The Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division operates under the direction of the sheriff. Emergency Management encompasses 4 phases:
- Mitigation - actions taken to prevent disasters or lessen the harmful effects of unavoidable disasters.
- Preparedness - planning and training for potential disasters and emergencies.
- Response - includes all those actions taken to lessen the impact of an actual emergency.,
- Recovery - actions taken to return communities and their citizenry to their pre disaster state, including measures to enhance future disaster preparedness.
Emergency Management is tasked "to protect lives and property from the effects of natural and technological disasters and enemy attacks", and begins with the President of the United States. At the federal level, it is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Within Minnesota, the governor, working through the State's Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM), is responsible for maintaining an effective emergency management program throughout the state. This includes monitoring county and municipal emergency management programs to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations and statutes. At the local level, the appointed county and city emergency management director has the responsibility to develop disaster response capabilities and coordinate the development of an emergency response plan for their jurisdiction.
Chisago County Emergency Management is charged with coordinating the emergency preparedness and homeland security efforts of the county. In addition to planning and educating, assistance is provided to local jurisdictions and county agencies before, during, and after disaster strikes. Emergency management works closely with county, local and state law enforcement, and cooperatively with neighboring jurisdictions to enhance homeland security and better prepare for and respond to incidents ranging from tornadoes to terrorism.
Homeland security involves working with all aspects of public safety - from the federal level to working with individual citizens - to ensure the most comprehensive and coordinated approach to protection of the public safety. The division works with many agencies and jurisdictions to coordinate information, training and equipment needed for protecting the county and the nation from acts of terrorism. In the awful event that such an act is perpetrated upon us. Emergency management will work with these agencies and jurisdictions to meet the problem quickly, mitigate its effect, inform the public, and reduce the chances that such an event can happen again.
Emergency management is a dynamic process. Planning, though critical, is not the only component. Training, conducting drills, testing equipment and coordinating activities with the community are other important functions.