TERRORISM RESPONSE PLANNING IntroductionTo combat the impacts of various terrorism acts, the responsible security agencies are often tasked with the mandate of establishing a good terrorism response plan. Formulation of an appropriate plan requires a concerted effort from the responsible personnel so as to come up with something practical and substantial. Therefore, the primary research study in this paper is to formulate a framework and guidelines aimed towards assisting the local and State emergency planners in establishment and maintenance of a TIA (Terrorist Incident Appendix) for the EOP (Emergency Operations Plans) (Buddemeier, 2011). These are the plans that are intended to aid the security teams in management of various consequences posed by terrorists. This is with regards to the effects that were witnessed in New York’s terrorist attacks of September 2011.
The planning process should often be handled intelligently due to the immense creativity of the terror gangs. The planners are therefore marred with a greater challenge of thinking beyond or thinking outside the box. The study tends to take into consideration the manner in which planners should undertake their operations accordingly. They should consider a wide range of incidents associated with terrorism such as the infrastructural assaults, as well as the aspect of tampering with the electronic information systems. These are the aspects whose end results are detrimental since they encompass greater consequences on safety and health.
Planning Process
The planning process with regards to the terrorist attacks is considered as the primary responsibility of the local and state governments. In this case, terrorism planning involves the entire process of formulating a TIA that is similar to the one used for culminating plans for any other forms of emergency operations. The planning process should entirely kick start before the occurrence of any emergency. The planners are often advised to utilize appropriate guidelines promptly so as to get the best out of their efforts.
For this case, the planning process can be broken down into six main phases. These include the initiation phase; Concept development; plan development; plan review; formulation of the support plans, materials and procedures; as well as the plan validation phase using functional, full scale or tabletop exercises (Sauter & Carafano, 2012). Amongst all these planning phases; the most integral is the initiation phase. This is because it acts as the main determinant of the ultimate outcome. It comprise of the start-up meetings, division of tasks, identification of the available resources and the response needs, as well as the establishment of milestones and time-tables.
After establishing taking the above-stated phases into consideration, the next appropriate element is for the local agencies to undertake the mandate of instigating careful comparison plans with accordance of diverse response functions. This will enable the agency to review and revise the established plans just in case of any discrepancies. It is a cognitive step that assists in prevention of any form of disconnects that might occur between crucial functions of supporting and helping each other (Sauter & Carafano, 2012). In addition, various agencies and departments in a given jurisdiction are supposed to compare their formulated plans, with the main focus on various issues of associated with coordination and consistency. The entire perspective ensures that the organizations undertake their operations in tandem with their anticipated mandates.
Such kinds of reviews are extremely vital in the course of a response planning process for a major terrorism incident. This is because a locally-based jurisdiction has a likelihood of being aided by the neighboring communities during the response. Therefore, coordination and consistency reviews that are either external or internal may emerge as the most valuable entities for protecting the entire citizens and the infrastructures within the affected regions.
Moreover, the planning team should preset present a clear, accurate and concise overview regarding the potential events, as well as the ultimate discussion of a general operational response concept. Any form of information included in the plan should be duplicated for further reference. The overview of the situation should encompass as much data as possible so as to enhance greater unique levels with regards to the terror response actions. In this case, the local and state planners should take into consideration the possibility of unique or unusual forms of terror attacks in line with the previous attacks (Perry & Lindell, 2003). The planners are hence supposed to get engaged in creative thoughts regarding the possible response needs and scenarios. The established terrorist response plans should be comprehensive and flexible enough so as to be in a position of dealing accordingly with the unanticipated.
On the other hand terrorism emergency response plans should encompass various provisions involving the Federal crisis as well as the management agencies’ consequence. The primary element with regards to a successful terrorism response plan encompasses smooth coordination amongst the multiple officials and agencies from other jurisdictions regarding the entire response aspects. On the other hand, the planning team should take into consideration various criterions that can be used in determination of vulnerability of the terrorist facilities. It encompasses factors such as accessibility, population, economic impacts, and the symbolic value.
In conclusion, it can be ascertained that terrorism is indeed a major global threat that should be combated by all means using well-established emergency response plans. Formulation of an appropriate plan requires a concerted effort from the responsible personnel so as to come up with something practical and substantial. It is thus the mandate of local and federal security agencies to put up appropriate plans.
- Buddemeier, B. R. (2011). National Capital Region: Key response planning factors for the aftermath of nuclear terrorism. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- Sauter, M., & Carafano, J. (2012). Homeland Security: A Complete Guide 2/E. McGraw Hill Professional.
- Perry, R. W., & Lindell, M. K. (2003). Understanding citizen response to disasters with implications for terrorism. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 11(2), 49-60.
