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Adjusting to Terrorism
14 February 2007
by Michelle Calderon, staff writer for AnaiRhoads.org
The aftermath of 911 caused a state of panic and stress among Americans, including Los Angeles citizens. Stress is a normal response to change or conflict. Such negative stress instills fear. Since then, Americans have been very jittery. At such moments, moral panic, in which fear and hysteria are magnified, distorted, and even created by social institutions (especially the media) instilled the nation. Nearly everyone was expecting a similar attack in Los Angeles that caused such devastating damages to the city of New York.
Nothing will be the same after the events of September 11, 2001. Since September 11, and especially since the anthrax outbreaks that followed, the news has been filled with bomb scares, germ scares, and nervous airlines. Immediate actions were needed to try to pacify the nation’s anxiety. As a result, policies will and have changed: airline security tightened, mail services examined, and restrictions on civil liberties implemented. The creation of the widely controversial Patriot Act was a result of the 911 attack. These are just some of the changes politicians proposed for men and women in uniforms to carry out. Changes are the unavoidable inconveniences of everyday life. Drastic changes are expected to be accepted by citizens of the US. The consequences were itself controversial. For one, civil liberties were continually being sacrificed and violated in the name of security. Americans lost track of the meaning of the original constitution that celebrated the rights of each individual citizens. The war on terrorism took priority over anything else that held the original principles taught by the founding fathers of this nation.
New York suffered the most from the 911 attack. Victims were compensated through insurance and funding from the city’s bank. Others, including undocumented workers were left hanging. Not only was security in jeopardy, but the city’s funding availability was in jeopardy. Insurance, taxes, and donations were the solutions. The rest of the country and the world suffered indirectly and mostly psychological. However, the city needed a strong leader. Mayor Giuliani, while credited for reducing crime rates in New York, is not a major fan of the due process model for citizens. His methods seem to model the crime control philosophy and provide security for citizens. In a city where chaos and disaster have existed, Giuliani excelled in his goal of providing strength in the dire times of need for a disheveled city.
Because most Americans are far removed from New York City and Washington, D.C. (where the terrorist attack on 911 also occurred), other sorts of fears are at work. In general, anxiety disorder creates an exaggerated fear response in people who have been emotionally scarred. Most of the fear experienced since September 11 has been worry and anxiety. Americans have been anxious about attacks from anthrax-laced mail (much like in prior generation’s phobia against a nuclear war), they have worried about the availability of antibiotics and the safety of the water supply.
The FBI, more so than even the Department of Homeland Security, is the primary agency designated to investigate terrorism in the U.S., and the terrorist threat it is most focused on comes from radical Islam. However, local law enforcements have to be involved in both recognizing and countering terrorism. For instance, it is the first responders who eventually will react. Prevention now has a new meaning in all areas of the Criminal Justice System. First and foremost that is affected are the law enforcement officials.
Since Los Angeles is far from New York, the general level of anxiety should ease over time. However, continuing policies that reflect on prevention of terrorism does affect even a far-distanced city such as Los Angeles. The war on Iraq and on drugs just being two examples. The threat of terrorism is still alive despite years going by. The most current result is the war in Iraq and the continuing war on drugs. Drugs cartels have been known sources of funding for terrorist activities. The use of the patriot act in tackling drug lords and drug rings have raised issues of constitutional rights. The interception of email, private records, and many other such methods of extracting information by law enforcements have been used in the name of the war on terrorism. The current war in Iraq is questioned by many. The link between Iraq and global terrorism is questionable.
Changes need to be made for the City of Los Angeles to adjust to terrorism. Prior changes and policies have been costly. New policies and changes would eventually entail that: funding. In order for policies to receive funding, citizens’ support is in order. For starters, the police commissioner need to address the public concerning the threat of terrorism, possible solutions, and meetings held to address concerns, and provide incentives for citizens to listen. The hardest thing to learn as an adult is to follow, especially when the issue of money is of concern. Community policing hopefully will solve the tension between citizen and police ambiguity.
While the media has been the backbone of negative information to the fight against terrorism and crime, it could be a useful tool in influencing viewers in all areas. A public plea in the form of a press conference or letter would be useful for the law enforcement agency. A good plan of action should be detailed by the chief commissioner in tackling the stress involved with the war on terrorism in the city of Los Angeles. Education at all levels must be stressed. Brochures and pamphlets that specify airport security breach would pacify and provide logical information to citizens, possibly preventing misunderstanding of procedures. Police bike and horse patrol to answer citizen concerns and observe the community is extra tools in battling crime. School curriculums should include common sense the reflect the changing times. This would include safety procedures that entail more sophisticated methods other than just knowing to look right and left before crossing the streets, or calling 911 during an emergency. Problem-solving skills must be taught as early as child development is capable of.
Most of the LAPD departments have a community office division where citizens can request information. Interviewing officers, their backgrounds, experiences, including opinions about policies and the department are all possible. These are helpful and should be available at every department to ensure consistency in training and educating citizens. The only thing missing is the incentive for a citizen to do their part, that is to educate themselves. The media is a great influence on citizens all over the world. Law enforcement agencies should utilize the relationship to good use by providing useful information to the public.
There have been other economic efforts in tackling the problem with terrorism. Building more economic cars (hybrids and more fuel efficient cars) are actually aimed at less reliance on oil, and therefore less reliance on oil-riched economies (mostly the middle-eastern, Islamic countries – suspected of terrorist activities). While efforts are being made to tackle the issue of terrorism (direct or indirectly), the immediate and eventual solution is for citizens to feel safe in their environment. Cities, in essence, need to feel safe living in their surroundings. Los Angeles citizens must have the support of the community in order to live in their haven. That eventually would entail the responsibility of the city’s protection and hence, in the case of Los Angeles, the LAPD.
The biggest issue in every aspect of life is money. Money is the number one cause of divorces. Money is the root of all evils. Los Angles citizens will be very reluctant to pay more taxes for any funding without guarantees of any results. One of the best ways to get funding is through donations “that are deemed tax deductible” (LAPD, 2006). Citizens do not have the means nor want to believe in the causes of charitable donations. Taxes could be raised. In some instances, the legalization of drugs could provide means of funding the war on terror. For example, by legalizing drugs, taxes could be used to implement policies in battling terrorism (increasing patrol, providing better community relations, improve technology, and training for officials, and so forth). By legalizing drugs, the criminal hierarchy involved in the drug trade could be eliminated and hence eliminate and possibly disintegrate the drug cartel chain of hierarchy. Given a good budgeter, unused funding in certain areas (such as an excess funding available in California’s victim’s funds) could be reallocated in the new policies.
Once funding is available, the city can create departments and delegate duties that would suffice citizens’ needs. Training officers to handle citizens anxiety in response to a crises (crises management), holding town hall meetings to address issues of concerns, increase patrolling of high-crime areas, budgeting for overtime during critical hours of employment (high crime hours), creating incentive pays for officers to work in dangerous areas and/or cases, providing extra educational programs for minorities adjusting to living in America (education on the dangers of miscommunications and racial profiling), rehabilitation programs for addicts, including ex-convicts (to reduce recidivism as well as lessen the influence of being proned to terrorist activities, including the sales of drugs), and providing support groups, and whatever causes any citizens need to address to law enforcement officials that would eventually deter crime. Ideally, there should be enough funding or enough resources to allocate funding to find a solution to a legitimate cause.
In summary, city officials in Los Angeles, need to increase communications and provide answers to the growing concerns of the citizens of Los Angeles. At the same time, statistical figures regarding crime need to decrease drastically as a result of policies aimed at deterring crimes. These statistics should be supported to provide definitive concerns to citizens to realize the need for a resolution. The resolution would entail a cooperative agreement between the city officials and the citizens of Los Angeles. Citizens must learn to realize that resolutions need action. Such actions would either entail violation of rights, cooperation with citizens, or more officers to do their jobs. A combination of both the due process and the crime control model would be ideal. Interactions with law enforcements entail heavy communications, cooperation, and analysis of problems that exist within the city. Anytime hours are dedicated by employees of the city are demanded, wages need to be paid. In essence, the citizens need to be aware of its responsibility to its own community. With more community policing occurring, there are officers patrolling deterring, preventing, and solving crimes. Money need to be provided to be able to meet these demands. The City of Los Angeles need a good leader to be able to convince the people of the need for those funds.
References:
LAPC. (2006). Community Policing.
Ministry of Defense. (n.d.).
Schmidt, B. & Winters, J. (2006). Anxiety after 911.
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