State and local homeland security officials : who are they and what do they do?

Abstract

Today, hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the United States of America are offering prospective students homeland security certificates, bachelor's and master's degrees to educate a new cadre of homeland security officials. Yet, when asked, a practicing homeland security professional will likely admit that he/she has little idea what these students will be able to do when they graduate. The problem is that homeland security, in its current form, is not clearly defined and few understand what homeland security officials actually do, especially at the state and local levels. This research addresses this problem by asking state and local homeland security officials about who they are and what they do. By conducting interviews with state and local homeland security officials in practice, this research provides insight into the world of nonfederal homeland security officials, their activities and their backgrounds. It further provides a set of recommendations for developing educational, training and developmental programs that support homeland security officials at the state and local levels