In light of recent terrorist activity both in America and around the world, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be updating the National Terror Advisory System in the near future, according to CNN.
Since 9/11, the United States has had two different terror alert systems. The first system was the Homeland Security Advisory System, a multicolor system based on the one used for forest fire alerts to address the threat levels the country was experiencing.
However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the system and the manner in which it was used, and so, in 2011 the National Terror Advisory System was put into place. This system has such a high standard that in almost five years of activity, a warning has never been issued.
One benefit the change held was the shift from making the public scared to making them aware. The goal of the updates is to increase public awareness and the number of levels.
Currently, the levels are ‘elevated’ and ‘imminent.’ By adding the level of ‘intermediate,’ the DHS will be able to issue reasonable warnings to the public via news programs and social media.
As Jeh Johnson, the secretary of the DHS put it, the department is trying to change the system so that, “not having a specific credible piece of intelligence specifying a plot isn't the end of the story.”
Students had similar ideas on how the DHS could not only alert the public, but make the public aware of the National Terror Alert System, as not everyone knows of its existence.
Rebecca Foster, a junior psychology major from California, felt, “They could send out security alerts like police departments do with Amber Alerts. But widely informing the public that they have this system by putting it in the news or on social media needs to come first.”
Senior psychology major from California, Abraham Garcia, had this idea: “There could be a government app for phones that would notify people in the area of a terror threat. It would use their area code, and everyone in that area code and surrounding area code regions would get an alert of what the threat was.”
Garcia said this idea had one obstacle that would be particularly difficult to hurdle. He said, “The problem would be getting people to put their information into the app. People would be hesitant because the government would have that information, which some Americans don’t like.”
Natalie Powell, a junior social work major from Texas said, “Overusing the system could create more panic. If this new update in the system causes more fear than protection, it might not be worth it. After a while, people might stop paying attention to it if there are unnecessary alerts given, which would ultimately defeat its purpose.”
Johnson did clarify, while informing the public about the updates, that the system isn’t being changed into a new system entirely.