Most recently published
A Failure to Over-Communicate
Terry Hastings
May 10, 2017
Emergency managers (and others) often fail to truly engage and educate their various stakeholders. With numerous competing priorities and a vast array of information outlets to contend with, getting a message to resonate requires more effort than ever before. As such, emergency managers must be willing to over-communicate and explore
Native Community Resilience Leaps Forward
Lynda Zambrano
May 3, 2017
As in any community, a solid network of partnerships is needed to address the specific needs of its community members. Native American and Alaska Native populations span the nation, but face similar preparedness challenges. To address resilience gaps, a public-private sector collaborative approach was used to create a tool
“Emergency Management” – A Misnomer
Chas Eby
April 26, 2017
“Emergency management” is a term broadly defining a field that includes federal, state, and local government agencies, voluntary organizations active in disasters, and private sector stakeholders that conduct a variety of activities to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from incidents. However, “emergency management” does not accurately describe the
Biometrics & Continuous Evaluation: A New Approach
Ernest Baumann and Delilah Barton
April 24, 2017
Increased focus on insider threats has resulted in greater attention to background screening and automated methods to assist the vetting process for initial and continued access to secure facilities and classified information. Recent technology applications can provide investigators with an ever-increasing variety of data for screening and continued vetting. Applying
Legislation Protecting Children in Disasters
Andrew R. Roszak
April 19, 2017
Emergencies and disasters can have a profound impact on children. However, in 2004-2012, less than $0.01 of every $10 invested by federal emergency preparedness grants went to activities geared toward improving children’s safety. As the federal government plays a major role in funding and directing emergency preparedness, it is encouraging
Civil Unrest – Prediction & Preparedness
Kenneth Comer
April 11, 2017
Civil unrest, regardless of cause, creates unexpected risks to lives and property. Predicting the timing and scale of these events would allow for better tactical management and a more effective training process. However, theoretical work by complex systems scientists and real-world experiences of first responders make a strong case that
Building Community Resilience Through Health Equity
Nicolette Louissaint
April 5, 2017
Each person is affected by disasters in different ways. However, the reasons for these disparities stem from factors that can and should be addressed pre-disaster. The public health field is implementing measures to address at-risk communities and to help mitigate public health threats, which increase in magnitude during disasters. The
Coastal Resilience Grants – States Left Holding the Sandbag
Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso
March 29, 2017
The federal Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget plan includes significant reductions to most domestic programs, and a common theme across agencies appears to be the elimination of grant programs, particularly those supporting environmental protection and monitoring. Beyond reductions to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, other agencies involved in similar activities
Reducing Recidivism Among Islamic Extremists
Richard Schoeberl
March 22, 2017
As the United States embarks on new policies and a new administration, its citizens must be more vigilant now than ever before. There will continue to be an upsurge in extremist ideology and high recidivism rates among convicted terrorists who have now reengaged in violence. Rehabilitation may be the only
Defining Leadership Options in a Disaster Response
Wendy W. Nesheim
March 20, 2017
Many actively practicing medical professionals are trained and available to deploy to the site of a natural or manmade disaster within hours after an event occurs. Although these medical professionals work with established and traditional leadership styles during their regular “day jobs,” the complex nature of disasters requires leadership approaches
Creating a University Disaster Medical Response Team
Ruben Almaguer
March 15, 2017
As one of the top 10 disaster-prone states in the nation, Florida continues to strengthen its ability to prepare for and respond to any disaster requiring specialized emergency surgical or critical care medicine. With shrinking budgets and increased demand, building effective and rapid disaster medical response capabilities requires more than
The How and the Why of Crowd Management
Stephen Maloney
March 13, 2017
On a Saturday night in 2013, a fire broke out in a nightclub in Sao Paulo, Brazil. More than 240 people, mostly college students, were killed. Two years later, two people were killed and more than 70 injured in a stampede to exit a club in Malta, due to a
Putting Transportation Under the Resilience Umbrella
Laurel J. Radow
May 10, 2017
As interdependencies between and among critical infrastructure sectors and the potential for cascading effects increase, communities must be able to recover and adapt to new normals. One organization incorporates research to help enhance communication between sectors by identifying and addressing research gaps. As threats evolve, communities with a solid framework
A Failure to Over-Communicate
Terry Hastings
May 10, 2017
Emergency managers (and others) often fail to truly engage and educate their various stakeholders. With numerous competing priorities and a vast array of information outlets to contend with, getting a message to resonate requires more effort than ever before. As such, emergency managers must be willing to over-communicate and explore
Native Community Resilience Leaps Forward
Lynda Zambrano
May 3, 2017
As in any community, a solid network of partnerships is needed to address the specific needs of its community members. Native American and Alaska Native populations span the nation, but face similar preparedness challenges. To address resilience gaps, a public-private sector collaborative approach was used to create a tool
“Emergency Management” – A Misnomer
Chas Eby
April 26, 2017
“Emergency management” is a term broadly defining a field that includes federal, state, and local government agencies, voluntary organizations active in disasters, and private sector stakeholders that conduct a variety of activities to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from incidents. However, “emergency management” does not accurately describe the
Biometrics & Continuous Evaluation: A New Approach
Ernest Baumann and Delilah Barton
April 24, 2017
Increased focus on insider threats has resulted in greater attention to background screening and automated methods to assist the vetting process for initial and continued access to secure facilities and classified information. Recent technology applications can provide investigators with an ever-increasing variety of data for screening and continued vetting. Applying
Legislation Protecting Children in Disasters
Andrew R. Roszak
April 19, 2017
Emergencies and disasters can have a profound impact on children. However, in 2004-2012, less than $0.01 of every $10 invested by federal emergency preparedness grants went to activities geared toward improving children’s safety. As the federal government plays a major role in funding and directing emergency preparedness, it is encouraging
Civil Unrest – Prediction & Preparedness
Kenneth Comer
April 11, 2017
Civil unrest, regardless of cause, creates unexpected risks to lives and property. Predicting the timing and scale of these events would allow for better tactical management and a more effective training process. However, theoretical work by complex systems scientists and real-world experiences of first responders make a strong case that
Building Community Resilience Through Health Equity
Nicolette Louissaint
April 5, 2017
Each person is affected by disasters in different ways. However, the reasons for these disparities stem from factors that can and should be addressed pre-disaster. The public health field is implementing measures to address at-risk communities and to help mitigate public health threats, which increase in magnitude during disasters. The
Coastal Resilience Grants – States Left Holding the Sandbag
Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso
March 29, 2017
The federal Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget plan includes significant reductions to most domestic programs, and a common theme across agencies appears to be the elimination of grant programs, particularly those supporting environmental protection and monitoring. Beyond reductions to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, other agencies involved in similar activities
Reducing Recidivism Among Islamic Extremists
Richard Schoeberl
March 22, 2017
As the United States embarks on new policies and a new administration, its citizens must be more vigilant now than ever before. There will continue to be an upsurge in extremist ideology and high recidivism rates among convicted terrorists who have now reengaged in violence. Rehabilitation may be the only
Defining Leadership Options in a Disaster Response
Wendy W. Nesheim
March 20, 2017
Many actively practicing medical professionals are trained and available to deploy to the site of a natural or manmade disaster within hours after an event occurs. Although these medical professionals work with established and traditional leadership styles during their regular “day jobs,” the complex nature of disasters requires leadership approaches
Creating a University Disaster Medical Response Team
Ruben Almaguer
March 15, 2017
As one of the top 10 disaster-prone states in the nation, Florida continues to strengthen its ability to prepare for and respond to any disaster requiring specialized emergency surgical or critical care medicine. With shrinking budgets and increased demand, building effective and rapid disaster medical response capabilities requires more than
Three “I”s to Repairing the Police/Community Relationship
Marc R. Partee
February 22, 2017
Over the years, the fragile relationship between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve has been strained to the point of fracture. The goal now for law enforcement agencies is to repair existing relationships with the communities they serve and build new positive relationships with youths to ensure future
Today’s Law Enforcement Challenges
Kay C. Goss
February 21, 2017
Civil unrest in cities across the country challenges public servants to think analytically about how to restore public confidence and protect citizens from bad actors and events that threaten their safety and security. This article summarizes a four-hour roundtable that DomPrep and the Baltimore Police Department convened to share insights
Community Oriented Policing Under Fire
Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso
February 15, 2017
In the days leading up to the 2017 U.S. presidential inauguration, word began to spread across the executive branch that significant cuts were coming to many domestic programs. However, reducing funding and resources for law enforcement could present challenges for established and future community-oriented policing efforts.
A New Model Proposed for U.S. Bioterrorism Response
David M. Ladd
February 14, 2017
On 17 January 2017, the InterAgency Board released its “Proposed Model for Bioterrorism Response: Initial Operations and Characterization” position paper (BT Position Paper). This 28-page document puts forward a method to make use of the many federally developed standards and strategies produced over the past 16 years – at a
Managing Civil Unrest & Protests in a New Environment
Melissa Hyatt
February 8, 2017
Those in law enforcement can attest to the continuous changes in the profession. In the 1960s, it was inconceivable to have predicted where time and technology would transport the country by 2017. The media provides instantaneous news via social media, so a small demonstration can be multiplied in an instant
Implementation of an Active Shooter Plan
William O. Jackson Jr.
February 8, 2017
Effective response to an active shooter incident requires planning and role reinforcement through training for personnel who may be affected by an incident, as well as for leaders and managers responsible for coordinating responses. For example, personnel near an active shooter need to use the appropriate response model – for
Civilian/Military Collaboration for Domestic Response
Jeffrey Driskill Sr.
February 8, 2017
The focus of PATRIOT’s tactical level domestic response has matured to increase understanding of interagency and multidisciplinary coordination, policies, and doctrine, and to develop procedures and processes that could be adopted elsewhere. The best practices and lessons learned are relevant to any local and state emergency managers, and strengthen knowledge
The Ongoing Quest to Assess & Measure Preparedness
Terry Hastings, Chris Hennen, Gerald Manley, John Pendio, Joe Sastre, Kevin Sligh and Arthur (Art) Samaras
February 1, 2017
Since 9/11, billions of dollars and an enormous amount of effort have been directed at enhancing national preparedness efforts as they relate to human-caused and natural disasters, yet many jurisdictions and organizations still struggle to determine how prepared they are and how prepared they need to be.
Sustainable Emergency Preparedness & Response for Hospitals
Rachel Clark and Oscar Enriquez
January 25, 2017
A cohesive, well-developed disaster response team is essential to prevent adverse incidents and lives lost. Meeting current safety guidelines must be enculturated for a successful program, thus saving lives and providing optimal quality of life after a major disaster. Completing the minimal requirements for tasks to meet current safety guidelines
The Changing Face of Disasters Demands New Thinking
Vincent B. Davis
January 24, 2017
New problems call for new solutions. The definitions and parameters, in which emergency management, law enforcement, nongovernmental organizations, and others now work under, are inadequate to meet the new challenges of today. Furthermore, the old rules as to how and why to prepare simply do not apply anymore.
Time Value of Capability: Expenditures vs. Savings
Charles Eaneff
January 18, 2017
The business of domestic preparedness seems to be a likely priority in 2017, and the relationship between the time value of state and local capabilities and federal disaster relief policies are sure to evolve. For public safety professionals – including police, fire, emergency medical, and emergency management services – the
Local Role in Preparedness & Resilience to Natural Disasters
Roland Temah
January 17, 2017
Natural disasters begin locally and may affect one or more communities simultaneously. However, a community approach to preparedness and resilience – with local government officials identifying the different natural disasters that make their communities vulnerable – can greatly influence response and sustainability efforts to counteract potential challenges. To achieve effective
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