Homeland Security Advisory System

Categories: Alert measurement systems | United States Department of Homeland Security

Image:Hsas-chart.jpg

In the United States, the Homeland Security Advisory System is a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale. The different levels trigger specific actions by federal agencies and state and local governments, and they affect the level of security at some airports and other public facilities.

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History

The system was created by Presidential Directive six months after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, to provide a "comprehensive and effective means to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local authorities and to the American people." It was unveiled March 12, 2002, by Tom Ridge, then the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, but responsibility for developing, implementing and managing the system was given to the U.S. Attorney General.

In January 2003, the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security began administering the system. The decision to publicly announce threat conditions is made case-by-case by the Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. [Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5]

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Description

The scale consists of five color-coded threat levels, which, at least in theory, reflect the probability of a terrorist attack and its potential gravity (see Threat level changes):

  • Severe (red): severe risk
  • High (orange): high risk
  • Elevated (yellow) significant risk
  • Guarded (blue): general risk
  • Low (green): low risk

The specific government actions triggered by different threat levels are not always publicly described. Typical actions include increasing police and other security presence at landmarks and other high-profile targets, more closely monitoring international borders and other points of entry, ensuring that emergency response personnel are ready, and, in some cases, deploying members of the National Guard to assist local law enforcement on security details.

Some actions, such as systematic forced searches of otherwise innocent automobiles near airports [1] [2], have been held in earlier court decisions to violate the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment. No court has yet ruled on a specific search triggered by this threat advisory system.

The published terror alert notices have not included enough information for ordinary citizens to do anything useful in response, besides being more "vigilant" about their surroundings.

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Criticism of the system

There are no published criteria for the threat levels, and thus no independent way to tell whether the current threat level is accurate. The evidence cited to justify changes in threat levels has been stated vaguely (see below) and its sources have seldom been revealed. This makes the system vulnerable to manipulation by government officials. These attributes have been criticized by cartoonists ([3], [4]), journalists ([5]), entertainers ([6]), civil libertarians ([7]), and security experts (Do Terror Alerts Work?). Observers have also pointed out that the colors are out of correct sequence, as green is between yellow and blue in the spectrum of visible light.

In December 2004, the Homeland Security Advisory Council voted to review the color-coded system. One panel member suggested that it has outlived its usefulness. ([8]) In a public forum, Ridge conceded the system had invited "questions and even occasional derision."[9] Ridge also said Department of Homeland Security staff had occasionally been forced to raise the threat level by the White House and other agencies. "Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment," Ridge said. "Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put the country on [alert]. ... There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?'" [10]

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Threat level changes

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Homeland Security secured the Prudential Financial Building in Newark, New Jersey in August 2004 following the discovery of evidence of a terrorist threat to it.

Although the system in theory consists of five levels, the threat level has never been lowered to blue or green, nor elevated to red. The threat level has stood at yellow for most of its existence. In New York City it has stayed at orange since the start of the system, and is intended to remain so.

On a blanket, nationwide level, it has been raised to orange five times:

In addition, the alert has been raised to orange on a select or partial basis twice:

Other official terrorism warnings issued without raising the threat level above yellow:

  • May 28, 2004, citing "credible evidence" of terrorist intent to affect upcoming elections.
  • July 8, 2004, again citing "credible evidence" of terrorist intent to affect upcoming elections.
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External links