The Department Of Homeland Security

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The Department of Homeland Security has a prominent role in maintaining the safety, security and resilience of our nation. In a world where terrorism is an ever-increasing threat and where man-made and natural disasters have left people and areas in devastation, the Department of Homeland Security works diligently to prevent and protect the United States from the effects of such tragedy. In order to effectively protect our nation Department of Homeland Security must assess the risk associated with any terrorist, natural or man-made threat. The risk assessment method that the department uses takes into account certain variables that help the department determine the level of risk. Based on the assessed risk level Homeland Security uses risk management for strategic planning, operations, determining the allocation of resources and grant awards in an attempt to prepare for and mitigate any harm to our nation, critical infrastructure and its people in the event of a tragedy.
After the tragedies of 9/11 and even hurricane Katrina, the nation was stunned at how a superpower such as the United States could experience such traumatic tragedies and not have been prepared to handle, protect or efficiently assist its citizens. The question after 9/11 was how do we prevent this tragedy from occurring again? How can the country be more prepared? These thoughts gave way to the early formulation of the risk assessment in 2001 that initially associated risk directly proportional to the population of an area. This formula later turned out to be an ineffective method. As the Department of Homeland Security was created and its mission expanded from not only counterterrorism, but to include non-terrorism threats such as natural or man-made disasters...

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...certain risks and use that knowledge to make solid comprehensive management decisions. These decisions are designed to create a long-term plan that provides solid strategies for preventing and mitigating risk. The risk management also provides Department of homeland security and its partner’s resources and training to educate and prepare members on federal, state, local, tribal and territorial levels to prepare for disaster. Unfortunately, it impossible for our government to completely eliminate risk, whether it is terrorism or man-made or natural disasters, however, with effective risk management, we can rest assure that the risk can be brought down acceptable level where the department of homeland security and their partners are adequately prepared and have the capabilities to handle that risk and lower the potential harm that it could cause the nation long term.

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