cooperation interagency

Interagency collaboration has been a key factor in enhancing social security and quality of life in the United States. In addition to more efficient service delivery, interagency collaboration has resulted in significant cost savings for the government. The aim of this paper is to assess the application of interagency collaboration to successful service delivery and cost reduction in New York. Security, counter-terrorism, and transportation have all received increased attention.
Globalization in the twenty-first century became more extensive than at any other point in history. International communications, such as the internet, have enabled different countries to exchange political and economic ideas. Within the same context, there has been developing communication and movement of people from the failing or failed states into the United States. Such immigration has brought about security issues that need to be checked. The interagency cooperation between the New York Police Department and the immigration department has born fruits in curbing the increased crime rates.

The promotion of democracy, economic development as well as the good governance in the United States has put the country at risk of invasion by illicit groups that masquerade as asylum seekers. The entire US government involving the security, social and economic arms need to work jointly to maximize the efforts against the potential threats within the country. The security concerns from the outsiders incorporate the counter-piracy wars perpetuated by the Somali pirates. The United States Department of Defense in cooperation with the CIA officials and the FBI has played a significant role in fighting the Somali pirates. The President Obama’s Administration and the Treasury Department was involved in the tracing the pirates’ funds. The joint operation between the DoD and the NSS (National Security Strategy) has allowed the balance of power between the United States and its allies in the creation of a secure America. The power balance means the coordination of joint operations between the departments of Defense, Diplomacy, Intelligence, Homeland Security, Economic Development as well as the American Private Sector.

As the new security threats set in, the United States has changed its Department of Defenses’ approach to incorporate Diplomacy, Defense, and Development. The change in the DoD’s doctrine has shifted the interest of the department and seen the military engage in other activities apart from war. Moreover, the Department of Defense now works in conjunction with other agencies such as the Department of State. The cooperation between the Department of Defense and the Department of State ensures that their efforts are maximized, and the costs of operations are lowered. The security threats nowadays can be defeated faster than there before because of the incorporation of both military and technological advancement of the interagency cooperation. The advancement in technology has increased the power of the US military to suppress security threats due to advanced weapon systems. Such advancements have only become possible due to the efficient coordination between various agencies. The military commands nowadays are coordinated through sophisticated military networks such as the USAFRICOM and USSOUTHCOM that stabilize the weak governments in various states such as Uganda, Colombia, and Somalia. Therefore, the United States military prowess is involved in the installation of legitimate governance and democracy in other states for the sake of stabilizing security in the United States.

There is interagency cooperation USAID (United States Agency for International Development), Non-Governmental Organizations, and International organizations. The sectors mentioned above work together with the DoD to realize the operations such as peacekeeping missions by the provision of humanitarian support. The DoD and the USAID have worked jointly to empower the formation of security infrastructure in the partner nations and boost democracy and diplomacy. For instance, the cooperation between USAID and the United States embassies assist in in the fight against the new threats in the United States (Jurasek, 2012).

Interagency cooperation for antiterrorism purposes

During the 21st century, the security paradigm in the United States is subjected to changes. The traditional position of the United States as the world’s superpower is challenged by the changes in the development, defense, and diplomatic demands. The global security is threatened by religious extremists, weak governments, youth bulge as well as lagging economies all over the world. The terrorist acts are on the increase with the failure of some states such as Syria. The United States, therefore, has a critical role in the control of the terrorist groups that have potential to attack the United States. The necessity to counter terrorism is an interest shared among different agencies in New York. To enhance the security in the United States, there is a need to incorporate all the national power in collaboration with other state departments. The attempts to strengthen the partnership between the various state departments to boost security increased after the September 11th attack. The interagency cooperation offers the hope for the future improvement in the security sector. The interagency cooperation is expected to allow the realization of the national objectives that include the security.

The New York Homeland Security is in partnership with the Federal, Local and the State agencies in the realization of the 2017-2020 security goals. Amongst the 2017-2020 Homeland Security Goals is the Counter Terrorism efforts aiming at ensuring that all New Yorkers are safe. Moreover, the Homeland Security aims at addressing the security issues such as the shootings. The Homeland security, therefore, works in collaboration with the Intelligence Agencies such as the CIA to carry out investigations and communications concerning antiterrorism action plans. The law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice departments work hand in hand to control the criminal activities related to terrorism. The joint efforts against terrorism acts incorporate the suppression of cybercrimes, mass shootings, and emergency responses. Fighting the terrorism is no longer an issue for the police and the army; it requires expertise in infrastructure, communication, emergency response, disaster preparedness as well as effective communication.

The State of New York has launched several response teams and response programs for emergency operations. The emergency response teams act in the disaster preparedness as well as the distribution of emergency help and resources it times of demand. The emergency response programs offer emergency alerts, communications as well as the response mechanisms in the situations requiring security response. The emergency response programs involve the close relationship between the intelligence center and the communication department. The emergency response programs also involve the training of citizen awareness corps who enhance emergency response.

In a bid to protect the state against terrorism, New York uses a collaborative approach between various agencies such as the Fire agencies, Homeland Security, DHSES, public health, Law enforcers, and local government. The crime analysis centers and counter-terrorism zones have been set for coordination of antiterrorism activities. The raining of security officers and emergency responders has been incorporated into the teaching curricula for military and fire academies. Intensive training of the law enforcers has included the outdoor and indoor shooter situation training. Such training has empowered the state's preparedness to handle the terrorism activities involving mass shooting (Coumo, 2017).

Interagency cooperation for transport purposes

The New York State Department of Transport in cooperation with the communication agencies has developed the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The Intelligent Transportation System is intended to improve the transportation by saving both time and money. The Intelligent Transportation System incorporates the application of smart information technology, controls, electronic and computer networks. Due to instance surveillance and traffic control, the ITS offers the efficient reduction of city congestions. Moreover, the Intelligent Transportation System promotes safety and control the negative environmental effects of transportation. The Intelligent Transportation System reduces the chances of accidents, traffic congestions, and pollution. For these reasons, the IT’S promotes the living standards in New York by increasing security in the transport systems. Moreover, the costs of transportation regarding money and time is lowered via the application of the ITS. The ITS infrastructure is a major milestone in the control of pollution. Therefore, health is enhanced in New York since the Intelligent Transportation System reduces pollution hence the risks of diseases such as respiratory diseases and accidents are lowered. The state’s healthcare budget is therefore saved the money that would be spent on the control of accidents and the diseases caused by the impacts of pollution (Peyrebrune, 2002).



References

Coumo, A. M. (2017). New York State Homeland Security Strategy 2017-2020. Homeland Security, 4-6.

Jurasek, J. W. (2012). Inter-Agency Cooperation: The New Security Paradigm in the 21st Century. United States Army War College, 2-12.

Peyrebrune, H. (2002). The Context for Intelligent Transportation Systems in New York State. New York: New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.