Homeland Security: Best Practices for Local Government, 2nd edition

Homeland Security: Best Practices for Local Government, 2nd edition. Edited by Roger L. Kemp. ICMA Press, bookstore.icma.org; 305 pages; $73.00.

Security professionals are used to dealing with government agencies at various levels where interests overlap. Such public-private cooperation is particularly important with regard to homeland security. Because of this, it is helpful for those in the private sector to understand the procedures and thought processes of government officials. One tool for this is a new publication by the International City/County Management Association, Homeland Security: Best Practices for Local Government, 2nd edition.

Bringing together the combined expertise of nearly 50 public sector emergency management and homeland security professionals and the experience of nearly 60 U.S. city and county governments, the editor has organized this book’s subject matter following the classic approach of mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery. The individual chapters cover the full range of topics from organization and intelligence to communications, first response, and disaster recovery.

The focus is on what local governments must do, but private sector professionals will find plenty of material relevant to them as well. Additionally, several appendices provide a wealth of homeland security-related information.

This book belongs in the library of any security professional who might be involved in planning for or responding to disasters. And that’s all of us.

Reviewer: Mayer Nudell, CSC (Certified Security Consultant), is an independent consultant on crisis management, contingency planning, travel security, and related issues. He is also an adjunct professor at Webster University. His publications include The Handbook for Effective Emergency and Crisis Management and No One a Neutral: Political Hostage-Taking in the Modern World.