Homeland Security Advisory Council overview
About HSAC
The Homeland Security Advisory Council, Region One (HSAC) is a voluntary, non-partisan coalition of more than eighty senior business, government and academic leaders dedicated to improving regional homeland security and emergency response capabilities in the greater Los Angeles/Orange County metropolitan areas through public-private partnerships.
HSAC provides a unique means for the private sector and government to build efficient, collaborative partnerships that strengthen the region's capability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to security threats and other catastrophic events. HSAC's mission is to integrate the private sector into the government’s security and emergency management structure to improve our overall security, preparedness, and response capabilities. HSAC projects work to close gaps that neither government nor business can fill alone.
HSAC's principal public partners are the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) and the Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD), who are the primary law enforcement agencies for emergency response and coordination for Los Angeles and Orange counties respectively. Other HSAC partners include the City and County of Los Angeles, the California Office of Emergency Services, the California Office of Homeland Security, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Coast Guard, among others.
HSAC is an affiliate of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), which is a national organization of over 500 senior business leaders based in Washington D.C. with a 24 year track record of applying best business practices to achieve measurable results in improving the nations' security. BENS has similar partnerships in eight regions around the country, including the Bay Area. HSAC and BENS Bay Area work closely together and have created a statewide network and capability.
HSAC works with a wide variety of businesses in the region and is actively seeking to expand its network of partners. There are no restrictions on participation in HSAC projects, all of which are designed to integrate the private and public sectors. Membership in HSAC is limited to senior business, government and academic leaders with a demonstrated commitment to homeland security and civic leadership.
Why We Need It
The necessity of directing homeland security resources to Los Angeles and Orange Counties lies in the region’s strategic importance and the magnitude of the threat that it faces. Approximately fourteen million people reside in Los Angeles and Orange counties collectively, which would make the region the fifth largest in the U.S. in population if it were a state. In addition to being a major cultural center, Southern California is vital to the health of the national economy as a center for numerous industries and key critical infrastructure, like the Port of Los Angeles. At the same time, these two counties remain vulnerable; they are among the most targeted by terrorists of any region in the country and prone to many different natural disasters, including earthquakes, fires, floods, and tsunamis.
While government has the primary responsibility for protecting us from the risks of terrorism and natural disasters, it lacks the resources and ability to do it alone. Although the private sector owns and operates over eighty percent of the nation’s critical infrastructure, most jurisdictions have not effectively incorporated it into their emergency preparedness and response plans. Creating links ahead of time and building the private sector into the existing government structure creates new capabilities that enhance our community’s ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from a disaster.
Many businesses and private individuals have valuable resources and expertise to offer, yet when something happens they do not know how to help. The private sector can play an important role in assisting public agencies save lives and accelerate economic recovery in a major catastrophe if is integrated into government’s emergency management structure.
Why HSAC?
HSAC represents over eighty senior executives from business, government and academia, all of whom are influential leaders and have a demonstrated commitment to homeland security. The membership includes executives from major financial institutions, media outlets, retail facilities, real estate, development and telecommunications companies, utilities, hospitals, and universities. Furthermore, HSAC works in a close partnership with the primary law enforcement and emergency management agencies in the southern California region and at the State level.