December 2015

The December 2015 issue of Homeland Security Affairs features an essay which develops a methodology for the comparative assessment of homeland security risks and hazards. In “Assessing Homeland Security Risks: A Comparative Assessment of 10 Hazards”, Russell Lundberg and Henry Willis examine the challenges associated with comparative risk assessment in homeland security. In this piece, they produce a robust example of such an assessment, and thus provide a template for similar comparative work in the future.

September 2015

The September 2015 issue of Homeland Security Affairs features a research article which examines the threat posed by novel pandemic viruses and which recommends treatment options for states preparing to deal with the onset of such viruses. Also featured in this issue is a research article which uses advanced statistical methods to identify optimal locations for checkpoints to protect critical assets in major urban areas. Rounding out the new issue is an in-depth review of a significant new book on terrorism analysis.

In “Surviving the Storm”, Anke Richter and Michael Petrie provide an analysis of the threat to public health posed by novel pandemic viruses. They also provide a comprehensive assessment of available treatment regimens and stockpile arrangements for states preparing for the threat posed by such viruses.

In “Identifying Security Checkpoint Locations to Protect the Major U.S. Urban Areas”, Daniel Watkins, Leticia Cuéllar, Deborah Kubicek, Erick Rodriguez, and Phillip Stroud use network and graph theory to develop a framework for identifying the optimal and most cost effective locations for security checkpoints for policy-makers seeking to protect critical assets in major U.S. cities.

Finally, Erik Dahl provides an in-depth review of A Practitioner’s Way Forward: Terrorism Analysis, by CHDS faculty members David Brannan, Kirsten Darken, and Anders Strindberg, (Salinas CA: Agile Press, 2014).

June 2015

This month Homeland Security Affairs is publishing a research article examining the threat posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and current policy responses to that threat. Also included in this month’s issue is an essay examining the need for a new integrated response paradigm for fire services and law enforcement in dealing with active shooter and fire as a weapon scenarios. The final essay of this issue examines the use of lean technology in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

In “UAS on Main Street” Alison Yakabe analyzes the threat to strategic infrastructure and public safety posed by the proliferation of unmanned aircraft systems in the U.S. The article provides a thorough assessment of existing federal and state legal and policy responses to the problem, and recommends a number of more effective legal and policy approaches.

Michael Marino et al. assess the emerging threat of active shooter attacks and fire as a weapon in “To Save Lives and Property: High Threat Response”, and argue that the fire service and law enforcement have been slow to adapt to the threat. They recommend a set of reforms that would result in the development of an integrated response paradigm which would position the fire service and law enforcement to respond more effectively to these kinds of attacks.

In “The Continued Relevance of the November 2008, Mumbai Terrorist Attack: Countering New Attacks with Old Lessons,” Shahrzad Rizvi and Joshua Kelly analyze the use of lean technology by the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack. They offer a series of recommendations that will help public safety and counterterrorism managers to counter these kinds of attacks more effectively in the future.