HLSSWk8

Societal Involvement: Risk Management & Homeland Security This week we learn about the importance of community and societal involvement when it comes to homeland security initiatives. As we know, the September 11th attacks resulted in the conceptualization of homeland security. When President George W. Bush signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which established the Department of Homeland Security, the concept of homeland security became a prominent component for local, state, and federal governments. In addition, this concept became a major component to academia and the private-public sectors to work with the governments to understand the concept, how it compares to national security, and what all (i.e. government, law enforcement, and American citizens) will do to protect the homeland. Defining homeland security became another challenge, as scholars spent decades defining national security concepts and how to tackle threats that are predicated on security protection violations against the United States. Understanding homeland security came with a new approach to protecting the homeland from within. The establishment of fusion centers and additional policing methods for our nation's local, state, and federal law enforcement showed the importance of community involvement and input to assist with protecting the homeland. Policies were formulated based on local communities’ input on top security concerns and how the challenges they identified impact their communities. Community policing became a major component in homeland security efforts that produced various methods to achieve goals that involved budgets, manpower, resources, innovations, technology, communication, emergency management, and information-sharing.