The DHS Progress Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The DHS Progress - Term Paper Example DHS is presently in the analyzing process of appraising its global footprint of more than 1,500 personnel in 75 countries (DHS, 2011). The massive transformation of the DHS is the biggest restructuring of the government since the late 1940s when the CIA, Defense Department, and National Security Council were formed (Kahn, 2009). Relationship between the DHS and various law enforcement and intelligence agencies has undergone change over the years. Working on a strategy of sharing information by various federal, state, and local-level agencies after the 9/11 threat, it needed to create a â€Å"trusted partnership† among them to make information exchange integrated, interlinked, efficient and automatic to guarantee national security. The two departments, namely the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) manage information connected to homeland security information systems. Other than that, a number of governmental, commercial, and private organizations provide warning signals, updates, and databases to the officials of homeland security to strengthen the action-taking efforts. Besides, state-level â€Å"fusion centers† also assimilate, research, and distribute â€Å"all-source† homeland security information (Bean, 2009). After the 9/11 attack, the need for cooperation among various agencies, such as intelligence, law enforcement, and emergency management has attracted focus. Earlier, there was no information sharing taking place before 9/11. It was noted to be the biggest hurdle that human and system sharing was always discouraged. The need was felt of providing incentives for exchanging information so that an increased equilibrium could be maintained between security and exchanged information. New laws were codified on Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Further, such policies and systems were framed and enforced by federal agencies that encouraged information exchange. These attempts got