For most homeland security agencies, success is measured by preventing events. However, when it comes to budgets it can be hard to quantify what didn’t happen and make the case for continued funding. For Sacramento Fire Captain Eric Saylors (cohort 1403/1404), his department’s performance was measured in terms of tangible loss reduction, but the metric was flawed because it ignored the unmeasured performance of a fire department that saved nearby at-risk properties and businesses. So he proposed a new measurement of success: the saved ratio. This new metric quantifies damages and business losses that were prevented thanks to the suppression actions of an effective fire department and includes that as part of the department’s value.
Providing perfect security in an era of unbounded risk is impossible. In my interview with Jack Anderson (Masters 1401), we talk about caribou scapula...
Reports of police use of excessive force appear weekly in the media and have generated outrage in many communities. Officers actions are currently judged...
Today’s cyber risks to critical infrastructure and public services affect all levels of government. Eric Rosner (MA 1601/2) explores the current state of cybersecurity,...
