The Role of Law Enforcement in Emergency Management and Homeland Security: Volume 24

The system of critical infrastructure in the United States is vast in size and geographic layout. These two factors along with the American system of Federalism impose great challenges in protecting these systems. Much of the physical protection of these assets is left to state and local governments making protection more difficult is that a large number of these critical infrastructures are owned by multinational corporations. It is through a complex coordinated effort spanning across all three levels of government that these systems are kept secure in the United States.

This chapter explores the laws and unique challenges associated with the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime. Crimes that involve the misuse of computers (e.g., hacking, denial of service, and ransomware attacks) and criminal activity that uses computers to commit the act are both covered (e.g., fraud, theft, and money laundering). This chapter also describes the roles of the various federal agencies involved in investigating cybercrime, common cybercrime terms and trends, the statutes frequently used to prosecute cybercrimes, and the challenges and complexity of investigating cybercrime.

Cyber threats present constantly evolving and unique challenges to national security professionals at all levels of government. Public and private sector entities also face a constant stream of cyberattacks through varied methods by actors with myriad motivations. These threats are not expected to diminish in the near future. As a result, homeland security and national security professionals at all levels of government must understand the unique motivations and capabilities of malicious cyber actors in order to better protect against and respond to cyberattacks. This chapter outlines the most common cyberattacks; explains the motivations behind these attacks; and describes the federal, state, and local efforts to address these threats.

Border security is a crucial part of the country’s broader homeland security efforts. It is a multifaceted and complex issue which attempts to accomplish two seemingly contradictory objectives – the prevention of people and goods from entering the country, while at the same time, facilitating lawful travel and trade. Although it is primarily a federal responsibility, securing the border crosses over multiple homeland security domains, as well jurisdictions. In recent years, numerous strategies and structures have been implemented to foster a whole-of-government approach to border security. This chapter presents border security in the larger context of homeland security. It examines the strategies and coordinating structures developed to create a secured border and an overview of the interaction of law enforcement agencies at the various jurisdictional levels. Although these structures create a robust network of mutually supportive agencies to effectuate border security, a major strategic challenge to securing the nation’s borders still persists.

This chapter on terrorism prevention provides the reader with an overview of the various terrorist prevention organizations within the United States at the federal, state, and local levels. It is divided into two different sections, the first providing a detailed description of various federal agencies involved in terrorism prevention and an overview of how state and local agencies fit within the federal framework. The second section of this chapter describes various efforts to integrate these disparate organizations into a cohesive effort to prevent terrorism activities. This chapter concludes with some suggestions for future consideration to help with the overall terrorism prevention effort.

This chapter examines the principles behind law enforcement intelligence and identifies best practices established by other local and state law enforcement organizations. Then, it conducts a close analysis of the law enforcement intelligence process to determine, in light of best practices, how policies and procedures might be changed to better address law enforcement operations. A redefined intelligence process, as described in this chapter, will provide all participating agencies with a universal definition of law enforcement intelligence, will maintain and enhance community-policing efforts, and will establish a platform for contribution to the domestic intelligence cycle – which is essential for leveraging resources to detect and disrupt organized criminal organizations and terrorism.

Acts of mass violence are not a new phenomenon in the United States. Law enforcement and homeland security officials prepare, prevent, respond, investigate, and assist in prosecuting offenders in these events. How then can the greater homeland security community effectively avert future acts of mass violence with its even broader mission set? Physical and technological security countermeasures are not enough to prevent these types of incidents from occurring. The purpose of this chapter is to briefly give an overview of some of the research into the indicators and traits exhibited by perpetrators of mass violence and the best practices that have evolved to intervene as a result. Recognizing the common traits and behaviors displayed by past attackers, their surrounding influences and the common traumas most of them have experienced, is an essential first step in developing effective strategies to prevent acts of mass violence.

This chapter examines lessons for response gleaned from 70 years of research on human and organizational behavior. These lessons for response are examined in the context of the current homeland security policy environment for national preparedness. This chapter also focuses on implementation steps for current preparedness guidance by law enforcement agencies. It joins research knowledge and policy to inform law enforcement planners in the development of local strategic-, operational-, and tactical-level response plans.

Successful National Security Special Events (NSSE) have several critical components that will ensure success; one key component is collaboration among various and distinctive organizations. During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, 11,000 public safety officers came together from federal, state, and local agencies and successfully protected the games. In subsequent years following the 9/11 terror attacks and the Olympic Games, however, law enforcement and public safety agencies at every level have, at times, struggled to successfully implement collaborations on a continuing and consistent basis.

Creating collaborations that endure throughout a national security event is an important issue for public safety organizations. What are the key factors that foster an environment in which collaborations can be sustained? Based on research and numerous interviews with law enforcement and public safety leaders involved in the 2002 Winter Olympics, several factors were identified that impact the effectiveness and endurance of collaborations. The enablers for effective collaborations before, during, and after the 2002 Winter Olympics included leadership, trust, social capital, and felt need.

The theory and practice of emergency management and homeland security continues to evolve. Specifically, public safety professionals must adopt an all-hazards approach to managing disasters and emergencies, and the creation of a safe and resilient nation is not solely the responsibility of the public safety community. Rather, it is the responsibility of the whole community. Using the Boston Marathon Bombing of 2015 as a case study, this chapter examines the extent to which law enforcement officers have embraced Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s concept of creating a culture of preparedness. In doing so, it reviews after-action reports from the incident to identify areas contributing to creating this culture as well as potential gaps and lessons learned. This chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for building and sustaining a culture of preparedness moving forward.

Recognizing the 9/11 attacks as a turning point in the history of American emergency management and response philosophies, this chapter examines the evolution to a standardized National Incident Management System (NIMS). This involved the movement from individual jurisdictional and agency autonomy to adoption of a multilayered system where all efforts are intended to support a response beginning and ending at the local level. This chapter discusses the overarching NIMS doctrine and its incumbent on-scene Incident Command System (ICS) for coordinating on-scene operations. The specific focus is the application to the NIMS and the ICS to law enforcement.

Several emergency public health issues have a tremendous impact on and rely upon close coordination with law enforcement officials. Most interactions involve law enforcement personnel providing security, crowd control, and/or traffic control during public health related incidents. However, as varied chemical and biological threats have emerged over the years, this interaction has increased to include joint investigations between the two disciplines. Certain biological threats, such as pandemics, pose direct threats to the law enforcement agency operations. Understanding the role of public health in emergencies, the overlapping missions, and the threats at all levels allows law enforcement professionals to better prepare themselves and their organizations for coordinating operations and maintaining continuity of law enforcement services.

Examining the historical evolution of public protest and the police response, primarily in the United States since the 1960s informs strategies and tactics on more recent responses to protest. Case study examination and analysis can aid police and civic leaders in crafting a cohesive strategy to address civil unrest within their jurisdictions. Specifically examining case studies involving the Occupy Movement of 2011 and the resultant civil unrest following the death of Freddie Gray in the City of Baltimore will aid in understanding potential benefits of a more integrated response to civil unrest that would include emergency management as a contributory to the possible solution.

This chapter explores how homeland security agencies can use unmanned aircraft, or drones, as tools to help them perform their public safety missions while earning the support and trust of the communities they serve for the use of this controversial technology. This chapter discusses the applications for drones in public safety and homeland security while also identifying limitations and challenges to their use in government operations. This chapter presents the current state of the law surrounding drone use by government agencies, particularly the police, along with published recommendations on drone implementation and trust-building practices. The author presents the drone-specific recommendations of groups like the International Association of Chiefs of Police, American Civil Liberties Union, and Community Oriented Policing Office of the United States Department of Justice. The author also provides a recommended process to follow for law enforcement and homeland security leaders looking to implement drone programs using evidence-based practices to earn the trust of their citizens.