Criminal Justice Policy Review

Since the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, Federal, State and local governments have increasingly moved toward establishing Homeland Security as an institutional response to not only the threat of future terrorist attacks, but as a means of preparing and responding to natural disasters. Every plan at every level has stated that a critical element to any Homeland Security program is the local police and sheriff's departments. What specifically the police are to do under the concepts of Homeland Security has been unclear and poorly communicated and departments across the country have responded very differently from one another. To date, research in the area of Policing and Homeland Security has been lacking. This article addresses that deficiency, introduces the collection of research articles contained within this special issue of Criminal Justice Policy Review, and establishes an agenda for future research.

As an artifact of the war on terror, local law enforcement agencies have been asked to serve as the “eyes and ears” of federal intelligence agencies. The federal Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) has assembled a set of guidelines to assist agencies in terrorism prevention and weapons of mass destruction identification. However, there is a dearth of metrics and measurement tools available to assess preparedness. Based on ODP guidelines, a methodology to tap preparedness levels is defined. Additionally, preliminary findings from an assessment of a large law enforcement agency are presented. Application of this methodology will enhance the preparedness of local agencies by identifying areas of strength and those areas which require attention. Once these deficit areas are defined, policy makers can define appropriate training and programmatic changes.

This study examines the perceived risk of a terrorist attack, terrorism preparedness activities, and organizational capacity in over 500 Illinois law enforcement agencies. Survey results show that the perceived risk of an attack is relatively low but organizations are taking steps to prepare for large-scale emergencies. The study also found that perceptions of risk predicted the level of preparedness activities and that an organizational leader's confidence in his or her organization's ability to respond to a terrorist incident is influenced by the number of preparedness measures taken. Implications of the research are explored.

Many claims have been made about how the events of September 11 have thrust American policing into a new era, one wherein homeland security is the dominant strategy. To examine the validity of such claims, a sample of 208 Texas police chiefs is surveyed concerning their perceptions of homeland security as a strategy for local law enforcement. Factors that influence those perceptions are also examined. The findings reveal that, whereas the majority of chiefs felt that homeland security had become the dominant strategy of the police institution, few believed that homeland security had become the overriding strategy of their respective departments. Furthermore, regression analyses suggest that federal collaboration, preparedness, and threat perceptions were predictive of homeland security perceptions. Regarding department size, chiefs of very small departments are more likely to report homeland security as their dominant strategy in relation to chiefs of larger departments. Policy implications are discussed.

Policing in the post-9/11 era is experiencing a philosophical change that is expanding community- and problem-oriented policing to include the broader philosophy of intelligence-led policing (ILP). Building on the British experience, the application of ILP to American policing has been complicated by a number of challenges. Although stimulated by 9/11, the movement toward ILP is being furthered by a number of federal public policy initiatives. As a result of these diverse demands, law enforcement must revisit operational policies and creatively adjust their organizations to reflect this new paradigm. This article provides insight on the conceptual background of ILP, public policy standards, and the integration of ILP with community policing.

The past three decades have seen police agencies move toward the adoption of community policing. However, since 9/11, the policing focus has appeared to shift toward homeland security. Whether this represents a shift to a new policing philosophy or a modification to an existing one is unclear. Are community policing and homeland security policing compatible? Or does the move toward homeland security policing signal the demise of community policing? This study investigates these questions with data from Virginia police chiefs. Results suggest that police chiefs with 4-year degrees, chiefs from smaller departments, and chiefs from departments with higher levels of community policing implementation are less likely to believe that the emphasis on community policing is waning. Furthermore, police chiefs with 4-year degrees and those from departments with higher levels of community policing implementation are more likely to see community policing and homeland security policing as complementary strategies. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

This article explores citizens' views on racial profiling at airports. A recent Gallup poll allowed for analyses of the perception of Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites concerning whether they felt racial profiling at airports was widespread and/or justified. Multivariate analyses revealed that Blacks were more likely than Whites to believe profiling at airports was widespread. There were, however, no differences between the opinions of Whites and Hispanics on the extent of profiling in airports. Racial and ethnic minorities were less likely than Whites to believe that profiling at airports was justified. The implications of the results are discussed.

This study explores and compares the viewpoints of law enforcement and non-law enforcement/student populations regarding terrorist profiling. The research reveals that law enforcement subjects are more likely than non-law enforcement subjects to support the usefulness of terrorist profiling and to be more suspicious of Middle Eastern males in regard to terrorist acts similar to September 11. No significant difference is found between their beliefs regarding racial or terrorist profiling being required to effectively combat terrorism. To explain the results, the article provides the historical background of criminal, racial, and terrorist profiling. The findings provide knowledge useful for enhancing the understanding needed for more effective community policing in a homeland security era.