Paper Example on Increased Cost of Counter-Terrorism

Introduction

Terrorism is becoming a global issue. Through the government intervention, counterterrorism policies are used in most of the countries that are faced with a terrorist attack as the only mean of curbing the issue. The policies require funds for the success of its objectives. The government is doing its best in preventing a terrorist attack, it, for example, identify people suspected being radical, monitors the all the potential terrorist in all the sectors of the economy and gives at-risk people and strengthening with the extra security. The governments have implemented the security measures that are aimed at protecting the citizens and most of the organizations which are the targets of terrorist attack. (Awan, I. 2013). To ensure effective control and monitoring of terrorist attack, a substantial size of funding is needed. The paper, therefore, will explore the increased cost of counter-terrorism in most of the Asian countries particularly Singapore and elucidate on the same effect with other countries globally. The paper will also expound on some outcomes for the cost of attack and range of estimates for risk reduction

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Mueller and Stewart suggested an approach that is used to evaluate the cost of counterterrorism spending which only involve the application of four variables. The method is very effective as it covers all the areas surrounding the possibilities of terrorism. The variable suggested include the possibilities of a successful attack, the consequences of the attack, the extent to which the risk is lowered by the accepted successful measures, and the cost requirements for security measures. For a clear illustration of the approaches, a reflection of the general rise in the domestic counterterrorism expenses which occurred during the attack that took place in the in 2001 is used.

Assessing the Increased in the Domestic Expenditure of Counter-Terrorism

The evaluation of the increase in expenses of the domestic counterterrorism across the globe has been believed in relying on three determinants. The fact of the increase in such expenditure is considered, the extent of possible expenses of terrorist plans and the reduction of risk from the rise in counter-terrorism expense. Calculation of cost of a terrorist attack can hence be done based on the three factors. From the in an incident that occurred, calculation of expenditure estimation shows a large rise in counterterrorism spending.

The calculation indicated a domestic counterterrorism expenditure of $25billion per year in the year before the attack of September 2001. The value increased to about $75 in the decade after the incident. The counterterrorism policies spending also revealed a high expenditure. The spending on homeland security including the department of defense, the department of human and health services and, department of justice, department of energy and many other federal agencies received an estimate of $50 billion when equated to 2010 dollar.

Basing on the reflection of the incident that occurred and particularly the expenditure which had been set aside for prevention, it appears that most of the stakeholders in Singapore are now on their toes to protect the country from such attack. Most of its economic sectors are under protection by the counterterrorism policies. The Finance minister Mr. Heng Swee Keat recently announced the making of increasing security funding after his visitation to Home Team Tactical Center. In his speech, he emphasized on security getting rank among the major issue to be addressed by the country. He also emphasized the significance of preparation by all the stakeholders to support the security agencies which ensure the safety of the country. (Charvat et al.2010)

The statistics that were provided by the ministry of finance of the country showed a constant increment in the funding of the security agencies of the country every year. The country is on its implementation of the suggested measure by the Finance Minister. In the 2011 financial year, S$14.8 billion had been set aside for security spending. An increment in the government spending on security is observed in the 2016 financial year to S$ 19.5 billion. The amount accounted to about 4.7% of gross domestic products of the country which also make up to 27 % of the total government spending.

The finance minister is in total support for the increment in the security funding in the country. It is therefore clear that long-term projects will have to be focused on in order to gather for the constant increment in security funding every year. The police force of Singapore has improved and will proceed to support the capabilities of counter-terrorism in the country. The improvement in funding of the security sector has resulted in the emergence of specialist groups including In-Situ Reaction Teams and the emergency response Team which respond effectively to terrorist attack. The improvement in technology by the police is also aimed at supporting the stakeholders in the field. There is the application of analytics in operation, for instance, ensuring video analytics capabilities in police cameras is one of the technological enhancement in the sector. (Ramraj, V. V. 2011). The device easily detects the security incidents. Also, the installment of more cameras in all the public areas is on its implementation by the police which will provide better sense-making capabilities. As of September 2017, many police cameras more than 65000 were already installed at multi-storey carparks and 10000 HDB. It is estimated that 11000 cameras will still be installed in years to come.

Conclusion

The incident of 11th September 2001 triggered the global perspectives on the threat of terrorism in many nations and the tools that are needed for its prevention. Despite the existence of multilateral instruments since the 1960s, the unprecedented reach including the possibilities of terrorist networks, for instance, al-Qaeda is possing a new danger which challenges the available tools. The threat of al-Qaeda is proven a global issue. Since the 9/11 attack of September 2001, most of the Nations globally have come up with the counter-terrorism measures. They have generated websites which take down hate speech, discrimination or violence. They have the counterterrorism Alert System which won the governmental sectors about the threats of terrorism. Inclusively, there has been the development of special units by most of the countries from the armed forces. (Thomas, et al. 2018). The police fully take part in the special intervention service which arrests and detains individuals who are suspected of the terrorism offenses. The police also monitor an individual who may pose threats. In most of the countries, the security and intelligence services have improved their capabilities, and the government is taking measures to improve the financing of security sectors. For effective implementation of such measures, it is true that there is an expected increase in the cost of funding counter-terrorism agencies in most countries. Conclusively, it is evident that through full governmental support from all the sectors, the counter-terrorism measures put in place will be effective.

References

Awan, I. (2013). Extremism, counter-terrorism, and police. Farnham: Ashgate.

Charvat, J. P. I. A. G., & Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism. (2012). Homeland security organization in defense against terrorism. Amsterdam: IOS Press.

Ramraj, V. V. (2011). Global anti-terrorism law and policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Thomas, T. S., & Center for Strategic Intelligence Research (U.S.). (2018). Beneath the surface: Intelligence preparation of the battlespace for counterterrorism.