Session No. 5

Course Title: Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Session Title: Response to Terrorist Attack

Prepared by Frances L. Edwards, Ph.D., CEM

                                                      TIME:  3 Hours

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Session

Objectives: At the conclusion of the session the students should be able to: 
 

5.0  Describe the Lead and Support Roles in Homeland Security – Who’s in charge of what and when? 
 

5.1  Describe the Federal, state and local (lead) roles in responding to terrorist events 
 

5.2  Describe the professions involved in response to terrorist attack and their roles and perspectives, and how their roles differ from emergency response to natural and technological events

Scope

      Brief overview of the catastrophic disaster response framework in the U.S. Description of the varying roles of the Federal, state and local roles in terrorism response.  Professions that participate in the response to terrorism, and their respective roles, including how they differ from their roles in natural and technological disasters.

Required Session Readings:

City of San Jose, Emergency Operations Plan, Annex T, http://www.sanjoseca.gov/emergencyServices/pdf/EOP2004_3.pdf, p.112-158 (T-1 to T-47)

Hank Christen, Paul Maniscalco, Alan Vickery, Frances Winslow, “A Overview of Incident Management Systems,” Perspectives on Preparedness, September 2001, No. 4.

http://bcsia.ksg.harvard.edu/BCSIA_content/documents/An_Overview_of_Incident_Management_Systems.pdf

Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5, February 28, 2003. http://www.nimsonline.com/presidential_directives/hspd_5.htm

Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8, December 17, 2003. http://www.nimsonline.com/presidential_directives/hspd_8.htm

National Response Plan Quick Reference Guide, 5/22/06, http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_Quick_Reference_Guide_5-22-06.pdf (Accessed 6/30/06).

Suggested Readings:

Brian Michael Jenkins and Frances Edwards-Winslow, Saving City Lifelines: Lessons Learned in the 9-11 Terrorist Attacks, San Jose, CA: Mineta Transportation Institute, 2003. http://transweb.sjsu.edu/publications/Sept11.pdf

Friedrich Steinhausler, and Frances Edwards, NATO and Terrorism: Catastrophic Terrorism and First Responders- Threats and Mitigation, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2005.

Objective 5.0 

Describe the Lead and Support Roles in Homeland Security – Who’s in charge of what and when?

Under the United States Constitution, the responsibility for disaster management begins with the jurisdiction where the disaster occurred.

• The National Response Plan (NRP) states,
  • “A basic premise of the NRP is that incidents are generally handled at the lowest jurisdictional level possible.”¹
• The responsibility for public safety is a local government role under American federalism. The mayor and chief executive (city manager/county executive) retain responsibility for the health, welfare and safety of the community, even when other levels of government provide mutual aid² or assistance of any kind.
• If the emergency event is going to exceed the capacity of the local government (municipality, county) to manage it effectively, the municipal executive officer (mayor or city manager) and the city council must declare a “local disaster” to begin the request for state and federal assistance. Exact requirements for local disaster declarations are found in the state’s Emergency Services Act. For example, see California’s at http://www.oes.ca.gov/Operational/OESHome.nsf/0/CB65D44B103E960D88256BC10079C3AF?OpenDocument , article 3630-3634.
• That local declaration is then passed up to the state with a request for a governor’s declaration of a state of emergency. If the governor agrees that the event exceeds local government capacity, the governor declares a state of emergency, and the local government may then receive personnel, goods, services and funding from the state to deal with the disaster. These resources include the National Guard, which is a state resource.
• If the governor believes that the disaster may overwhelm the capacity of the state to effectiv