Critical Releases in Homeland Security: July 17, 2019

From the Scope and Purpose of the Strategic Plan: "The DHS Strategic Plan comprehensively reflects the Department's complex mission. Every day, each operator and employee across the Department advances the strategic goals and objectives contained herein to keep Americans safe, secure, and resilient. The DHS Strategic Plan establishes a common framework to analyze and inform the Department's management decisions, including strategic guidance, operational requirements, budget formulation, annual performance reporting, and mission execution. Along with the DHS Strategic Plan, DHS also conducts the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, which identifies strategic homeland security priorities based on extensive analysis and stakeholder engagement. Together, these documents inform internal operations and our interactions with Congress, interagency counterparts, and the American public."

From the Abstract: "With its economic success, China seems to convey to the world that democracy is not a prerequisite for prosperity and social well-being. This paper seeks to explore whether and how the rise of authoritarian China may affect the state of democracy worldwide. It argues that at least for now, China may not intend to challenge the global state of democracy by actively blocking the expansion of democracy or promoting authoritarianism. However, China's growing global influence, along with its overseas activities in defending the Chinese Communist Party regime and seeking greater international status, have had a negative impact on liberal democracy."

From the Introduction: "This report is NTAC's [National Threat Assessment Center] second analysis of mass attacks that were carried out in public spaces, and it builds upon 'Mass Attacks in Public Spaces - 2017' (MAPS2017). In MAPS-2017, NTAC found that attackers from that year were most frequently motivated by grievances related to their workplace or a domestic issue. All of the attackers had recently experienced at least one significant stressor, and most had experienced financial instability. Over three-quarters of the attackers had made threatening or concerning communications, and a similar number had elicited concern from others. Further, most had histories of criminal charges, mental health symptoms, and/or illicit substance use or abuse."

From the Executive Summary: "The information provided in this guide is based on the collective expertise and experience of Federal Government law enforcement officers, security specialists, criminal investigators, attorneys, employee relations specialists, employee assistance program counselors, forensic psychologists, and union officials. It consists primarily of lessons learned from many years of experience with actual cases involving potentially violent employees. The guidance covers not only the macro issues of facility security, but also incidents of physical violence such as shootings and assaults and the far more prevalent incidents of nonphysical violence, intimidation, bullying, and other inappropriate behaviors prone to create an environment that can exacerbate the potential for violence." To access the appendices, visit https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=826930.