ABSTRACT
Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, most local city and county government agencies across the United States have ended up bearing the burden of financing and managing critical incidents. The impact on local governments of federal and state mandated homeland security programs has varied considerably across various levels of government, but what remains constant is that agencies and organizations involved in critical incident management must understand how prepared they are before a disaster strikes. No first-responder organization can afford not to have a preparedness strategy. Local law enforcement officials are charged with overseeing an array of critical duties associated with emergency preparedness, and, therefore, their preparedness is vital to preventing acts of terrorism and minimizing the impact of other critical incidents.
