Peer Response 1 Need Need Two 500 Peer Responses
(Peer Response 1 need 500 word response with 2 references and a question posed)
Risk management can assist homeland security and the United States government in making better informed and educated decisions on where to invest and develop programs to better mitigate the risk to homeland security. “Using principles of risk management can help policymakers reach informed decisions regarding the best ways to prioritize investments in security programs so that these investments target the areas of greatest need” (Rabkin, p.1). Risk management is a key factor in identifying key areas in which the country should invest in. In other words it is a constant assessment of where critical vulnerabilities lie and where the money, time and effort should be invested based of critical vulnerability and greatest risk. As history has shown in the United States threats to homeland security vary widely from Terrorist attacks like 9/11 to hurricane Katrina to most recently the California wild fires. It is really quite simple, it is impossible to have 100% sustainable security in regards to terrorism man mad and natural disaster. There is not enough time, man power or money. “The United States cannot afford to protect everything from every risk at all times” (Rabik, 2008). Using risk management programs have been identified to better help the federal government decide what programs to invest in. This does not come without its own obstacles to overcome, “three key challenges exist to applying risk management to homeland security: improving risk communication, political obstacles to risk-based resource allocation, and a lack of strategic thinking about managing homeland security risks” (Rabkin, p. 2, 2005).
The benefits of risk management programs can better help policymakers understand the perception of risk and allow policymakers create policy that is aligned with current threats. As with any risk management program there is a constant balancing act as far as acceptable level of risk and other factors that mitigate risk management “such as health, safety, economic consequences, environmental consequences as well as social consequences within the United States” (Willis, 2011). There will never be 100% security with zero risk. However the goal is to always ensure the level of risk coupled with the amount of resources is an acceptable level on both ends of the spectrum. One major issue is perceived threats and what the American people deem acceptable. The reason this is so important is due to the fact that politicians are elected by the American people and therefore often will make policy to align with their voter’s view of threats and what is important to them even if it is not the most efficient nor most critical policy in terms of ensuring homeland security and defense.
References:
Rabkin, N. J. (2005). Strengthening the Use of Risk Management Principles in Homeland Security. United States Government Accountability Office, 1-24. Retrieved May 29, 2019, from https://www.gao.gov/assets/130/120506.pdf.
Willis, Henry H., “Using Risk Analysis to Manage Terrorism Risk” (2011). Research Project Summaries. Paper 97.
http://research.create.usc.edu/project_summaries/97
Peer Response 2 need 500 word response with 2 references and a question posed
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays a crucial role in leading a unified effort in the management of the diverse and complex set of risks facing the United States. To strengthen capabilities in fulfilling its mission, DHS has created a Risk Management to provide a structured approach for the distribution and use of risk information and analysis efforts across the Department. Risk management is one tool for determining where risks and vulnerabilities are. It cannot tell someone how to prioritize targets, It just provides an analysis of strengths and weaknesses so a person can make a more informed decision. The major impediment to risk management is currently the inability to share information among state and federal governments and the private sector. The government and private sector should work together to form partnerships and to improve the flow of information. To make risk management processes truly effective, people need to be educated on their advantages and disadvantages so that they can use such tools appropriately to help them prioritize and allocate resources.
The benefit of Risk management can do a lot to help homeland security, risk management systems can help to determine where additional money needs to be budgeted or reduced based on determined risk. One of the main ways is that it helps policy makers make better informed decisions on security, It also help set organizations up for success. Throughout all of the organizations, risk management helps authorities to prioritize and focus on the important issues of homeland security. By using risk management programs, we can better utilize our limited resources to help increase the overall security of the United States. Risk management systems can help to determine where additional money needs to be budgeted or reduced based on determined risk. Finally, they help identify weak areas so we can concentrate on them and fix them to ensure we do not have a major attack happen.
Risk is easy to defined these days but actually it is a complicated thing. It all depends on how one perceives it’s meaning and also risk is a relative phenomenon. Risks for a person depends on what he thinks is uncontrollable and is out of his hand. Little attacks can grow into larger issues and can help turn people against each other and the government. Perception is everything in today’s society. For this reason, perception plays a huge role in how we handle risk management programs. Because we live in a free society we can’t just lock everyone down for the purpose of safety. The pure fact of freedom forces us to take some risks. Surveillance cameras and profiling are two great examples, these two things keep us safe, there is push back because it infringes on our civil liberties. However, the level of acceptable risk is taken and it’s all due to perception in the community. The more we trust the people informing us about a risk, the less afraid we are. The more we trust the process used in deciding whether we will be exposed to a hazard, the less afraid we are. When we trust the agency or company exposing us to the risk, we are less afraid. When we trust government agencies that are supposed to be protecting us, we are less afraid. The less we trust the people informing us, the people protecting us, or the process determining our exposure to a risk, the more afraid we are. Effective risk communication depends on acknowledging the many factors that contribute to individual risk perception and aims to help people combine instinct with evidence to make the healthiest choices possible.
Reference
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277734287…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC41819…
https://niemanreports.org/articles/understanding-f…
Very Respectfully (V/R)
Olakunle Okoya SGT USA
A.K.A Ola