The Editorial Committee for Homeland Security Affairs invites the submission of short (2,000-3,000 words) essays analyzing lessons learned from jurisdiction and agency responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The essays can focus on policy, strategic, operational or tactical issues. This call for papers is ongoing. There is no submission deadline. Manuscripts will be vetted by the…
Volume XI
The Missing Link: How Do Gaps in Mental Health Care Contribute to the Active Shooter Epidemic?
Kimberly Buffkin EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This thesis examines some of the challenges facing the U.S. mental health system. Through a case study of one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, a counterfactual analysis is performed to discover how the outcome could have been different in a system in which…
Assessing the Potential Value of Autonomous Vehicles in Emergency Medical Services Using the Knowledge Value Added Methodology
Joseph Hillhouse EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Emergency service leaders have been facing staffing shortages as emergency medical technicians and paramedics migrate to higher-paying, less-hazardous jobs in the medical field or emergency management environment. These staffing shortages have been compounded by a continually increasing service demand. This thesis evaluated whether system automation could assist in augmenting staffing needs.…
Autonomous Police Vehicles: The Impact on Law Enforcement
Andrew Gregg EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination. —Daniel Bell In the past several years, the autonomous vehicle has evolved from a possibility to an inevitability. AV technology will undoubtedly impact public safety services, including law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement can embrace AV technology with the advent of…
Social Media Screening of Homeland Security Job Applicants and the Implications on Free Speech Rights
Denis Sweeney EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Homeland security employers (e.g., police departments, fire departments, and federal agencies) that engage in social media screening (SMS) of their job applicants should be aware of the risk of infringing on the applicants’ free-speech rights and take steps to mitigate that risk. The law on free-speech protections for homeland security job…
Puerto Rico’s Homeland Security Readiness: Redesigning the Island’s Power Grid to Improve Its Resiliency
Juan Alicia EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Resiliency is the ability to bounce back from adversity and return to the previous norm. This term not only describes a quality in people but also the ability of objects or places to recover to their original shape or function. In the case of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA),…
A Framework for National Guard Employment in the Homeland
Paul Jara EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The country’s active, reserve, and National Guard forces . . . must continue to enhance their ability to provide support to civil authorities, not only to help prevent terrorism but also to respond to and recover from man-made and natural disasters that do occur. —Homeland Security Council U.S. strategic guidance to…
Notes from the Editor (Volume XI)
Download the full issue 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…
Assessing Homeland Security Risks: A Comparative Risk Assessment of 10 Hazards
by Russell Lundberg and Henry Willis Abstract The National Academy of Sciences recommended that the Department of Homeland Security use methods of qualitative comparative risk assessment as part of its approach to strategic planning. To provide insight into how this can be done, this paper examines a set of ten homeland security risks– including natural…
Surviving the ‘Storm’: Expanding Public Health’s Capabilities in Response to the Increasing Threats Posed by Novel, Pandemic Strain Viruses
by Daniel P. Mackie and Anke Richter Abstract The recent emergence of two separate outbreaks of two new viruses has generated renewed interest in the threat of pandemics. For a significant portion of the total fatalities associated with these infections the cause of death was due to an over-reaction of an infected body’s immune system.…