Government Security and Emergency Management

DeWayne Rose, Director of Emergency Management, City of West Memphis

DeWayne Rose, Director of Emergency Management, City of West Memphis

The National Preparedness Goal defines what it means for the whole community to be prepared for all types of emergencies. “A secure and resilient nation with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.”(National preparedness goal) Five mission areas are identified in this document.  They are Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery.  It also identifies 32 core capabilities that group together within the five mission areas. 

Three of the 32 core capabilities fall within all five of the mission areas.  These core capabilities are Planning, Public Information and Warning, and Operational Coordination. Some others include Interdiction and Disruption and Screening, Search and Detection located in the Prevention and Protection mission area, Access Control and Identify Verification and Physical Protective Measures, along with Cyber Security located in the Protection mission area, Threat and Hazard Identification located in the Mitigation area, Situational Assessment in the Response area and Economic Recovery in the Recovery area.

"These five mission areas and 32 core capabilities are essential for a secure and resilient government. It is necessary to have an Emergency Operations Plan that identifies each of these areas."

These five mission areas and 32 core capabilities are essential for a secure and resilient government. It is necessary to have an Emergency Operations Plan that identifies each of these areas.  This plan must be more than a book on a shelf.  It should be a living, breathing document that is exercised regularly to identify areas of strength and, more importantly, areas of weakness.  Our citizens expect a secure government.  They expectwhen an emergency occurs, we have the tools and capabilities to mitigate this event.  Let’s look at an active shooter, for example.  We receive a call about an active shooter at a local grocery store.  We begin with Public Information and Warning. This core capability falls under All Mission Areas.   Our Dispatchers begin taking vital information from callers and relay this information to emergency personnel and the general public. They do this in a straightforward, consistent, accessible, and culturally appropriatemethod.  Our law enforcement personnel respond according to our police department's standard operating procedures.  We’ve identified this prior to the emergency in our RESPONSE mission area and our On Scene Security, Protection, and Law Enforcement core capability.  Our Police Officers have been trained in Active Shooter Response and are prepared for this type of situation.  Our response will move into the following capabilities: Intelligence and Information Sharing, Screening, Search and Detection, Access Control and Identity Verification, and Physical Protective Measures.  All of these core capabilities are found in the PROTECT Mission area. Our Fire/EMS personnel are actively involved in this response.  It is possible to have Fatality Management Services and Mass Care Services in this type of incident.  These core capabilities fall under the Response mission area. Lastly, we will see the Health and Social Services core capability in the Recovery Mission Area.  This will be necessary to promote health and social services in the whole community. 

This is just one example of a well-prepared, secure government.  The community expects nothing less, and we are responsible for going above and beyond to Prepare, Protect, Mitigate, Respond to, and Recover from any incident.

Author Bio:

DeWayne Rose serves as the Director of Emergency Management for the City of West Memphis, Arkansas.  He is a member of the Arkansas Municipal League’s Public Safety Advisory Council and the National League of Cities Public Safety and Crime Prevention Federal Advocacy Committee.