Community Engagement for Collective Resilience : The Rising System

Abstract

Since the inception of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the American public has been told that it has a prominent role to play in the War on Terror. However, this role has not been clearly defined. This thesis explores the viability of community engagement as a tool to promote public safety and homeland security. Research was primarily conducted through a literature review (to understand how engagement impacts safety), and a comparison of four case studies of safety-centric engagement programs in the U.S. and United Kingdom. While several of the programs in the case studies have proven to be effective at developing trust and improving security, the U.S. federal government has not effectively worked with these resources to improve its understanding of the domestic security landscape. This thesis contends that a new system is necessary to connect the federal government to local engagement programs. This may be accomplished with a domestic coordination and engagement system, referred to as the Rising System for the purposes of this thesis. The goal of the Rising System would be threefold To link federal, state, and local governments; to build on existing community policing and outreach efforts to help at-risk communities identify their greatest challenges; and to provide a forum where community members can safely work with their government to develop solutions.