An Exploratory Study of Local Homeland Security Preparedness

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
William V. Pelfrey
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Law Enforcement Agency ◽  
Measurement Tools ◽  
Local Law ◽  
Local Agencies

As an artifact of the war on terror, local law enforcement agencies have been asked to serve as the “eyes and ears” of federal intelligence agencies. The federal Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) has assembled a set of guidelines to assist agencies in terrorism prevention and weapons of mass destruction identification. However, there is a dearth of metrics and measurement tools available to assess preparedness. Based on ODP guidelines, a methodology to tap preparedness levels is defined. Additionally, preliminary findings from an assessment of a large law enforcement agency are presented. Application of this methodology will enhance the preparedness of local agencies by identifying areas of strength and those areas which require attention. Once these deficit areas are defined, policy makers can define appropriate training and programmatic changes.

scholarly journals Impact of 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act on UASs

10.28945/4146 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 123-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Federal Aviation Administration ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽  
National Airspace System ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Department Of Homeland Security ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Law

The commercial unmanned aircraft industry exists in a rapidly evolving and uncertain environment, with a multitude of well-established, well-financed stakeholders in associated industries each vying to influence that environment. Although influence can come in many forms, Congress holds the ultimate power, and gives agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) a recurring authorization to regulate air travel and associated research. On October 5, 2018, this authorization was extended until 2023 In a variety of draft forms since introduced by Senator Schuster in June of 2017, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 grants an additional 5 years to the FAA, and with it a multitude of new directives related to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs). The House and Senate had versions under review for over a year, each with unique amendments that impact UAS operations and address many of the concerns of stakeholders, but not all of them will assist the industry in its efforts to integrate within the National Airspace system with manned traffic. Some like the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement agencies, and commercial passenger operators all have differing interests that may slow the growth and integration of UASs. With this final bill, the industry gets the opportunity to operate as it wishes in some areas, but loses some of the freedoms it once had.

Collaboration between Law Enforcement Agencies in Combating Cybercrime: Implications of a Taiwanese Case Study about ATM Hacking

2020 ◽  
pp. 0306624X2095239
Author(s):  
Shun-Yung Kevin Wang ◽  
Ming-Li Hsieh ◽  
Charles Kuang-Ming Chang ◽  
Pin-Syuan Jiang ◽  
Douglas J. Dallier
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Financial Institution ◽  
Criminal Group ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Law ◽  
Empirical Implications

An increasing number of cybercrimes has presented new global challenges to law enforcement agencies that traditionally operate within designated geographical jurisdictions and patrol territories. The borderless nature of cyberspace has brought substantial opportunities—both legal and illegal—to its users, and many local law enforcement agencies have encountered motivated offenders taking advantage of the globally connected Internet and causing damage locally and transnationally. This study examines a high-profile case of European criminals who hacked into a Taiwanese financial institution—First Commercial Bank (FCB)—and programmed its ATMs to “spit out” cash netting the thieves $2.6 million US dollars in 2016 summer. Before the incident of FCB, this European criminal group committed more than a hundred similar ATMs hackings, victimizing dozens of financial institutions across several European countries, and profiting over one billion Euros. FCB is the only case revealing specific details about the modus operandi of ATM hacking thus far, in addition to disclosing reactions from law enforcement. By analyzing qualitative data collected from different branches of law enforcement involved in the investigations, this unique case study underscores the importance of national-local law enforcement collaboration in fighting transnational cybercrime. Empirical implications are particularly valuable in the law enforcement context of “turf jealousies” when defending homeland security.

Racializing Crimmigration

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amada Armenta
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigration Enforcement ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Local Law Enforcement ◽  
Local Jail ◽  
Colorblind Ideology ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Local Law

Deporting “criminal aliens” has become the highest priority in American immigration enforcement. Today, most deportations are achieved through the “crimmigration” system, a term that describes the convergence of the criminal justice and immigration enforcement systems. Emerging research argues that U.S. immigration enforcement is a “racial project” that subordinates and racializes Latino residents in the United States. This article examines the role of local law enforcement agencies in the racialization process by focusing on the techniques and logics that drive law enforcement practices across two agencies, I argue that local law enforcement agents racialize Latinos by punishing illegality through their daily, and sometimes mundane, practices. Investigatory traffic stops put Latinos at disproportionate risk of arrest and citation, and processing at the local jail subjects unauthorized immigrants to deportation. Although a variety of local actors sustain the deportation system, most do not see themselves as active participants in immigrant removal and they explain their behavior through a colorblind ideology. This colorblind ideology obscures and naturalizes how organizational practices and laws converge to systematically criminalize and punish Latinos in the United States.

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