Risk Of Responders Research Paper

904 Words2 Pages

The Risk of Responders
Jennifer Miller
Arizona State University
Word Count: 903
January 19, 2017

Abstract

Terrrorism has been an issue for the United States long before 9/11, but the savage attack on that day brought terrorism front and center and therefore made the issue top priority for the leadership. To date, the crime of terrorism causes many debates, such as, how to deter events from occurring again, but one section of terrorism that is somewhat neglected is the risks for first responders in preparing and responding to attacks. The crime of terrorism has many layers and first responders are the first to hit the ground when an attack strikes and the risk of them being harmed, maimed or even killed are extremely …show more content…

In recent years, terrorists have seized the opportunity to wreak havoc in the United States. Just a few examples are the Oklahoma City Bombing, Boston Marathon Bombing, and most recently the Orlando night club shooting. All of these terrorist had opportunity on their side and the responders to all of these disasters were left unprotected. For example, during the Boston Marathon bombings, devices were left at several points and responders were struggling to find them and in turn, many were severely injured or killed. The overwhelming risks in these examples given are responders never knew where the enemy was and where the next bomb or shot would go off. All of these events were the cause of poor defense, which makes terrorism possible (Government, U. S., 2012). Poor defense has led to the death of many responders and very little progress has been made to protect them when the responders reach the crime zone. States always state lack of funding for not having state of the art equipment, but lives are more important than the bottom line and responders should have the best advantage to win the battle when the battle hits on the …show more content…

The Response Framework take an all hazards approach to preparedness, highlights key areas across five mission areas (Mitigation, Response, Recovery, Protection and Prevention) and addresses the whole community to optimize resources, therefore assisting and protecting the responders who have in the past been forgotten (National Response Framework, 2013). Responders that now work disaster sites can now rest a little easier, as there are teams and processes in place to help the identify threats and hazards to make response safer and easier. With the help of Homeland Security and other agencies, responders can now spot the signs of terrorism: surveillance, elicitation, test of security, funding acquiring of supplies, impersonation, rehearsal and deployment (Recognizing 8 Signs of Terrorism, 2012). Educating the responders is the only way improvements can be made to enhance their response ability and save lives. Terrorism will always be a threat to the United States, but with the re-education of our responders, terrorism will not be as deadly to the courageous men and women that will

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