Analysis of the National Incident Management Systems - Research Paper Example

? FEMA Incident command systems (ICS) and National Incident Management Systems related to Law Enforcement Personnel (Special Operations) Institution: Every so often, there will be a security situation that involves innocent people, suspects, property, law enforcement agencies, gatherings, the environment, or just a natural disaster such as flooding. Some situations may involve weapons or other hazardous materials. In all these instances, coordinated responses and actions are required by law enforcement officers to arrest the situation, protect lives and property and restore normalcy. These incidents may be predictable for example during the Super Bowl or emergencies which were totally unexpected such as a drugs incident, multiple accidents, a terrorist attack or a hurricane. As a law enforcement officer involved in special operations you have to be able to effectively respond to such operations using certain established guidelines and principles to protect property, live and the environment and restore normalcy. The Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) is one such body under the US Department of Homeland Security tasked with handling emergency situations. Given that emergencies are unpredictable events that require cross functional approaches, as more than one agency may be involved, hence the need for a standardized approach and guidelines that are not specific to one agency. The FEMA has a system called the Incident Command System (ICS) that employs methods and standards that have been verified for efficiency and success in the business world and applied to emergency situations using a standard command, control and coordination system to achieve the aims of emergency responses and management. The ICS system enables proper cooperation and coordination among different agencies since there are emergency occasions when as a special operations officer you may come under the command of someone from a different agency such as fire fighting whose methods and command structures could be different from special operations. This paper will therefore examine the beginnings of ICS, the development of new rules and guidelines with emphasis to the presidential order to the Department for Homeland Security in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks and then look at the guidelines from various sources, discuss them and draw conclusions. ICS can be traced to the 1970s when wildfires became a big problem in California when the state, federal, county and local fire departments, recognizing that no one agency can handle a fire emergency all alone, joined together to form a platform called the Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies (FIRESCOPE) that pinpointed certain problems common to emergencies and hindering inter agency cooperation, including non uniform terms and commands, non-aligned communication, a missing scope for increasing or reducing the size of the joint response team depending on the situation, deficient combined plans of action plans and a lack of a command system to oversee inter agency operations (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2011). The ICS is a model tactic built on best practice standards for managing emergencies and incidents that allow for a synchronized response from different agencies that creates a shared approach to scheduling and managing resources and enhances the incorporation of equipment, facilities, staff, systems within a unified organizational framework (“Introduction to the ICS”, 2009). The ICS has however evolved into an all inclusive emergency response and coordination approach for emergencies that utilizes a unified structure of organization and management system. The ICS is based on five main premises: Command, Logistics, Operations, Planning, Finance/Administration (“What is the ICS?” 2010) During an emergency the law enforcement agencies leadership is organized into the above units with each having a jurisdiction over all the different agencies involved in the emergency. After the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US, the president issued a directive to the department of homeland security that required it to formulate five steps to improve synchronization by working with other federal departments and state, tribal, and local authorities to set up a National Framework for Response (NRF) and a National Mechanism for Incident Management (NIMS). A directive was also issued to the Department for Homeland Security to conduct a national system for preparedness (NPS) incorporating a synchronized approach to make strong the United States preparedness to avert and counter threats or actual domestic terrorism, disasters and emergencies. NIMS provides an efficient, practical approach that guides all governmental organizations and departments, nongovernmental groups and the private sector to work in tandem in preventing and responding to emergencies and incidents despite the size or extent of the emergency to protect and / or reduce damage to property, human life and the environment. The NRF directs how the United States undertakes response to all hazards with the key roles, principles and frameworks that guide national responses. The NIMS incorporates preparedness, communication, management of resources, command and management and continuous management and maintenance. The command and management elements incorporate the ICS, MCS (Multiagency Coordination Systems) and Information to the Public as illustrated below: Management of Resources Preparedness Communication The principles of ICS for special operations law enforcement authorities include a strong and strict command control framework. Standardization ensures proper communication where common terms and understandable text is used in clear plain English without using initials as one initial could mean several different things. Jargons, radio codes and codes specific to certain agencies are not used (“Introduction to the ICS”, 2009). The person in charge is clearly defined. This is the commander of the operation and all different agencies are under her/ him command. Command is termed in ICS as the act of ordering or directing or explicit statutory control. A situation commander is assigned for any emergency or incident when using the ICS and he/ she establishes the course of action, manages resources and should have skills, experience and training level to suit such responsibility and not necessarily guided by training or rank. A chain of command is also established through which the Incident Commander can delegate responsibility and authority and helps circumvent lack of coordination as instructions come from say supervisors. The chain of command permits communication and idea exchange among personnel. The command chain is unified with personnel receiving instructions and reporting to only a single supervisor. The person given an instruction does not report to his or her regular superior during the course of the emergency but only the designated ICS superior. Command can be transferred when a more qualified incident commander appears on the scene, for example, if a sheriff was in command in a terrorist attack, he can transfer command to say an anti terrorist expert when she shows up at the scene or when legal rules require command to be transferred or the situation becomes more complex and this transfer of command must be in writing (“Introduction to the ICS”, 2009). The situation is managed based on objectives with the priorities of: safety of life, stabilizing the incident and protecting property. An action plan (IAP) must be formulated for every incident that identifies the objectives, actions to be taken within a specified time frame and can be oral or written. Hazard situations require a written IAP. Note that the organization of the ICS has no relevance to the structure of administration for any individual special operations or any other agency; it is an impromptu unit with the best suited structure. It has atop down structure determined by the objectives in the IAP that is modular based on the dimension of the emergency, increases or decreases in size based on the progress of events, and each component must have someone in charge. An ICS command framework must have an ample extent of control so that a supervisor can effectively manage a suitable number of personnel within his or her command jurisdiction. The resources available during a situation must be ascertained versus what is needed and where each resource has been deployed to ensure best utilization of the available resources. The facilities to be used in a situation or emergency are identified by the incident commander - this is the ‘Incident Command Post’ (ICP) and the location is determined by the nature of the emergency. The ICP is usually just one. A staging location can also be located near the ICP where all resources are gathered before the operation proceeds. An incident base where logistics are located should also be included as is a camp, for example, where basic needs such as sleep and food are provided. A heli-base where air activities that use a helicopter are conducted and a heli-spot where helicopters can safely take off and land should be made available. These are normally for more complex emergencies, such as hurricanes or fires (“Introduction to the ICS”, 2009). Communications is a very important aspect of the ICS to ensure efficient relaying of instructions and obtaining feedback. The equipment, procedures and systems for communication must be synchronized during the planning stage. After this the information and any intelligence must be managed effectively through gathering, disseminating and managing information. Intelligence will be very crucial in security situations such a s hostage taking, disease outbreaks and fires where weather forecasts, disease surveillance data and safety of persons are concerned. Accountability is also crucial in emergencies; all personnel within given sections must abide by the stated rules and regulations. All personnel must ‘check-in’ to obtain instructions and duties bearing in mind the incident action plan (IAP), the unity and chain of command and the supervisors must be able to effectively manage their teams. Resources must be allocated and tracked properly for effectiveness. Records must also be kept for future review as part of accountability (“Introduction to the ICS”, 2009). The National Incident Management System (NIMS) was also formulated to respond to emergencies and situations involving multiple agencies. It provides the foundation for accomplishing such a task that provides guidelines, processes, and principles for anticipating, averting and responding to emergencies for all government and non government agencies, communities, local authorities and be able to recover from such emergencies and restore normalcy in a flawless and inclusive manner, where all resources available are effectively channeled to respond to emergencies and situations without regard to the cause, extent or location. Its aims are similar to the ICS which is to protect life and property and prevent environmental damage. The NIMS works on four principles of preparedness, prevention and mitigation, response and recovery (Walsh, Miller, Graydon, Christen, Maniscalco & Dolan, 2012); Whenever emergencies or disaster strike, the concern is to reduce its impact and prevent further damage and any future prospects for repetition but recovery is just as well important. People need to go back to normalcy as soon as possible as this reduces trauma and enables continuity in socio-economic systems. The first step in implementing the NIMS is to assume leadership roles where the most suitable agencies can assume leadership, for example the local fire department. The next step is convincing leaders to adopt the system and be involved proactively instead of passive compliance with the ground rules. The NIMS is designed as a course to be undertaken so that all concerned are always prepared for an emergency. It targets the civilian population as they play a key role during emergencies. A national response framework (NRF) which is a sound functional framework for emergency response for heads of emergency response, disaster response organizations and executives in the private and nongovernmental organizations and works on a framework of: i)Roles and responsibilities ii) Response activities iii) Organization of response iv) Planning v) Additional resources In conclusion, we can say that the NIMS and ICS were developed as a result of disasters and emergencies, with the September 11th terrorist attacks prompting the mainstreaming of the ICS and NIMS and are incorporated at all levels of government. They have been put as training curricula for relevant people and the wider population, especially for elected leaders. The ICS for special operations law enforcement agencies have to understand and adhere to the ICS structure and framework during an emergency. Its key ingredient is to have a multi agency response team falling under nontraditional command system where there must be accountability, deployment, initial briefing, and record keeping all under a framework of a unified command system. References Haddow, G., Bullock, A., & Coppola, D. (2011) (pp. 175-178). Burlington, MA: Elsevier Inc (Buttersworth-Heinemann). US Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency management Authority (2009 Introduction to the incident command system (ICS 100) for law enforcement Retrieved from website: http://emilms.fema.gov/IS100leb/ICS0101000.htm Walsh, D., Miller, G., Graydon, C., Christen, D., Maniscalco, P., & Dolan, N. (2012). National incident management system: Principles and practice. (2nd ed. ed., pp. 171-178). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning LLC. What is the incident command system (ICS)? (2010). Retrieved from http://www.seapro.org/pdf_docs/ICS.Overview.pdf Read More