Homeland Security Advisory System - Research Paper Example

In line with its’ key mandate, the Department of Homeland Security developed the Homeland Security Advisory System, which according to Walsh et al. (2011), is a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale. This present research paper mainly seeks to explore and discuss the creation, evolution, and the current state of the Homeland Security Advisory System. Creation of the Homeland Security Advisory System The Homeland Security Advisory System was formally created on 12th March 2002 after a Presidential Directive for providing a “comprehensive and effective means to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local authorities and to the American people.

” According to Walsh et al. (2011), the Homeland Security Advisory System’s color-coded terrorism risk advisory scale used to inform the public as well as other concerned authorities on the level of terrorism threat for a particular place or region at any particular time. The indicators of threat were supposed to make the public alert at any time on the level of terrorism threat that is prevalent within their present environment or the nation at large. Therefore, in case of elevated, high, or sever level of threat, citizens are usually required to be extra cautious, report about any suspicious activity, and be prepared in case a disaster strikes.

For example, in case the alert level is elevated, high, or sever citizens are usually asked to avoid crowded places and be on the lookout for suspicious characters. Moreover, after the creation of the system, all security procedures within government facilities were tied to the alert level issued by the Homeland Security Advisory System. Therefore, when the alert levels is elevated, high, or sever, the security checks at government facilities are usually heightened and there is extra patrol check on these facilities.

It is vital to note that the adjustments made on the advisory scale are usually made based on intelligence reports that have been gathered by the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, and other relevant law enforcement agencies (Alperen, 2011). Evolution of the Homeland Security Advisory System After its creation, the Homeland Security Advisory System was headed by Mr. Tom Ridge, who was the then Assistant to the President for Homeland Security but the task of developing, implementing, and managing the system was vested to the office of the Attorney General.

However, Alperen (2011) stated that exactly after nine months since the system was created it was merged with the White House Homeland Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security, which were both created after the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. This change was seemingly meant to ensure that these two bodies work in joint co-operation to increase their effectiveness and to ensure minimum conflict between the bodies as some of their tasks overlapped which each other.

The merge that occurred also eliminated the office of the Attorney General from the task of administering the system and it was passed on to the Department of Homeland Security, which was in a better position to manage the system than a law office that was not even part of law enforcement a