ABSTRACT
Homeland Security planning is a national priority in the programs funded by the US Congress and administered by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Not long ago, terrorism was a vague and unknown term to most Americans. Acts of terrorism were remote to the continental United States. Primarily, local communities prepared for conventional weather-related hazards. Typically, the priority of first responders consisted of fire prevention and suppression and law enforcement anticrime, antidrug, and antigang efforts. Emergency management went about the business of planning for natural disasters, which included tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. High-profile incidents that captured the nation’s attention were school shootings, gang violence, and hate crimes. Grants and programs were designed to combat these types of activities.
