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
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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
Amina Gautier has been awarded with Best African American Fiction and New Stories from the South; in addition, she has successfully created At Risk. Gautier’s story is based on the African American community and the different types of struggle families can realistically face. However, if a white person would have written this exact story it could have been misinterpreted and considered racist. Stereotypes such as fathers not being present, delinquencies and educational status are presented in the various short stories.
The National Response Framework is a guide designed to assist local, State, and Federal governments in developing functional capabilities and identifying resources based on hazard identification and risk assessment. It outlines the operating structure and identifies key roles and responsibilities. It established a framework to identify capabilities based on resources and the current situation no matter the size or scale. It integrates organizational structures and standardizes how the Nation at all levels plans to react to incidents. The suspected terrorist attack will have health, economic, social, environment and political long-term effects for my community. This is why it is essential that local government’s response is coordinate with all responders. Response doctrine is comprised of five key principles: (1) engaged partnership, (2) tiered response, (3) scalable, flexible, and adaptable operational capabilities, (4) unity of effort through unified command, and (5) readiness to act. An introductory word about each follows. (Homeland Security, 2008)
On September 11th, 2001, four planes were hijacked, two planes hit the twin towers, one hit the pentagon, and one crash-landed in a field in Pennsylvania. Since then the government has been doing everything it can to help with security at airports, in airplanes, and in everyday life. Even though the government has been trying to increase security, terrorists have still been successful. Since 9/11, the government has taken many steps to increase security and decrease terrorism. However, security has increased, while terrorism has not decreased.
The general topic for this literature review will be an examination of the Department of Defense and the National Guard in terms of Homeland Security. The areas of Homeland Defense and Civil Support will be primary subsections of Homeland Security which will be reviewed. For purposes of defining a time period none of the literature reviewed will be prior to September 11, 2001. The reasoning for this being to examine Homeland Defense using literature pertaining to 9/11 and the Boston Marathon Bombing, and Civil Support using literature pertaining to Hurricane Katrina.
Department of health (2007) say that there are 3 types of risk assessment:the unstructured clinical approach, the actuarial approach and the structured clinical approach (DOH 2007). Many Mental health Professionals over the past years have used the unstructured clinical approach to risk assess. This is based on your experience and judgement to assess the risk. However this way has been criticized for not being structured and this then leads to inconsistency and to be unreliable (Turner and Tummy 2008). This approach would not be useful for the case with Julie as she is not known to services and every person is different as you may not have seen her symptoms before if you base the risk assessment on experience.
Being the oldest daughter of a Senior ATF Agent, I have been exposed to domestic terrorism all of my life. My father has investigated thousands of bombings, fires, and explosions for more than twenty years now. Many of these incidents were examples of the terrorism that I speak about. His experiences have taught me countless lessons and informed me of many current events. The information that I have obtained from him is far more valuable than anything that the media could ever possibly convey. Though he is always strictly guarded with the confidences of his profession, he has always provided me with a firsthand knowledge of the impact that domestic terrorism has on the citizens and law enforcement. Through him, I learn the facts of these incidents without the media’s exaggerations. Today I will share with you some of these facts. I will talk to you about the impact that domestic terrorism has on our citizens. These impacts include: the monetary damages that terrorism inflicts, along with the injuries to the victims, the shocking repercussions that are embedded into the minds and souls of the people who come to sort through the rubble to find the survivors and the remaining evidence.
Until September 11, 2001 public security was not very hard to bypass. On this horrific day in history not only was the United States shaken, but also every country in the world surrounding it. Airport security had failed the nation and had hence led to the event, which is now known as the “9/11 terrorist attacks.” Four planes had been hijacked the morning of the attacks with the first plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Next came the second plane into the South Tower. The third plane then hit the western face of the Pentagon. Finally, the fourth plane landed in a field in Pennsylvania, but it was originally targeted for the White House (Kean). As a result of this event, airport security around the world has been tightened. America was targeted in retaliation of America’s support to Israel throughout the Persian Gulf War. This group was also known as al Qaeda (“9/11 attacks”). By studying the causes and effects of 9/11 people can be more aware of their surrounding and feel much more safe.
"Building Resilience Against Terrorism: Canada’s Counter-terrorism Strategy." Government of Canada, Public Safety Canada. Government of Canada, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 09 Nov. 2013.
Terrorism, random acts of violence, politically motivated attacks, and their psychological and societal consequences are nothing new; yet still, the effects are profoundly disturbing. Attacks undermine our presumptions about the safety of engaging in public life; a presumption that is vital for individuals, society, and the economy to carry on smoothly. The terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 have personally affected my life and has had consequences for many other individuals, the United States, and the world. In the essay, “Heading into darkness once again”, Richard Rodriguez postulates that the randomness and anonymity of terrorism is its most frightening aspect. While I do not disagree that these are integral aspects of what makes
A new wave of terrorists, named Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS, have grown to be well over the size of Al-Qaeda. In an article, 60 Terrorist Plots Since 9/11: Continued Lessons in Domestic Counterterrorism, ISIS is reported to be increasingly popular in social media, which leads to the influence of extremism in the United States. The article states, “Most disturbingly, an increasing number of Islamist-inspired terrorist attacks are originating within America’s borders. The rise of homegrown extremism is the next front in the fight against terrorism and should be taken seriously by the Administration”. This significance is crucial to understanding the mass spread of terrorism, and understanding that the United States has roots of terrorism sprouting from the soil. For example, the Boston Marathon bombing was conducted by two United States citizens in an attempt to accomplish mass casualty (Zuckerman, Bucci, and Carafano). According to an article by a CNN author, the security officials in Boston at that time were able to respond quickly in correspondence with local authority to apprehend the suspects. Shortly after the detonation of both bombs, the men had fled the scene knowing that authorities were hot on their heels. Within hours, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had released images of the two men to the public (Botelho). Already, the response by authorities in the Boston Marathon bombing was proving to be better organized compared to the response of authorities during the 9/11 attacks. Effective communication, fast response, and unrivaled determination gave police the upper hand. Botelho wrote, “Tamerlan Tsarnaev dies after the gunfight, while his brother eludes authorities...When the suspect is found, he has visible injuries including apparent gunshot wounds to his head, neck, and legs” (Botelho). Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains in the custody of authorities
The danger of terrorism should be taken seriously to the greatest effort of the private security organization as well law enforcement officers because the safety and to free form har...
Americans have considered terrorism as a horror that occurs in other countries and not as a real threat to America itself. As the recent terrorist attacks on our nation shows, this opinion was gravely incorrect. There are several policies in both the private sector and our government, which contributed to our vulnerability to terrorism.
Another incident occurred on October 23, 2014 by a suspected Islamic convert in Queens, New York. The suspected Islamic convert critically wounded two NYPD officers with a hatchet. Islamic terrorist groups carefully choose their targets due to specific missions and objectives. Acts of terrorism are based on modernization, cultural conflict, and religion (Sauter & Carafano, 2012). Terrorists are creative in their attacks and is willing to explore different methods of inflicting fear and disrupting the economy. One of the many focal targets of terrorist groups are crowded civilian areas such as businesses and eateries. We often take for granted how serious terrorist attacks can be, and in most cases we fail to take preventive measures and implement emergency plans. Sauter and Carafano (2012) states, “Small business owners often believe that if disaster strikes they’ll be back in operation after two or three days. But experience shows that’s unlikely” (p. 431). The destruction of the Twin Towers carried out by Islamist extremists caused major disruption to the economy, caused mass causalities, inflict psychological fear to society, and destroyed countless large and small businesses in the lower Manhattan area of New
Tragedies like 9/11 and domestic terrorism can both be prevented with increased homeland security. To prevent attacks like 9/11 from happening in the future, address issues with domestic terrorism, and the growth of homeland security, the U.S. still needs to be concerned with terrorism. Disasters like 9/11 still need to be prevented in the United States. The U.S. needs to be more involved with terrorism in general to keep domestic attacks from happening. Homeland security needs to be studied and improved in order to prevent terrorism.
A hazard is defined as an activity or object that has the potential to cause harm if contact is made with the person, object or activity (MHS, 1996; Harmse, 2007; HSE, 2006). These hazards in a work place need to be identified and dealt with accordingly to prevent any harm to employees or any individual acquainted to a certain activity or establishment. The key roles and principles of occupational hygiene are Anticipation, Identification, Evaluation and Control (Schoeman and van den Heever, 2014; Harmse, 2008; SAMTRAC, 2012). To practise in accordance to the above principle; a hazard identification and risk assessment needs to be conducted. Anticipation is the foreseeing of the activity