Please write me a reply to my classmate answer on this discussion question below. Do you agree.

Q1. According to Gaines, the national response framework is a big part of homeland security. The national response framework was created in order to make sure that responses to events were more coherent (Gaines 2011). Those that were in charge of responding to catastrophes now would receive clarity on the roles they were expected to fill (Gaines 2011). This is very important because if responders are not too clear on what they are supposed to respond to then this can delay others from receiving the help that they need. Unfortunately there was a lot of confusion on what the duties to responding were on federal levels. This made things more difficult for local and state response teams because more of the work fell on them when they could have benefited from outside help. When viewing things from a layered response view there are levels in which catastrophes are responded to (Gaines 2011). The first layer responds to local levels of government. It explains to us that the first one to respond are local agencies and then second comes the state officials. If the catastrophe or event is considered to be a national emergency, only then will responders on a federal level become involved (Gaines 2011). An example of this would be FEMA getting involved to help in a disaster situation. Unfortunately things need to get to the point in which local and state officials feel as they cannot handle what is going on in order for the federal officials to get involved. With the proper communication and organization, better plans can be put into place for prevention.

Q2. According to Gaines, public education programs are a major part in preventing both crime and terrorist attacks (Gaines 2011). Public education programs are implemented by law enforcement to provide knowledge to citizens on topics that may cause confusion. By providing the public with this knowledge they are guiding them and addressing concerns that they may have (Gaines 2011). Through programs such as citizen academies, citizens can gain more knowledge on some of the things that occur within law enforcement (Gaines 2011). One of the important roles that public education roles play is that is helps to reduce fear that citizens have (Gaines 2011). Unfortunately due to the multiple social media platforms there are many things that can cause people to be scared. Things can spread to social media and the facts can be twisted causing people to think negatively towards law enforcement agencies. Tensions between the community can also be reduced through public education programs (Gaines 2011). We have seen a big increase in community tensions within this past year between things such as riots and protests towards law enforcement agencies. By providing programs in which the police work together with the public through community policing much of this can be reduced. It is important for the community to trust officers because they then will feel comfortable sharing suspicious information with them that they may have seen. These communities are very diverse and it is important to cater to all of these ethnic groups. Gaines explains to us that one plan may work for one group and not for another due to this therefore it is important to have various plans (Gaines 2011).