The Pros And Cons Of Homeland Security

Homeland security is well known for its ability to defend the United States from attacks, either foreign or domestic, on its own soil. However, no one really thinks about how the DHS gets the intelligence needed to adequately protect the country and its citizens. This intelligence is gathered a variety of ways from different sources, including local law enforcement as well as national agencies. The degree that information is received from these different sources and analyzed is directly correlated with how the DHS can effectively develop plans and carry them out. There is a distinction, however, between domestic and foreign intelligence that cannot be overlooked when analyzing. Each agency presents pros and cons for the DHS, which play a crucial role in the overall development

Coordination with local law enforcement can be very useful in these matters. It is well known the domestic attacks that have taken place recently by people living in America. However, it should go without saying that without the DHS, there would’ve likely been many more of these attacks. Now some of these attacks are nearly impossible to predict or prevent, but sometimes it is possible due to the internet. With many local law enforcement agencies monitoring social media looking for threats to their community, some threats can be prevented. But all attacks and threats are not physical, some are in cyberspace in an attempt to hack into secure mainframes to steal information. In coordination with the DoD, “DHS developed the interim National Cyber Incident Response Plan13, which outlines domestic cyber incident response coordination and execution among federal, state and territorial, and local governments, and the private sector.” (GAO, 2012, pg. 9) These attacks can cause major damage, either to individuals by stealing identities, or to the community by manipulating the economy or compromising