Homeland-Hometown Security: A Coherent National Strategy to Protect the Homeland Dr. John Comiskey Monmouth University

Avon’s Emergency Service Sector police department fire service first aid and rescue squad public works office of emergency management lifeguards U.S. Coast Guard Station Shark River study timeline Avon’s history & major events (1900-2015) 2015 off-season > beach season > off-season validity & reliability multiple sources of info (interviews, direct observations, reports) standardized interview protocol member checks

homeland security broad and complex network of related issues including counterterrorism, disaster preparedness wherein single failures can lead to significant human and financial costs HLS enterprise must coordinate its activities HLS is about all-hazards threats HLS is triggered by focusing events essentially, HLS is about risk management and contingent coordination homeland security is about hometown security hometown security officials are on the frontline hometown security officials are protecting the Nation’s critical infrastructure

seasonal beach community size: .426 miles land population: 1,900 summer population 8,000 racial makeup: 97% white median income: $83 K 38th wealthiest county local govt. = 3 member commission critical infrastructure/key resources National in scope

230 cables world wide/60+ in United States 95% + of all U.S. international data transmissions

significant/focusing events Great Hurricane (1938) World War II (1941-45) Brinley Inn Fire (1980) Belmar MTV Concert (1992) Nor’Easter (1992) Hurricane Felix (1995) 9/11 (2001) Hurricane Katrina (2005) Superstorm Sandy (2012) Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012) Paramus Mall Shooting (2013) nationwide swatting attacks (2015) nationwide heroin epidemic (2015) beach crowd crisis (2015) http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/19/nyregion/man-grieves-over-his-failure-to-save-sons-from-drowning.html https://books.google.com/books?id=yZtJi0fDxLMC&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=Hurricane+Felix+NJ&source=bl&ots=EmuxMtcXJS&sig=DpSRunQEtGh4eWjmsYImip_374Y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBGoVChMIx7aklOuexwIVzKseCh3XLgVh#v=onepage&q=Hurricane%20Felix%20NJ&f=false

Police Department 11 full time & 20 part-time (summer), K9, SWAT, Narcotics 4,800 calls for police community policing: officers know most residents by first name small town problems: rare theft & juvenile delinquency biggest concerns: summer crowds other concerns: active shooters, swatting attacks, heroin crisis in County grant-subsidized Fire Service 25 active members (all volunteer) 135 calls for service (40% out of town mutual aid) preventive role/referrals to code enforcement officer large civic role: education, parades, cookouts, open house First Aid and Rescue Squad 30 active members (all volunteer) 350 service calls (60% out of town mutual aid requests) State emergency medical strike team responded to WTC for 9/11 relief large civic role with FD also run 5K race

Office of Emergency Management 1 full-time and 1 part-time (FT hired post-Superstorm Sandy) coordinates all public safety agencies FEMA’s Community Rating System HUD’s Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation, & Mitigation NOAA’s Coastal Management Program grant-subsidized Department of Public Works 8 full-time & 20 part-time workers (summer) coordinate private sector utilities all water & sewers (64 fire hydrants) Lifeguards 27 part-time lifeguards (seasonal) 470 rescues & 6,000 preventive actions marine threat advisories (shark scare 2015) public health advisories

U.S. Coast Guard Station Shark River Substation Station Manasquan 34 active duty members 21 reserve members 17 auxiliary members 100 Sea Air Rescues (SARs) annually 100+ vessel inspections annually America’s Waterways Watch Area Network of Shore Water Emergency Responders (ANSWER) 24/7 year round water rescue capability 5 local towns and U.S. Coast Guard emergency management police fire services emergency medical services

Whole Community Approach to Hometown Security F E D E R A L P R I V A T E

Avon’s Emergency Service Sector = whole community Avon is a close-knit community HLS = all-hazards shares resources and information “always talking about concerns” mutual-aid (informal & formal) know who to call: government private sector community resilient concerns beach crowd surges hurricanes & Nor’easters active shooters & swatting-attacks heroin-opioid epidemic

conclusions homeland and hometown security are interdependent focusing events impacts may vary hometowns security officials are an integral and vital part of the whole community help protect Nation’s CI/KR dependent on State and Federal funding (grant) and resources resilience is key element of homeland security National preparedness assessment not fully understood by local governments recommendations White House-DHS should define HLS with whole community White House should develop new National Strategy for Homeland Security More transparent National Preparedness System HLS-education & training > match to HLS-core capabilities future-research multiple/comparative hometown case studies financial implications for homeland-hometown security GIS-template for Monmouth County and especially coastal communities for stakeholder decision tools

Thank you! Questions? Dr. John Comiskey jcomiske@monmouth.edu