Read it, then deconstruct it.
I wrote the paper below for an Introductory course in Public Safety. The student needed to write a paper on the impact of the Chicago fires on the field of Public Safety, yet had no idea where to begin. The following is a sample template paper. Read it once, then again critically. Deconstruct it and make a map of the key elements of the paper including the topic sentence and summary.
Copyright 2014 Write It 101
In the past 100 years there have been many events that have affected the field of public safety, though few have had as significant an impact as the attacks of 9/11. The terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 divided the history of the United States of America into two distinct categories – pre and post 9/11. The factors that contributed to the occurrence of the attack include a societal emphasis on the value of personal/constitutional freedoms, weaknesses in airport security, and lack of a connection between the immigration and visa processes with issues of national security. The effects of the event in the post 9/11 society have pervaded every aspect of American life, particularly as it pertains to policies, processes and issues of public safety. The events of September 11, 2001 led to the creation of a post 9/11 world in which individuals and agencies in the field of public safety have had to adapt to an almost immediate change in societal values and beliefs, as well as industry codes and practices.
On September 11, 2001, nineteen al-Queda operatives living in the United States successfully carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on American soil. This plot was launched with the hijacking of four passenger airliners with the intent of flying the airplanes into buildings. Between 8:46 and 9:06 a.m. that morning, both American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. About thirty minutes later, American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the western section of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Soon after the third plane crashed, the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center collapsed, causing further havoc and loss of life on the ground. Almost simultaneously, in response to the hijacking of a fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, passengers on board attempted to overtake control, leading to its deliberate crash into an open field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Within a period of less than two hours, terrorists successfully caused the destruction of the Twin Towers - a symbol of American economic freedom, a portion of the Pentagon - the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, and four passenger aircraft. The casualties of these attacks were extensive, with death tolls close to 3000 at the time of the attack. Along with being the most significant act of terror, it also carried the highest number of firefighter and police fatalities in a single incident in the history of America. Clearly, an event of such magnitude would have wide sweeping and long-standing effects on the field of public policy.
Before examining the effects of 9/11, it is important to explore the significant contributing factors to the event. Those examining the history of public policy will find a clear delineation between pre and post 9/11 America. The policies originating in pre 9/11 America were largely dependent on constitutional laws and ideals in which individual freedoms trumped the need to protect the masses. In other words, the very concept of public safety was not held above the constitutional liberties of the individual. Police, firefighters and all those whose job involved maintaining order and safety for the public were forced to work within the parameters of the inalienable rights of the individual. Additionally, until the events of 9/11 unfolded, American citizens held a somewhat blind public trust in the agencies with the sworn duty to protect the public. The 9/11 hijackers were able to carry out their plot by taking advantage of this double-edged sword of individual freedoms and the concept of public trust in government agencies and agencies of public safety.
Before 9/11, airline security was governed by the airlines themselves with the oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration (Vries, 2002). Airport screening of passengers was at that time conducted by private security companies. The list of items passengers were allowed to carry on to airplanes included scissors, baseball bats, knitting needles, darts and pocket knives less than four inches in length. Cockpit doors on airplanes remained unsecured during flights and could be easily battered down by passengers. At the time of the 9/11 attacks, the Air Marshall Service consisted of only 33 agents (Grabell, 2008) Needless to say, when it was discovered that the 9/11 hijackers had used box cutters in their attempts to overpower passengers, pilots and crewmembers on the airplanes, much public scrutiny fell on the airlines and FAA (Vries, 2002). With the lack of clearly defined security directives between the FAA and the airlines and no specific government mandate in place, the safety of the American public became lost in the grey area between a private industry and a government agency.
Of course, there were other mitigating factors besides airline security that contributed to the 9/11 attacks. The incident certainly shed light on the importance of the Immigration and Naturalization Service not just as an administrative agency but also as an agency of public safety (Hesson, 2012). Of the four hijackers who entered the United States specifically to attend flight school, only one entered on a visa appropriate for such study. Of the group of 19, the lone hijacker who entered the United States on a student visa failed to ever show up or enroll in school. Two of the other hijackers were granted only a one month stay upon entry to the United States, and were thus in violation of the terms of their entry visas at the time their terrorist plot was carried out. Because all 19 hijackers were able to enter the country legally and procure/maintain residence regardless of their visa status, it demonstrated significant weaknesses in visa processes and how they could be used to the country’s detriment. It also showed flaws in debate over the nation’s immigration laws, which pre 9/11 mainly addressed the economic impact of immigration instead of the threat of increased terrorism( Hesson 2012).
The greatest impact of the events of 9/11 came with the formation of the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS was formed 11 days after the deadliest terrorist attack in American history with the specific goal of safeguarding the country against future terrorist attacks(Department of Homeland Security, 2014). The department was created by merging 22 independent government agencies into a single agency responsible for all coordinated all efforts to maintain homeland security . The Department of Homeland Security joined together agencies such as Immigration and Naturalization Service, United Sates Citizenship and Immigration Services, United States Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Secret Service as well as several others. The streamlined mission of the new multifaceted department was to prevent terrorism and enhance security, manage the border, administer immigration laws, secures cyberspace and ensure disaster resilience (DHS, 2012).
As well as impacting the structure of the government agencies charged with protecting the public, 9/11 had significant effects on the policies and practices of those agencies. This is most evident in the legislation known as the USA Patriot Act. Passed in 2001, the Patriot Act was an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools to Intercept Terrorism (Rosenzweig, 2004). Pre 9/11, government agencies were bound by significant restrictions to their ability to violate an individual’s liberties, even in cases involving national security. The passage of the Patriot Act by Congress significantly expanded the rights and permissions of the government to include the right to indefinitely detain immigrants, to monitor phone, email and financial records without obtaining a court order, and to enter homes without an owner’s knowledge or consent (Rosenzweig, 2004). The Patriot Act gave the government a great deal of power to override to constitutional rights of citizens in the name of preventing terrorism. Naturally, this extremely controversial Act of Congress and has been met with a great deal of resistance by individuals and politicians concerned with protecting civil liberties. There are those who viewed the passage of the Act as a granting of permission of the executive branch to overstep its power without justification or ramification (Rosenzweig, 2004). However, the act has been largely accepted by members of American society as well as in the intelligence community as an essential tool in combating terrorism.
An important industry practice that resulted from the Patriot Act was the sharing of information between government agencies (Rosenzweig, Kochems, Carafano, 2012). Before September 11, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies were limited by law in what information they could share with each other (Rosenzweig. 2012). The Patriot Act in practice has enabled government agencies to “connect the dots” in the intelligence community (Rosenzweig, Kochems, Carafano, 2012)). By granting law enforcement and intelligence agencies the right to share information, they have been able to effectively dismantle terror cells in Portland, Oregon, Lackawanna, N.Y., and Virginia (Rosenzweig, 2012). They have also been able to curtail the financial dexterity of terror organizations by monitoring and subsequently freezing their funds. Organizations leading the effort to cut off the money sources of terror cells after 9/11 have found evidence that their efforts at increased scrutiny have indeed disrupted the flow of money (“Follow the Money,” 2002).
Another practice resulting from 9/11 is that of interagency collaboration. These “task forces” unify the resources of various law enforcement agencies, and example of which being the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Hailing from 650 state of federal agencies, the Joint Terrorism Task Force provides a universal database of intelligence information to all intelligence agencies. Law enforcement agencies have also changed their codes and practices post 9/11. Since September 11, 2001, police departments nationwide have become increasingly militarized. Using the threat of terrorism as justification, police departments have increased their efforts to arm cops in a fashion similar to soldiers (Balko, 2011). In 2006, the Department of Defense distributed vehicles worth $15.4 million, aircraft worth $8.9 million, boats worth $6.7 million, weapons worth $1 million and 'other' items worth $110.6 million" to local police agencies (Balko, 2011). In 2007 and 2008, Clayton and Cobb Counties in Georgia acquired their own tanks, respectively. In urban areas like Washington, DC, police departments switched to battle dress uniform instead of their standard police uniform (Balko). Police departments in Indianapolis and Chicago have also militarized post 9/11, using the threat of terror as justification to purchase machine guns from the military (Balko).
Along with being increasingly militarized, law enforcement agencies have had to significantly change their training practices post 9/11. Police and fire departments now have to train individuals to deal with both the threat of and response to acts of terrorism. This includes additional firearms qualifications to utilize more militarized firearms, utilization of gas masks, dealing with suicide bombers and weapons of mass destruction (Afshar, 2011). The largest change to the training practices of law enforcement agencies is the addition of the Federal Emergency Managements Agency’s National Incident Management System. Because most events begin and end in localities, the National Incident Management System provides a blueprint for federal, state and local agencies and governments to work together seamlessly. It provides a template for managing incidents of all sizes and complexities with the goal of minimizing loss of life. Pre 9/11, police departments were largely focused on domestic crime. Post 9/11, the focus, mission and training of law enforcement agencies shifted dramatically to the prevention of international terrorism (Walters, 2011). Community relations between local law enforcement agencies, federal agencies and the public at large were also changed a great deal by 9/11. The threat of international terrorism placed increased importance on the need for trust and collaboration between those agencies and private citizens. The federal government’s “if you see something, say something” campaign best illustrates the need for public involvement in the fight against terrorism.
The events of September 11. 2001 changed the field of public safety as well as its codes, practices and beliefs in many ways. Before 9/11, eradicating or dealing with the threat of international terrorism was not of fundamental importance. Post 9/11, the field of public safety changed in such a manner that dealing with the threat of terrorism became the most important mission of local law enforcement, federal and state agencies. From the creation of the Department of Homeland Security to the passage of the Patriot Act to the change in the training and standard equipment of first responders, the impact of the attacks were so immense that they continue to reshape the field to this day.
Afshar, P. (2011, September 11). Bradenton Local News | Bradenton Herald & Lakewood Ranch Herald. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
Balko, R. (2011, September 12). A Decade After 9/11, Police Departments Are Increasingly Militarized. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
Follow the money. (2002, June 1). Retrieved October 6, 2014.
Gillespie, E. (2011, September 8). Policing in a Post-9/11 America. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
Grabell, M. (2008, November 13). Air Marshals: Undercover and Under Arrest. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
Hesson, T. (2012, September 11). Five Ways Immigration System Changed After 9/11. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
Immigration Issues. (2011, September 11). Retrieved October 11, 2014.
Rosenzweig, P. (2004, September 22). Make Information-Sharing Authority Permanent. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Rosenzweig, P., Kochems, A., & Carafano, J. (2004, September 13). The Patriot Act Reader. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
Vries, L. (2002, November 12). Boxcutters Weren't Allowed Pre-9/11. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
Walters, J. (2011, August 31). Policing in the Post-9/11 Era. Retrieved October 4, 2014.