Posted: August 13th, 2022

Political Impact and Ethical Questions

Political Impact and Ethical Questions
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is designed for the protection of US citizens from threats. Among the duties of the DHS are border control, cybersecurity, aviation security, and emergency response. To ensure that such goals are met, the DHS is governed by some principles that make up its mission statement. These principles include; the secure management of US borders, safeguarding and securing cyberspace, enhancing security while preventing terrorism, promoting resilience to disasters, and enforcing as well as administering the immigration laws of the US. As one of the primary policies within the criminal justice field of the DHS, the prevention of cyber terrorism has been prioritized over the years due to the growing interests from hackers that increase the scope and number of threats to the US (Ross, Lipsey & Freeman, 2004). These policies are upheld by the combined efforts of the DHS employees with members of the community, businesses, and governments to promote the security and safety of the Americans’ infrastructure, thereby protecting them from any forms of threat. The DHS also engages in the analysis of cyber threat warnings while also coordinating effective incident response measures.
Despite the effectiveness of the DHS in focusing on its responsibilities, there are various external forces that affect and facilitate its operation. These forces are structured around political and ethical contexts. Some of the political policy issues related to the service of the DHS are; the integration of science and technology, assigning jurisdiction responsibilities, interacting with the Congress, and sharing as well as processing intelligence. Primarily, the issue of increasing coordination from other related organizations proves to be a significant challenge. This is due to the effective decentralized system of operation within the related organizations and agencies that inhibits the development of a centralized system (Corsaro, Brunson & McGarrell, 2014). As such, it has been challenging to establish creative and innovative mechanisms that promote inter-agency coordination.
On the other hand, the newly established department, DHS, has been pre-occupied with the daily start-up issues. Some of these issues include; the establishment of a physical location as well as personnel management tasks. The improvement and advancement of communications capabilities is also a challenge to the agency. Furthermore, the establishment of joint border security functions is critical to such an organization that is structured around a decentralized mode of operation under a centralized form of governance. The organization is tasked with the responsibility of coordinating a series of disaster response activities while also seeking to become the primary agency that analyzes and disseminates intelligence.
As for the ethical aspect of the organization’s operations and policies, the primary factor is the invasion of privacy towards American citizens. For the DHS to effectively monitor and control the threats against cyber security, it has to ensure that the alarming cases from the citizens and immigrants are closely monitored. In some cases, this may go to the extent of invading peoples’ privacy, thereby undermining their rights according to the constitution (Ismaili, 2015). The other major ethical factor in consideration is the issue of corruption within the agency as well as among the related agencies involved in promoting safety and security across the nation. Such malpractice could be developed through the intimidation of employees or their greed for money and other material things. In such a case, the credibility of the organization is relatively compromised as well as its pursuit of promoting the objective of its formation that focuses on prioritizing integrity, accountability, and justice. Overall, the political and ethical factors revolving around the DHS and its policies require crucial intervention measures as they would inhibit the growth and operation of the organization as intended.

References
Corsaro, N., Brunson, R. K., & McGarrell, E. F. (2014). Problem-oriented policing and open-air drug markets: Examining the Rockford pulling levers deterrence strategy. Crime & Delinquency, 59(7), 1085-1107. DOI:10.1177/0011128709345955
Ismaili, K. (Ed.). (2015). US criminal justice policy: A contemporary reader. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., & Freeman, H. E. (2004). Evaluation: A systemic approach (7th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu

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