Homeland Security

The September 11th terrorist attacks put homeland security at the very top of the national public policy agenda. It is one of the most important mission facing the U.S. government. But, as the National Strategy for Homeland Security argues, securing the homeland is also an extremely complex mission that requires a coordinated and integrated effort from all levels of society - the federal government, state and local governments, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the American people.

To meet these challenges, CPASS conducts leading research, offers graduate level study, and hosts important policy discussions on all facets of international and homeland security.

Research
Intelligence Analysis for Homeland Security
Faculty, fellows and students of CPASS are conducting research to improve intelligence analysis as it relates to threats to the homeland; specifically emphasizing the usefulness to asessing risks and allocating counterterrorism resources.  The researchers are exploring how traditional intelligence analysis methods do and do not apply to the homeland security challenges of assessing threats. They are examining the role of counterintelligence analysis and the interaction of it with the policy and  risk modeling communities, as well as foreign "best practices," and the opportunities and challenges of grassroots intelligence analysis and dissemination of analytic products beyond the federal level. This research project is supported by the Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Risk Analysis and Economic Analysis of Terrorism (CREATE) at the University of Southern California.

Risk Perceptions
The Department of Homeland Security and their partners in domestic intelligence seek to understand better the various preferences and perceived risks held by different stakeholder groups toward domestic intelligence activities to better inform risk communication, outreach efforts, and policy-making. Many of these issues evolve around the perception of the Homeland Security enterprise as it relates to trust; specifically how do government agencies convey what the information sharing network is about so people can trust it. This research will quantify major stakeholder groups’ objectives and preferences regarding domestic intelligence activities. An important aspect of this project will be the focus on the public’s responses to these activities.

Terrorism Risk Factors and Border Screening
After September 11, 2001, the border enforcement authorities defaulted to and adapted existing tools to respond to the newly prioritized terrorist threat. One blanket criterion for identifying individuals entering the United States who posed a significant terrorist risk was young males from various target countries. Given that 1.1 million people enter the U.S. daily, 700,000 of which are foreign nationals, border authorities were aware of the need to refine its risk variables to address the newly prioritized terrorist mission while facilitating the normal flow of goods and people across the border. CPASS researchers are exploring two rational choice models that have been developed to explain people's motivations for joining and supporting terrorist and criminal organizations. Applied properly, they should generate innovations in the United States' risk-based targeting methods to both increase border security and streamline the process for legitimate travelers and cargo.

Researchers:
Daniel L. Byman, Director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies
Robin Dillon-Merrill, Associate Professor, McDonough School of Business
Gary Shiffman, CPASS Director of Homeland Security Studies
Jennifer Sims, CPASS Director of Intelligence Studies

Fellows:
Genevieve Lester, Security Studies Program Adjunct Professor
Chet Lunner, Deputy Under Secretary, Intelligence, U.S Department of Homeland Security
Edward G. Piper, Director of Public and Emergency Preparedness, Georgetown Law Center
Nicolle Sciara Rippeon, Principal,  ABM, LLC

Academics
The Security Studies Program (SSP) in conjunction with the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI) offers a Certificate in Homeland Security Studies to prepare students for these new challenges.

Events: 
CPASS hosted Eli Berman of the University of California at San Diego on November 4, 2009 to discuss is new book: Radical, Religious and Violent:  The New Economics of Terrorism (audio).

On October 19-20 CPASS hosted a conference entitled: "If you Build It, Will They Use It? Optimizing the Homeland Security Network" which was aired on C-SPAN. 

Speakers were:
General Michael V. Hayden, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and

Charles E. Allen, former Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis.

Panel Discussions were:
       Technology and Homeland Security,
       Lessons from Social Networking,
       Incentives and Implementation: Local Successes,
       Road Map the the Future,
       Homeland Security & Defense Business Council: Industry Reactions

Security Studies Program