Being an important and historic American state, Massachusetts has unfortunately seen more than its fair share of acts of terrorism. In recent decades it saw everything from a gang prosecutor who was shot at close range in his car to a string of bombings by radical left-wing and right-wing groups denouncing issues from capitalism to abortion. Those with homeland security careers in Boston are no strangers to terrorist attacks.
In more recent times, Boston was the origin of two of the hijacked September 11th flights and one of the most recent terrorist attacks in the country, the Boston Marathon bombings. Because the level of terrorist activity in the city is so high, homeland security training in Boston has long focused on inter-agency collaboration and drills.
Getting Ready for Homeland Security Jobs in Massachusetts
People interested in future careers with homeland security in Massachusetts can prepare for the application process by familiarizing themselves with the minimum requirements for a desired position. Because of the variety of jobs in the homeland security sector there is also just as wide a variety of employment prerequisites.
Homeland security degrees are available at a number of private and public locations throughout the state, and in a wide diversity of academic fields. Some homeland security degrees in Massachusetts include:
- Law Enforcement
- Criminal Justice
- Homeland Security
- Terrorism, Mediation, and Peace
- Homeland Security and Emergency Management
- Business Administration
Boston’s Recent Terrorist Activity
No American can forget the terrorist attacks that came on September 11th, 2001. Boston was intimately linked with these as two of the hijacked planes – American Airlines Flight 11 that took off for Los Angeles and United Airlines Flight 175 that departed 15 minutes later for the same destination – both originated from the city’s Logan Airport. Many Bostonians were among the 127 passengers and 20 crew members aboard those flights. After the attacks those working in the field of homeland security in Boston and throughout the country did not get much sleep for the next several weeks.
At the peak of the investigation, the FBI was devoting more than fifty percent of all its total agents to follow up on more than half a million leads. Other homeland security officials were involved in everything from the massive crime scene investigation to piecing together the terrorists’ movements and actions in Boston in the days leading up to the attack.
Most recently, the city was the infamous setting of the Boston Marathon bombing, which saw hundreds of homeland security officials participate in a city-wide manhunt to bring the two bombers to justice. At one point, homeland security personnel coordinated the suspension of the entire city’s mass transit system and a city-wide warning for residents to stay indoors. These personnel also played a key role in the investigation, as numerous federal agencies worked with state and local law enforcement organizations to piece together clues from surveillance images and photographs as well as evidence recovered from the scene of the bombings. As part of their homeland security certification program, officials completed courses on crime scene preservation and analysis, making them well prepared for the demands of this investigation.