching such goals (Marion & Cronin 2009:14). To determine which factors promoted change, the research study authors constructed three models to study the impact of the change. Independent variables include "the amount of money received in grants, the size of the department (as measured by the number of officers) and the type of community (i.e., rural, urban, etc.). The three dependent variables were if the department made changes, if they took part in NIMS training, and if they had a homeland security officer" (Marion & Cronin 2009:15). Overall, "neither the community type nor the presence of a homeland security officer influences the amount of money a department receives for homeland security, the size of the department does. As the size of the department increases, the agency is more likely to receive homeland security grants" (Marion & Cronin 2009:17).

Smaller organizations expressed general dissatisfaction with the lack of funding they received and felt that in many ways they had been hurt rather than helped by the expansion of DHS, given the renewed focus on larger organizations which would presumably be more 'prime areas' to attack by terrorists. Yet ultimately the philosophy of homeland security has always been locally focused. The discrepancy in funding is palpable and is clearly perceived as an injustice by small organizations that lack the desired funding for technology and training (it is noted that technology, more so than training, tends to be the focus of expenditures by funded police departments).

In general, the findings of the study of Ohio stated that the safety and security of the police organizations had improved and made use of available new technology and resources. But critical deficits in how those resources were allocated were also found in terms of addressing the needs of smaller agencies. While resources are finite, it should be reviewed if the lack of money, technology, and training that exists at smaller agencies is leaving critical aspects of the national security apparatus unaddressed.

Responses

The problem arises with 'show me your papers' laws when a certain group of people are being asked to 'show their papers' more than others. Is it not likely that people who 'look' like immigrants and will asked for proof of identity more apt to be of racial minorities? This creates an atmosphere of fear for people simply based upon the color of their skin or ethnic heritage.

RAYMOND EDWARDS Response to original post M3D1

It is true that globalization has made the connections between illicit activities easier to establish -- while the drug trade such as heroin has always played a role in funding Al-Qaida and 'blood diamonds' have been used to fund renegade organizations in Africa, modern technology and globalization enables the 'conversation' that takes place between different aspects of the holy trinity of criminals, terrorists, and corrupt government officials much easier to establish and also to hide.

NATHAN AMERSON M3D1

I do agree that illegal immigration has many causes, spanning from people seeking better opportunities to those who come to the U.S. For more nefarious purposes, like selling drugs. No one would support a completely porous border between the United States and Mexico. However, the civil liberties of citizens must be balanced with the needs for security, not overridden. I agree that the police have a responsibility to protect and serve citizens, which means keeping the population safe and secure from criminals. But that also means that citizens should have the right to feel free of racial discrimination: immigration laws must be enforced, but not in a manner that suggests profiling or unfairly targeting a specific class of persons.

STEVEN COURTEMANCHE M3D1

The problem with the law is the subjective question of what constitutes a 'reasonable suspicion' of being an illegal alien. This likely means a 'reasonable suspicion' based upon the person's ethnic heritage, class, and accent. Even if the law is not explicitly discriminatory, it seems liable to be enforced in a discriminatory fashion, based upon common societal prejudices from which law enforcement personnel are not necessarily immune.

However, I agree that meaningful immigration laws must be enforced. Prosecuting people who employ illegal immigrants is an important first step. And I also agree that states alone cannot be expected to handle the problem. Immigration issues are cross-border concerns -- they involve everyone given that someone who enters illegally may pass from one state to another. Federal reform is necessary and for the individual states to pass laws, however restrictive, does not really provide a 'macro-level' solution.

RAYMOND EDWARDS M3D2

It is interesting that NORAD still has a very 'Cold War' orientation because that is often a criticism made about the military in general -- that it is always fighting the 'last war.' Our military and security apparatus is still adapting to the diffuse threats posed by non-state actors such as terrorists.

VALERIE HETTIE M3D2

I agree that homeland security is going to be expensive, and there is no way to have a 'budget' security operation. However, it is impossible to take every security precaution under the sun because of the expense and also the potential threats to civil liberties such extreme measures might result in -- there must be a cost-benefit analysis of every measure undertaken. And it is unclear what the 'no fly' list does to meaningfully improve security. Hardened terrorists can always hide their identities with fraudulent documentation. Or, terrorist groups could conscript people with clean records who are not on the list. The question posed by the article is not 'should we do what it takes to make us secure' but rather 'is the no-fly list the most effective thing we can do to improve our nation's safety, given the expenditures we devote to maintaining it.' The article suggests that the costs devoted to maintaining the list are very high, while the potential benefits are relatively low.

BRANDON CASTEEL M3D2

I think the confusion about the cost of the list might be rooted in the fact that there are so many different components of the program, from the background checks on the individuals themselves, to the technology used to maintain the list, to the salaries of persons used to keep the list current. Every government program has many hidden costs and depending on which costs are taken into account, the total cost estimate will vary widely, based upon what is considered to be a program cost and which is not.

The number of 'false positives' combined with the number of failures to put persons on the list that should be classified as a risk likewise suggests that the program must be reevaluated. Even if there is disagreement about how much is spent, the lack of effective enforcement indicates that resources are not being used wisely. There seems to be little meaningful evidence that a terrorist event can be prevented by the no-fly list and compelling evidence that it has considerable costs financially to individual liberties, and also for the opportunity costs of time that can be spent on other programs. READ MORE

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