Terrorism is an every day threat throughout the world. Terrorism occurs when an individual or individuals use violence and intimidation to achieve a personal goal. Government officials are continuously looking for information that can lead them to the individuals who are threatening safety. Government officials such as police departments aid in the search for potential threats against safety. Smaller departments may not have as many capabilities as larger departments to focus on terrorism.
Smaller Departments
Smaller departments such as the Fruitport Police Department will not have the same type of resources available as the New York Police Department. Browsing through the Fruitport Police Department’s website there is little to no information in regards to combating terrorism. Links are available on the website to the Michigan State Police as well as other sites that may offer some more in depth information regarding the fight against terrorism. Fruitport is a small town and has nine police officers (Fruitport Police Department, n.d.).
Members of the community may not know how the police department would handle situations involving terrorism should one arise. There is not any available information regarding how an individual could be prepared in the event of a terrorist attack. The members of the community cannot be prepared if they do not know what to expect. A proposal for information is needed for every police department to list on their website. The website can include local emergency numbers, places to go, what to have stocked, and how else to be prepared. This information can be provided at no additional cost because there is already links to important websites and there should be a printable version of how to be prepared in the event of a terrorist attack. There is no need for training. The application should not be very time consuming because most of the information is readily available. Putting the information together on one document will make the information easier to find for the community members.
The positive results from providing this information is that members of the community will visit the Fruitport Police Department’s website and can read what he or she should do to be prepared. The negative result from providing all of this information is that there may be some individuals who still do not receive the information.
Larger Departments
Fruitport’s Police Department is lacking in information and an available separate force to specifically dedicate time to researching terrorist activity. New York’s Police Department, on the other hand, has one of the largest forces in the United States. New York has its own terrorist intelligence force. It is known as the intelligence-led policing force and has 1,000 officers. This force has intelligence experts, counter-terrorism experts, officers who are fluent in many languages, officers who monitor news services, and officers who monitor intelligence reports (Clarke & Newman, 2007). With all of the officers that are available there will be information available for community members. That may be due to the fact of population. Fruitport is a small town outside of Muskegon in Michigan. The population of Fruitport is a small fraction of what New York’s population is. Higher populations result in more positions for law enforcement because there is more funding.