Chapter 15
Homeland Security
Learning Objectives
LO1 Discuss Homeland Security and how it impacts the United States.
LO2 Define terrorism, including threats posed to the United States both internationally and
domestically.
LO3 Identify and discuss the methods used by law enforcement for investigating terrorism.
Lesson Plan
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Homeland Security
Learning Objective 1: Discuss Homeland Security and how it impacts the United States.
A. Objectives
1. Prevent terrorist attacks against the United States
3. Minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur
II. Terrorism
Learning Objective 2: Define terrorism, including threats posed to the United States both
internationally and domestically.
A. Definition
1. Three major definitions of terrorism are “the unlawful use of force or violence
against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian
population, or a segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives,”
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Class Discussion/Activity:
Describe and discuss some of the reasons terrorists commit their acts.
2. Terrorism has a long tradition in world history. Terrorist tactics have been used
3. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)
a. Created in 2004; has the statutory mission to serve as the U.S.
B. International Terrorism
1. Three categories of threats to the United States
a. Threats from foreign sponsors of international terrorism
2. Four types of biological agents can be weaponized
a. Natural poisons or toxins that occur without human modification
b. Viruses
c. Bacteria
d. Plagues
C. Domestic Terrorism
Class Discussion/Activity:
Militias have become a major player in domestic terrorism. What is an example of a domestic
militia group, and what political philosophy does the group follow?
See Assignment 1
Media Tool
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“Sovereign Citizen Movement”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-look-at-the-sovereign-citizen-movement/
o Article: A Look At The “Sovereign Citizen” Movement – CBS 60 Minutes
o Discussion: Discuss the article. What are the issues in this article? Do you consider this
movement to be a threat to law enforcement? Would you consider them to be a terrorist
organization? Why or Why not?
1. The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) established
2. The Office of Justice Program’s (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) runs
3. Many Americans and most major U.S. firms have been targeted by terrorists in
some way. Political extremists and terrorists use the violence and suspense of
terrorist acts such as bombing, kidnapping, and hostage situations to put pressure
See Assignment 2
What If Scenario
You are the Sheriff of a mid-sized county. You have an active militia movement in your county.
What resources do you have available to address possible threats? What will be your plan if this
movement decides to become actively involved in asserting their rights?
III. Methods of Investigating Terrorism
Learning Objective 3: Identify and discuss the methods used by law enforcement for
investigating terrorism.
What If Scenario
Your Captain has asked you to develop a proactive method of investigating terrorism incidents.
She has also asked you to plan for “reactive” methods of investigating terrorism. What will you do
to plan for both of these methods of terrorism response?
A. Proactive Methods
1. Techniques in use constantly to prevent acts of terrorism before they occur
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2. Methods include ongoing and coordinated planning, intelligence gathering, and
investigating activity by various agencies
B. Reactive Methods
2. Crime Scene Processing and Analysis
4. Use of Informants
5. Surveillance
IV. Post-9/11 Response to Terrorism and Homeland Defense
Learning Objective 4: Describe the response of the U.S. government immediately following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
A. On October 8, 2001, President Bush signed Executive Order 13228, which
established the Office of Homeland Security
See Assignment 3
B. On October 26, 2001, President Bush signed into law the USA Patriot Act (Uniting
and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and
Media Tool
“USA Patriot Act”
http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm
o Article: Department of Justice: The USA Patriot Act: Preserving Life and Liberty
o Discussion: Discuss this article. What does this say about the Patriot Act? What are the
main points of the Act? Do you agree or disagree with what is written? How would you
change the Act?
C. In November 2001, the president signed into law the Aviation and Transportation
Security Act, which among other things established the Transportation Security
D. 9/11 Commission’s Review of Efforts for Homeland Security
Class Discussion/Activity:
In 2004, the 9/11 Commission Report: The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks upon the United States was released by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks.
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The commission made 41 main proposals to improve homeland security and prevent future acts of
terrorism against our nation. Which recommendation do you think was the most important?
1. 9/11 Commission Report: The Final Report of the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks upon the United States
a. The members of the commission met for two years, reviewed more than
2.5 million pages of documents, and interviewed more than 1,200
individuals in 10 countries
2. In December 2005, the former commission, which re-created itself as a private
nonprofit organization issued a report card as its last official act
a. The intent was to pressure Congress and the White House to act on its
recommendations.
b. It gave the federal government largely failing and mediocre marks as
V. Federal Law Enforcement Efforts for Homeland Security
Learning Objective 5: Identify and explain federal law enforcement efforts for homeland
security.
A. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
2. Directorate for Science and Technology
4. Office of Policy
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6. Office of Intelligence and Analysis
8. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
10. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
12. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
14. U.S. Coast Guard
16. U.S. Secret Service
See Assignment 4
B. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
1. The FBI’s new focus placed the following as its three priorities:
a. Protecting the United States from terrorist attack
2. Counterterrorism activities of the Bureau shifted from a reactive to a proactive
orientation
3. Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) concept
C. Secure Communities and Priority Enforcement Program: DHS and FBI
Class Discussion/Activity:
Discuss the Secure Communities initiative and how it is utilized by local law enforcement. How
has it affected communities where it is utilized?
2. This partnership helps to identify criminal aliens without imposing new burdens
on law enforcement.
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4. Although the federal government’s role in responding to and combating terrorism
and promoting homeland security is extremely crucial, each act of terrorism is
essentially a local problem and must be addressed by local authorities. State and
local law enforcement agencies have significantly increased their homeland
security efforts since 9/11.
See Assignment 5
What If Scenario
You are the chief of a large city agency. Your department is working with the Federal government
through the Secure Communities program. Your city has been declared a “sanctuary” city and has
developed a policy stating that it will not enforce immigration laws, but welcomes illegal aliens.
What will be your response for your agency regarding this issue? How should your officers respond
to your local state laws and the federal immigration laws?
Media Tool
“Secure Communities”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSQ09ZONmq0
o Video: Secure Communities Debate Between Sheriff Adrian Garcia & Immigrant Advocate
Chris Newman: DemocracyNow.org—Many criticized the Obama administration for
unilaterally pushing ahead with a controversial federal immigration enforcement policy
called Secure Communities that requires local police to forward fingerprints of every person
they arrest to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
o Discussion: Discuss what the video is saying. Discuss the debate between the two sides .
Which side do you believe presents their case and why?
D. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
1. The ODNI coordinates information from national security and military
intelligence agencies, as well as law enforcement agencies
E. Other Federal Agencies
VI. State and Local Law Enforcement Efforts for Homeland Security
Learning Objective 6: Identify state and local law enforcement efforts to enhance homeland
security.
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Class Discussion/Activity:
Describe and discuss some state and local law enforcement efforts for homeland security.
A. In the aftermath of 9/11, state and local agencies are being asked to play a bigger part
as first responders to terrorist incidents and in gathering intelligence
B. Federal funding has been made available to state and local law enforcement for the
development and enhancement of law enforcement information systems relating to
terrorism with an emphasis on information sharing
C. Local Efforts in Addressing Terrorism
1. NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau (CT)
D. State and Local Training and Awareness Efforts
1. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
3. FEMA training
4. Fusion centers
E. State and Local Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism
1. FBI Terrorist Screening Center
See Assignment 6
VII. Security Versus Civil Liberties
Learning Objective 7: Identify and explain the critical issues between security and civil
liberties.
Class Discussion/Activity:
The balancing of civil liberties and security is a very difficult task. What recommendations do you
have to accomplish this goal?
A. Many believe that since 9/11 the government has been given too much ability to
2. Americans have a long tradition of attempting to strike a balance between security
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B. The Patriot Act
1. National security letters
a. Many critics of the Patriot Act question the constitutionality of national
2. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court (FISA Court)
3. National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance
What If Scenario
You are a chief of a medium-sized department. Your department has been using court-authorized
wiretaps in a drug sting operation. Through leaks, the wiretaps have become public knowledge and
now there is an outcry regarding violation of privacy rights . What do you say to the community
and the media?
a. In 2005, it was disclosed that the National Security Agency (NSA) had
been secretly keeping track of phone calls that millions of ordinary
C. July 2006 Harris Interactive poll results
1. A majority of Americans reported that they were in favor of increasing
2. 70 percent of those polled reported they favored expanded camera surveillance on
3. 62 percent of respondents said they supported police monitoring of chat rooms
and other online forums, an increase from 50 percent in February 2004
4. 52 percent of those polled favored police monitoring of cell phones and e-mail,
VIII. Summary
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Lecture Notes
1. What is terrorism?
Terrorism has many definitions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as
“the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a
2. Are domestic terrorists a real threat?
Domestic terrorism involves groups or individuals who operate without foreign direction entirely
within the United States and target elements of the U.S. government or citizens. The 1995
3. How do we balance our civil liberties and our personal security?
This is a very good question. The government has the responsibility of protecting its citizens
4. What is Secure Communities, and how has it been utilized?
Secure Communities uses an already-existing federal information-sharing partnership between
the ICE and the FBI. This partnership helps to identify criminal aliens without imposing new
burdens on law enforcement. Secure Communities was started in 2008 in 14 jurisdictions and is
Key Terms
biological weapons Weapons made from live bacterial, viral, or other microorganisms. (p. 538)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal cabinet department established in the
domestic terrorism Terrorism committed by citizens of the United States in the United States.
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA Court) Bill passed in 1978 requiring the NSA
and the FBI to seek a special court’s (the FISA Court’s) permission to conduct searches and
fusion center An organization composed of individuals from various federal, state, county, and
municipal law enforcement agencies in an area. These individuals facilitate the gathering and
sharing of intelligence information and the evaluation of this information. The primary goal of
homeland security Efforts made since the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, to protect the
Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) concept Use of single-focused investigative units that
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) The National Counterterrorism Center was
created in 2004, under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA), to serve
as the primary organization in the U.S. government for integrating and analyzing all intelligence
pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism and for conducting strategic operational planning by
national security letters Information requests issued by a local FBI official who certifies that
the information is relevant to an international terrorism or foreign intelligence investigation. (p.
terrorism Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets.
terrorist watchlist A list maintained by the federal government of individuals who are not
USA Patriot Act Public Law No. 107-56, passed in 2001, giving law enforcement new ability to
search, seize, detain, or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists; full title of law is USA
Patriot Act—Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Assignments
1. Using the Internet, research the local militia movement and the local posse comitatus
2. Visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum website. Then visit the
National Park Service website that is dedicated to the Oklahoma City Memorial. Which
3. Discuss the USA Patriot Act. Should this law be renewed? How would the lapse of this
4. Visit the Department of Homeland Security website and research employment
opportunities. Note the job qualifications, duties, salary, duty location, benefits, and
5. Compare and contrast TSA’s passenger and baggage screening procedures with Amtrak’s
passenger and baggage screening procedures. Should screening procedures be the same
6. Visit the FEMA training website and familiarize yourself with the NIMS and Incident
Command training. Note your regional contacts and information that you can apply in