Homeland Security Office Invests in the Future
According to a year-end report by Homeland Security Research Corp., a strategic consulting firm, the buying power of the homeland security market expanded from $7 billion in 2001 to $46.2 billion in 2005.
The firm predicts that between 2006 and 2010, we will see a more systematic building of the national security infrastructure with a much greater reliance on the private sector, including focus on the mitigation and containment of catastrophic terror attacks. The market is expected to grow to $178 billion by 2015.
The report also expects to see funds and efforts plugged into the following areas: 1) more concentration on intelligence, 2) reducing the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction and 3) the emergence of new market leaders.
Three Billion Available for Local Programs
According to Conference Committee Reports from the Department of Homeland Appropriations Security Act, in Fiscal Year 2006 over three billion dollars are available for state and local programs, from $10 million to fund the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium to $655 million in grants for Assistance to Firefighters. Specific urban and rural areas are targeted for transit, port and trucking security funds, and $55 million set aside for training grants.
Emergency management professionals are voicing concerns over lack of preparedness for mass-evacuations like those from New Orleans and Houston in the storm-ridden south last year. A recent article in Homeland Protection Professional brought attention to the people factors as well as the planning and resource factors involved in any mass evacuation. With changes in weather patterns and more intense and frequent storms, they recommend that cities and states need to learn from recent events and figure out how to do better when faced with the next emergency.
Year In Defense
Forum Communications provides a full menu of emergency communications and ENS servers for Crash and Instant Messaging. For a brief overview of critical conferencing applications, visit the Product Showcase in the recent edition of “Year In Defense.”
