Charles Fisher EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In response to the growing impact that homelessness is having in communities across the United States, law enforcement leaders are making every effort to respond appropriately for their organizations. Many departments are pulling personnel from traditional police endeavors and staffing full-time units tasked solely with homeless-related issues. These are sizable staffing…
CHDS Theses: Executive Summaries
Assumption and Adaptation in Emergency Response: Evaluating the Strategic Guidance of the National Incident Management System
Charles Chapman EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This thesis presents a qualitative analysis of the current state of guidance provided by the federal government to state and local emergency response jurisdictions. The federal government drives a national incident management strategy by defining several categories that address response expectations for stakeholders: incident management, legal authority, funding, recovery, plans, policies,…
A Blip on the Radar: School Safety Synergy through Early Warning and Information Sharing
Bruno Dias EXECUTIVE SUMMARY School safety and security form a complex issue. Educators, as well as safety and security professionals, must balance the implementation of safety and security measures without sacrificing privacy rights and what should be welcoming learning environments for children. The increased frequency and lethality of violence within the American public education system…
Muted Voices: Toward an Understanding of the U.S. Asylum Program at the Southwest Border
Jaime Chen EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The U.S. asylum program at the Southwest border is the locale of a dynamic, contentious crisis. The number of asylum seekers at the Mexico-U.S. border began to soar in 2014 as families fled from violence and poverty in the Northern Triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras).[1] The asylum screening backlog…
A Study of Musicology and Social Discourse in Mid-Twentieth-Century America
Brent Briggs EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This thesis carries out a historical and musicological exploration of popular music from the United States during the mid-twentieth century in an effort to understand the complex connections between the music and social discourse. This work analyzes historically significant songs to provide answers for the following questions: Which consistent musicological patterns…
Electronic Border Searches after Riley
Aaron Bode EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The border search doctrine authorizes U.S. customs officers to conduct warrantless, suspicion-less searches of persons and property crossing the U.S. border.[1] Since the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Riley v. California, arguments that electronic devices and their accompanying data qualify as a different type of property that should be protected from…
Improving the U.S. Immigration System: Lessons Learned from the Diversity Visa, Family, and Merit-Based Immigration Programs
Vlada Bierman EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The U.S. immigration system is the subject of an ongoing debate regarding necessary reforms to protect American national security and benefit all Americans economically.[1] For instance, critics argue for the reduction of family-based immigrants in the United States. They contend the majority of immigrants enter the United States as legal permanent…
Thin Blue Line: Improving Job Satisfaction to Increase Retention in Law Enforcement
Lisa Barnett EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers are constant challenges for law enforcement agencies. The ability of agencies to retain officers determines whether the public is served by experienced and motivated officers or inexperienced officers who only wish to provide the minimal level of service required. Low job satisfaction is a…
“We Need a Bomb Tech”: Integrating the Bomb Squad with SWAT
Richard Klok EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On the morning of April 20, 1999, two Columbine High School students in Littleton, Colorado, attacked their school with firearms and explosives.[1] The rampage lasted an hour, and the shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, ultimately killed 12 students and one teacher. Before committing suicide, the shooters placed multiple improvised explosive…
It Starts at Home: Internal Actions Police Agencies Can Take to Improve Staffing
Mark Haynes EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Employees, citizens, and policymakers all depend on police department leadership to chart a course through chaos. While many of the challenges police departments face in 2020 are external, coping with them requires leaders who can be flexible and who know how to make decisions within the department. For example, the rise…