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Homework answers / question archive / UYou will develop a formal information paper that addresses the legal basis of current Department of Homeland Security jurisdiction, mission, and responsibilities
UYou will develop a formal information paper that addresses the legal basis of current Department of Homeland Security jurisdiction, mission, and responsibilities. You will need to specifically analyze hazards, including manmade or technological and naturally occurring hazards, and terrorism, domestic and foreign, in the information paper.
You are an action officer in your local jurisdiction's Office of Homeland Security. This is a recently created office. As a medium-sized jurisdiction, the city manager's office has dual responsibilities in many of the leadership and management positions. This is often referred to as being dual-hatted. The chief of police has been assigned as the director of the Office of Homeland Security for the city. She has no prior experience or knowledge of the requirements involved in homeland security and has asked you to provide a formal report on the topic. The chief intends to share this report with other office managers, city department heads, the city manager, and the elected officials of the city (mayor and city council).
Your report is an information paper and should be formatted as such. The report should address the following items:
The legal basis of current Department of Homeland Security jurisdiction, mission, and responsibilities
Legal definitions of hazards, to include manmade or technological and naturally occurring hazards
Legal definitions of terrorism, domestic and foreign
Review of state law and statutes (using your home or residency state) as it applies to hazards
OUTLINE
Department of Homeland Security jurisdiction, mission, and responsibilities
Homeland security is a term used refer to the national effort that ensure that homeland is secure, safe, and safe against terrorism and other hazardous activities that may affect the American interests. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) carries its operations within the United States. Its mission is to protect the people in the country by countering and preventing terror activities, enforcing immigration laws, protecting the borders, and preventing disasters (White, 2016). The department is charged with the responsibility of protecting all citizens from all terror threats by securing the nation's borders. The other responsibility of the DHS is to carry out investigations pertaining to violations of American laws by collecting intelligence on international and local offenders that could threaten security (Department of Homeland Security, 2016). The unit’s responsibility is to protect the land, air, and sea boundaries through enforcement, patrol, maritime security, aviation security, and disaster management.
Legal definitions of hazards, to include manmade or technological and naturally occurring hazards
Hazards refer to any agents or objects that have the potential of causing harm. Hazards can be manmade, naturally occurring, or technological. Manmade hazards are events that happen as a result of human activities such as negligence, hence posing a negative effect. These manmade hazards include transport accidents, fires, terrorism, and oil spills. Technological occurring hazards are caused by the errors or misuse of technology affecting the human population. Examples of these hazards include chemical spills, industrial pollution, nuclear radiation, and explosion. Finally, natural hazards are occur naturally causing harm to human beings. Examples of natural hazards include storms, volcanic eruptions, natural forest fires, earthquakes, and droughts.
Legal Definitions of Terrorism, Domestic and Foreign
Terrorism refers any violent activity committed intentionally to cause harm to a group of people by causing fear and terror to attain a political or religious goal. It also refers to violent discrimination of certain groups of people targeted because of their national, political, or religious affiliation. The legal definition of terrorism includes the destruction of critical infrastructures, human life, and the country's resources (Department of Homeland Security, 2017). Terrorism can be either domestic or foreign. On the one hand, domestic terrorism is terror activities that are perpetrated within a country's border by the citizens of a country. On the other hand, foreign terrorism is terror activities that are carried out on a certain country's border or by people who are not residents of a country.
Review of state law and statutes as it Applies to Hazards
The national law of water pollution forbids the release of chemicals, leaking oil, water detergents, as well as other harmful wastes that are likely to contaminate the water sources. The 1990 Oil Pollution Act prohibits the spilling of oil in water sources in Maryland. It also ensures that oil spills and other harmful elements do not get into water sources and failure to which the commercial ships may have their licenses revoked (Rebovich, 2017). Additionally, the 1899 Refuse Act prohibits the dumping of hazardous materials such as garbage into water bodies.
Review of state law and statutes as it Applies to Terrorism
The Maryland Patriot Act gives authority to law enforcement to fight against terrorism by funding the law enforcement agencies at the state level. The Terrorism Prevention Act establishes the intelligence tactics to give details that may help to counter and prevent terror attacks in the state. Besides, the Immigration Act gives the local agencies the authority to investigate immigrants moving to the state to make sure their intentions are not to perpetrate terror activities.
Summarize
The mission of the DHS is to safeguard the citizens of the U.S by preventing and counteracting terror missions, enforcing immigration laws, and managing the country's borders. Its major responsibility is to protect the citizens from terror threats while responding to terrorism emergencies. Terrorist activities can be either domestic or foreign. Although the laws and statutes of Maryland are similar to those of the Homeland Security Act, there is a notable difference concerning the activities that the considered terrorism by the Department of Homeland Security. Besides, Maryland has some laws which apply to terrorism and hazards.
Recommendations
The federal government should consider expanding the description of terrorist threats and activities, making it more safe and robust for its citizens. Homeland Security should also consider partnering with local agencies to gather intelligence regarding terrorism. Therefore, Homeland Security should work with the local leaders, enforcement agencies, and community organizations to prevent and deal with terrorism. Fundamentally, terrorist activities are first identified by local agencies hence they are in a better position to protect citizens from these threats.
