Applying Goldwater-Nichols Reforms to Foster Interagency Cooperation Between Public Safety Agencies in New York City

摘要

Interagency conflict between police and fire departments throughout the country has existed for many years and is generally attributable to competition for limited municipal dollars and overlapping areas of responsibility. New York City (NYC) is frequently cited as the most egregious example of this rivalry. The relationship between NYC's emergency response agencies, and the lack of integrated strategic planning which results, has many parallels to the situation that existed within the DoD from the years after WW II until the passage the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986. That act is widely credited with changing the culture of the DoD from one of service parochialism to one of jointness and allowing the military to seamlessly coordinate and integrate its war-fighting activities across service lines. This thesis recommends that NYC adapt several provisions of the Goldwater-Nichols Act to change the underlying attitudes and cultures of its first responder agencies. By encouraging its personnel to focus their planning, training, and operational activities on what benefits the City as a whole, as opposed to the individual agency to which they belong, the City will profit from the improved coordination, communication, and cooperation necessary to effectively prepare for and respond to emergencies of any magnitude.