William Mack EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This thesis examines the encryption debate in which law enforcement and the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) face a lawful access challenge, smartphones and messaging applications inaccessible because of encryption, even when court-issued search warrants and wiretap orders have been approved by a judge.[1] Computer scientists, cryptographers, technology companies, and privacy advocates…
CHDS Theses: Executive Summaries
Beyond The First 48: Incorporating Nontraditional Stakeholders into Incident Response
Emily McLaughlin EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Cyber-attacks will create grave homeland security consequences in the coming years: power outages that last for weeks, drinking water supplies tainted with bacteria, and other destructive outcomes that are likely to result in the loss of human life and the destruction of property. At the local government level, a wide variety…
Catch 22: Relations Between Labor Unions and Management in Public Safety
Matthew Dudek EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Police, fire, and emergency medical services personnel are on the front lines of homeland security at the local level. These men and women are sworn to protect and serve the community, providing vital services and contributing to the safety and security of the citizens they serve. These people are also public…
Defending American Democracy in the Post-Truth Age: A Roadmap to a Whole-of-Society Approach
Katelyn Mason EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The use of deception and propaganda is weaved throughout human history and war, yet in recent years, these manipulative actions have become a renewed concern for national security efforts around the world.[1] Falsehoods that travel through cyber-based platforms can exponentially reach more people in less time and can manifest into dangerous…
Leveraging Bystander Emergence in Mass Casualty Incidents
Luke Hodgson EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mass casualty emergency response plans are predicated on a number of assumptions, most of which were developed many decades ago. One assumption is that victims and bystanders will rely solely on emergency medical services to get to the scene, take control of the response, provide initial treatment, and transport victims to…
Trolls or Threats? Challenges of Alt-Right Extremism to Local Law Enforcement
Jonathan Bobin EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The term alt-right signifies a myriad of ideas and actions, from baffling online discourse to white supremacist violence. The alt-right is unlike political movements of the past, as it lacks any identifiable formal structure, leadership, or goals.[1] Individuals who self-identify as alt-right—or who are linked through the movement based on public participation…
Gods versus Titans: Ideological Indicators of Identitarian Violence
Christopher Adamczyk EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Identitarianism is a complex anti-liberal ideology based on the desire to preserve traditions, culture, and ethnicity against the perceived tide of ethnic replacement, globalism, and liberalism.[1] While certain identitarian leaders have moved away from violence, adherents like Dylann Roof and Patrick Crusius have committed atrocities in its name.[2] Law enforcement’s focus…
Social Network Analysis: Enhancing Threat Assessments for Targeted Violence
Darren Vogt EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The ability to predict when an individual is going to commit an act of violence before the act is carried out is possibly the most difficult and challenging mission in law enforcement. For an investigator, it is the equivalent of playing a psychological chess game, in which the players can only…
An Examination of Academic Education for Homeland Security
Joseph Simons-Rudolph EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the last 19 years, there has been a concerted, multifaceted effort to develop an academic field of Homeland Security.[1] The field of homeland security was launched as part of the national response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, building on previous concepts of national security and civil defense.[2] This work has resulted in…
Overcoming Implementation Barriers within the Fire Service to Reduce Firefighter Cancer Rates
John Haseney EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Occupational cancer is something we need to look at and we need a paradigm shift. Cancer is a silent killer, and it is giving us a knockout punch. ―Frank Szabo, Cleveland Battalion Chief[1] Occupational cancer has become the leading cause of line of duty deaths (LODDs) within the United States fire…