HLSS 498 Counterterrorism Challenges in NYPD Discussion

HLSS 498 Counterterrorism Challenges in NYPD Discussion

Order ID	53563633773
Type	Essay
Writer Level	Masters
Style	APA
Sources/References	4
Perfect Number of Pages to Order	5-10 Pages

Description/Paper Instructions

HLSS 498 Counterterrorism Challenges in NYPD Discussion

This is the topic of this follow-up assignment

Research Question

What are the challenges the New York Police Department faces in overcoming domestic terrorism in the past two decades?

Thesis statement

Limited logistics and personnel training are a significant problem affecting the New York Police Department in addressing domestic terrorism over the years.

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to identify some of the hindrance factors holding back the New York Police Department in fighting terrorism over the past two decades and examine the possible solution to mitigate these ongoing threats.

Main Instruction for this work below;

Submit your Research Paper Outline for your Week 8 paper. This outline will include:

Your revised thesis statement after 3 weeks of research.

An outline of your research design including introductory points, major topical points, and sub-points for each, and concluding points.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A brief narrative statement (sentence or two) is expected for each point and sub-point within your paper. The goal is to tell us where you are going intellectually with that topic point and how it relates to your research question and thesis statement (See example of typical outline attached).

Technical Requirements

 

• Your paper must be at a minimum of 2 pages (the Title and Reference pages do not count towards the minimum limit).
• Scholarly and credible references should be used. A good rule of thumb is at least 2 scholarly sources per page of content.
• Type in Times New Roman, 12 point and double space.
• Students will follow the current APA Style as the sole citation and reference style used in written work submitted as part of coursework.
• Points will be deducted for the use of Wikipedia or encyclopedic type sources. It is highly advised to utilize books, peer-reviewed journals, articles, archived documents, etc.
• All submissions will be graded using the assignment rubric.

OUTLINE EXAMPLE

Research Question

Where other approaches have failed, can policy makers, law enforcement, and homeland security assets effectively apply counter terrorism tactics to solve the ongoing issue with drug trafficking organizations?

Thesis

An analysis of current counter drug trafficking tactics fails in comparison to current counter terrorism tactics and indicates a severe lack of focus on this ongoing homeland security problem.

Outline

Introduction

I. Drug Trafficking- Not an epidemic exclusive to the United States and Mexico, but there are clear indicators that the problem is increasing exponentially and needs to be fixed.

A. Drug trafficking, as well as the crime that goes with it, can and does have devastating effects on the economy, the environment, and the American people.

B. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2017) has proven a solid nexus between illicit substance manufacturing and abuse, organized crime, illicit financial flows, corruption and terrorism (para. 1).

C. Therefore, this paper will show that not only is the manufacturing and trafficking of illicit substances an underestimated threat, but it also leads to and can enable other crimes, including terrorism.

Main Point One- Background

II. History- Drug trafficking has been an ongoing and seemingly out of control problem for decades. Despite knowing the issues related to these organizations, counter trafficking tactics have been unsuccessful. Drug trafficking is a multibillion dollar industry and fighting it costs just as much.

III. Major organizations- There are seven major organizations that move the most amount of illicit substances, the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel, Juarez Cartel, BLO, LFM, and the Tijuana Cartel (Department of Justice, 2011, p. 7).

IV. Most commonly trafficked substances and routes in which they are most often smuggled- With the exception of MDMA, which is trafficked mostly from Asian organizations based in Canada, nearly all illicit substances travel through the America-Mexico border. The most common of these, is methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana (Department of Justice, 2011, p.7).

A. MDMA, as well as methamphetamines and marijuana can be manufactured indoors, and synthetically. Cocaine and heroin, however, come from plants which require a certain climate. Coincidentally, the temperature and soil composition in some Mexican areas is ideal, however, very few United States climates are suitable for manufacturing cocaine and heroin.

Main Point Two- Consequences

V. Negative effects- on the economy, environment, and American and Mexican citizens.

A. Drug Trafficking costs hundreds of billion dollars a year, between lost revenue, health care costs, litigation and the law enforcement response (Brouwer, Case, Ramos, Magis-Rodriquez, Patterson, & Strathdee, 2006).

1. In addition to smuggling drugs, in many cases, other items are smuggled as well, such as money, cars, humans, arms, and medications.

2. The environment is not immune to the negative side effects of drug manufacturing. In addition to physical effects, such as building tunnels and canals, the groundwater can be affected, as well as animal life, plant life, and soil composition can be altered drastically (Boxall, 2004).

3. As the problem continues to grow, the costs of litigation, incarceration, and rehabilitation of offenders grows. Additionally, the added and ongoing risks to law enforcement personnel, local citizens, and crime between cartels, further signifies the effect these organizations have on people.

Main Point Three- Current Initiatives

VI. Current counternarcotic and counter trafficking initiatives

A. While there have been successful law enforcement raids, overall, drug trafficking is a multibillion dollar industry that continues to grow. With no legitimate and effective tactic, drug trafficking could potentially be the biggest problem the United States faces in decades to come.

B. There are multiple agencies tasked with fighting the war on drugs. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as well as state, local, and other federal police officers handle the law enforcement side of counter trafficking. The El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), a fusion center ran by the DEA, acts as an information hub to all counternarcotic components. Lastly, there are federally funded programs as well as international task forces, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

VII. Current counterterrorism initiatives

A. Counterterrorism initiatives are certainly an important matter. So much so, that the United States government spends billions of dollars every year on these efforts. There are multiple agencies, task forces, and military units designated strictly for counterterrorism, and considering the lack of terrorism within the United States, one would estimate that these initiatives are successful.

B. According to Sahadi (2015), it is estimated that the United States spends at least one hundred billion dollars a year in counterterrorism efforts. However, the price may be significantly more, considering that much of the intelligence portion of counterterrorism is classified, making estimations difficult (Sahadi, 2015).

C. The Department of State, for example, operates an entire bureau tasked with counterterrorism efforts. Under Bureau of Counterterrorism, there are twelve programs and initiatives, solely focused on terrorism, including the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, the Global Counterterrorism Forum, and the Antiterrorism Assistance Program (Department of State, n.d.).

Main Point Four- The Real Debate

VIII. Comparing and contrasting drug trafficking and terrorism

A. No researcher can put a price on homeland security, but, it has been evident that while the United States’ focus has been on terrorism, these extremely dangerous and somewhat violent criminals have been crossing borders and smuggling drugs nonstop.

B. Illuminating the nexus between drug trafficking and terrorism, indicates that efforts may be focused in the wrong place.

Main Point Five- Answering the Question

IX. Applying counter terrorism tactics to fighting the war against drugs.

A. Shifting focus and resources from terrorism to trafficking will be no easy feat. However, considering the devastating effects drugs are having on American society, it is clear that this problem is ongoing and needs to be fixed at all costs.

B. If the effort towards trafficking was as forceful as the effort towards terrorism, there is a chance that both threats could be handled at the same time. Securing airspace from terrorists has been widely successful; however, an entire underground network exists for traffickers.

Conclusion

While this is just a brief overview of drug trafficking organizations, further research will show that this is an ongoing epidemic. In short, the effects are endless, on the economy and the environment. Therefore, further research into counter drug trafficking tactics is crucial. Secondly, an evaluation of current counterterrorism methods is necessary. Given the vast consequences of both activities, determining which deserves the most resources is no easy task. However, with continued research, it will prove that counterterrorism tactics can be effectively applied to counter trafficking operations to reduce and deter this ongoing problem.