Combatting Terrorism: DHS, Firefighters, Nurses Team Up to Protect Mall - Essay Sample

Introduction

Terrorism is a kind of crime that affects several people at one. Terrorists have devised new ways of executing their operations. The government must be actively involved in combatting terrorism and protecting property and the lives of its citizens. In the scenario where intelligence has been gathered on a potential terrorist threat at a shopping mall, a task force comprising of officers from Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism unit, local firefighting department, local nurses, state law enforcement officers and federal law enforcement officers will be deployed into the scene to prevent the threat or reduce casualties in the event of a terrorist attack.

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Adequate planning is required to counter the threat and ensure that all the citizens are evacuated from the building. The counterterrorism unit will be in charge of assessing potential risk areas and scanning the area to ascertain if the threat is real (U. S. Department of Homeland Security, n.d.). The unit will review CCTV footage to figure out the people behind the threat. The unit will further conduct interviews and coordinate all the operations with other members of the task force. They will give direction and orders for other members to act. The counterterrorism unit is experienced in handling potential hostage situations that could result in mass casualties if adequate plans are not implemented (U. S. Department of Homeland Security, n.d). The unit will further deploy officers to counter any potential attacks on civilians by the terrorists.

State law enforcement officers will be tasked with the role of helping in a rescue situation. These officers will be armed to protect civilians from the terrorists. They will work to shied civilians being rescued from the building at the same time responding to potential attack outside the building (Sandler, 2014). The state officers will also offer direction to other officers who will be reporting to the scene to assess the situation. The federal officers involving military officers will coordinate efforts to disarm the terrorists. The team will be deployed where special forces officers will enter the building together with the counterterrorism unit. Their work will involve repulsing potential attacks and ensuring that civilians are rescued.

The other members of the task force that will play a limited but essential role are the officers from the fire department and local nurses. The members of the fire department will be present to fight fires or help in breaking into buildings that have been secured by the special officers. The firefighting department has experience in terrorist situations, and their efforts have helped to reduce the number of casualties and injuries in hostage situations (American Political Science Association, n.d.). The nurses will work in providing first aid to civilians who suffer injuries while being evacuated from the mall. The nurses will assess the health needs of the victims and recommend if these victims should be accorded special treatment. Besides, the nurses will provide psychological and psychosocial support victims who might be affected by the traumatic events that unfolded in the rescue operations. The two members of this task force will play a role mainly in responding to the disaster as well as helping in the recovery.

Hostage situations present challenges that require the efforts of a task force to be able to manage. Task forces should be developed comprising members of different groups who can offer support that can help in countering terrorism and reducing the number of casualties. The vice cannot be fought by one unit which demands support from other agencies.

References

American Political Science Association. (n.d.). Task force on political violence and terrorism. Retrieved June 8, 2016, from http://www.apsanet.org/politicalviolence

U. S. Department of Homeland Security. (n.d.). Fusion centers and joint terrorism task forces. Retrieved June 8, 2016, from http://www.dhs.gov/fusion-centers-and-joint-terrorism-task-Forces

Sandler, T. (2014). Terrorism and counterterrorism: An overview. Oxford Journals, 67(1), 1-20.