Is NIMS going to get us where we need to be? a law enforcement perspective

Abstract

The admissions of the survey respondents to this thesis demonstrate that there is a problem with the implementation of the National Incident Management System in both large and small law-enforcement agencies in the state of Wisconsin. NIMS training is a perishable skill, and without constant refreshment-either through regular practice or actual use-this system cannot be sustained within an organization. There is a flaw either within the training, in the implementation of the training, or in the system itself. So, what are the barriers to Wisconsin law-enforcement agencies adopting and routinely using NIMS, and how can those barriers be reduced? To gather data on the barriers that Wisconsin law-enforcement agencies encounter using NIMS, an electronic survey was developed. Approximately 550 law-enforcement agencies within Wisconsin were queried in the survey with a very low 12% response rate. Sixty-six percent of the respondents reported that, while they may be in compliance with federal NIMS requirements, they are not proficient. Recommendations include promoting a culture of customization of NIMS, creation of a small agency version of NIMS, and conducting a program evaluation of NIMS that includes the creation of objective NIMS proficiency standards through output/performance measurement and tying future funding incentives to those objective standards.