Criminal Justice and Homeland Security - Essay Example

Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United s government has felt the need to have a specific agency in place that governs the ability to protect the homeland. With the images of citizens injured and buildings on fire, the thought of safety and protection from harm, would have been one of the primary focal points on anyone's mind. The ability to know that the borders and the coastlines were safe from outside harm and to accept the fact that, while there may be those in the world that seek to do harm, that such harm would be prevented from happening in the future, with the right plan put into place. In this case, over time, it would become an agency that was not just itself but one that would be comprised of multiple other agencies within it. Each with their own role but just the same, all intended to have the same goal(s) in mind. This central agency came to be known as The Department of Homeland Security, or more simply put, DHS. Created shortly thereafter, the department would be charged with being the primary overseer and central focal point for orchestrating and maintaining national protection interests. As this would have been a new era in time that most would not have contemplated prior, the construction of The Department of Homeland Security itself, along with any other agencies that would soon fall under its umbrella, would be done so with the best of intentions. With intentions in place, outcomes would arise over time that would cobble together the entire department and bring it all into sharper focus on the national scale. As part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the department would be in place for the following: Department of Homeland Security Sec. 101. Executive Department, Mission a) Establishment.- "There is established a Department of Homeland Security, as an executive department of the United States within the meaning of Title 5, United States Code. b) Mission 1) In General- The primary mission of the Department is to A) prevent terrorist attacks within the United States B) reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism; and C) minimize the damage, assist in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States." From the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ("Homeland Security", 2002). (DHS Proposal, 2002). The image above represents the official proposal put forth by then US President George Bush, to create The Department of Homeland Security, in 2002. A cobbling together of individuals from different walks of life and different professional experiences that would be faced with guiding the nation from the horrors of the events of 9/11/01, but would also be faced with the prospects of those such events occurring down the road, to whatever scale they may arise. This department, as it was created for, would be the national governments response to a horrific act of cowardice on the part of some towards innocent civilians and the way also, to show the rest of the world that, in fact, the United States was strong and it would survive and thrive once more. The following is a passage in regards to the intentions of the President as it comes to this department and the reasons behind its existence. It states, The Preside proposes to create a new Department of Homeland Security, the most significant transformation of the US government in over half-century by largely transforming and realigning the current confusing patchwork of government activities into a single department whose primary mission is to protect our homeland. The creation of a Department of Homeland Security is one more key step in the President's national strategy for homeland security. From the Department of Homeland Security June 2002- George W. Bush (DHS Proposal, 2002) While it can be and often times is, difficult to predict what may or may not happen in the future, the important thing becomes an attention to detail and consideration given to all potential scenarios that may arise. Hence the placement of the majority of the agencies that comprise the greater foundation of The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS. The varied nature of the agencies involved, for the most part, would serve to bode well for the greater question as to whether or not it could be said that the department was doing what it was created to do in the first place. By considering the initial intent after viewing the congressional act that created it, the intent of the Department of Homeland Security would have been, protection of the American soil and its citizens, from attacks seen both at home and abroad. For the founders of the United States, it would become imperative for them to put together a government that would be able to face and conquer any problem that may arise, that would have put the then young nation at risk. The actions taken by the American Congress and the White House in the weeks after September 11th, would only go to show that they felt a need for a more cohesive plan for national protection and in the eyes of many involved, creating a department with this type of job description attached to it, was something that many felt was worth it and some also felt was long over due. A way to re-structure already existing programs, along with some newly created, with their joint purpose being the improvement of the overall national response system. The variation to be found within the overall department, would best be summed up in the following way. That is, "There are many ways to describe emergency management and the importance of the tasks emergency managers perform," (FEMA, Chapter 1, n.d.). Logical thinking and the unknown can often times drown the other out. Logic more often times than not, is influenced to whatever degree by previous experiences that would have been had. With the unsure feelings amongst many after 9/11, as well as the lack of experience with terrorism of that scale every happening before on American soil, the ability to adequately and responsibly build and staff for what would later become the present day department as it is known, would not be easy. Going against uncertainty regarding the end result, the only reality would be that, with times changing, the old way of doing things would have to change as well. With the many needs and demands that have come in the subsequent years since 2001, The Department of Homeland Security has seen a revision over time and inclusion of new agencies that have been added for whatever purpose. One of those very agencies would be the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. An agency whose purpose it is, would be to step in during such things as national disasters and during the course of the time spent, would seek to enable citizens and states to recover and prosper after the fallout would have subsided. Other agencies present in the Department of Homeland Security include the following: United States Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard, as well as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, among some others. In consideration of the agencies mentioned, such as FEMA along with the others not mentioned that fall within the confides of DHS' authority, it would appear as if every agency present within the DHS system, would be so with a necessary purpose and would not appear to be out of place. For the U.S. Coast Guard, one of their primary responsibilities would be the security of the coast lines from possible outside intrusion, so in placing them within the confides of The Department of Homeland Security, it would only serve to make sense since the root issue for the department would be the protection of the nation and the concern for coastal security would surely go along with that. For the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, their responsibilities center upon the protection of America's borders with potential border security questions being in correlation with questions of homeland safety, then this would also be an agency that would fit within the greater structure. The United States Secret Service enacts security measures to ensure the safety of America's elected government officials as one of their primary job roles. Being that these are the same elected officials who are entrusted with seeking strong national security, then it would only serve to make sense that this agency would fall within the composition of the DHS. For any agency, there are always instances of questioning as to why certain aspects are included within it. While others are not. For The Department of Homeland Security, they would be no different. An example of such an agency that would fit within the structure of the DHS but would not be there presently as of yet, would be the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the FBI. An agency whose purpose it is would be to orchestrate, decipher and implement courses of action to best serve the nation, through means of any intelligence information they would have received from national, as well as international sources, or both on any given subject that would be deemed relevant. As time goes on, things inevitably are forced to change and evolve and so would The Department of Homeland Security. While the department would maintain its same central purpose, the continuous national security questions that would come about in years since, would require that the department would also fall into line to meet those pressing needs. Presently, the following are a list of the present programs that fall within the Department of Homeland Security system. They are: Departments(Agencies) The Directorate for National Protection and Programs The Directorate for Science and Technology The Directorate for Management The Office of Policy The Office of Health Affairs The Office of Intelligence and Analysis The Office of Operations Coordination The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Coast Guard The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) The United States Secret Service ("Department", n.d.). What started out as a department in response to a recent terrorist attack, would find its present structure in line with multiple forms of national and international protection. The components of the overall department, have evolved to answer the problems of the changing society that sees such change occur with rapid frequency. Many would conquer that such change, would enable the department itself, to be more streamlined and able to respond to whatever was placed before it. To handle the problems of yesterday, consider the issues of present and also, maintain the presence of mind to ensure the protection of the future for all citizens of the United States of America. Evolution, for a department of this, would be essential for continued success and the present components of the existing department would only go to further prove that point. Assessing the current structure of the DHS, labeling it as superior would not quite be the right word. While undoubtedly the construction and continued maintenance of The Department of Homeland Security, would surely be a step in the right direction in comparison to previous departments with the same purpose of the last 50 years or so. Being that the inception of the department would have come out of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, it would be to a degree unrealistic to rate the department as a whole, as being superior to the others. This primarily due to the differing in circumstances of the late 20th century and the first part of the 21st century. The later being the very century, that would have seen 9/11/01 become a part of histories recollection of its very beginning. In the decades to come, historians will surely provide their own accounts of the 21st century and the events that served to frame it. Observing the events and the individuals that will have played an instrumental role in key decision making. The same thing will surely be done in regards to the creation of The Department of Homeland Security and its subsequent performance over time. An agency created for homeland protection and as such, would continue to be its primary focus for the decades afterward. September 11, 2001, was a terrifying day for millions of Americans. A day that took away the sense of security that many often take for granted. Taking away the perception that events such as those that took place, would only take place in such far away areas as Lebanon or elsewhere. After being proven wrong by a group of men seeking to enact their own anger out on innocents, the only reasonable answer to such violence, would be to meet the violence instead with the strength of the American conviction. In responding to mentalities that are unique to differing regions, it becomes quite difficult to grasp the beliefs of these individuals that would seek to harm others that way. National security implementation becomes as unique and diversified as the differing nature of each individual human being with one another. The Department of Homeland Security would by far not be a perfect agency. No agency that exists within the structure of any government, would be able to effectively claim perfection. In this case, perfection would not truly matter. The only thing that would truly matter, would be the ability to ensure a sense of security. References DHS (2002). Proposal to Create the Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/history/publication_0015.shtm "Department Subcomponents and Agencies". (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/ FEMA (n.d.). Fundamentals of Emergency Management. Chapter 1- Introduction to Emergency Management. Retrieved from http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/fem.asp "Homeland Security Act of 2002". (2002). Title 1- Department of Homeland Security. 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