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Homeland Security and Public Safety

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RAND conducts analyses and makes recommendations to strengthen the U.S. Department of Homeland Security across its full set of missions to prevent terrorism and enhance security, secure and manage America's borders, enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard and secure cyberspace, and strengthen preparedness and resilience. In the area of public safety, RAND research addresses drug policy, crime, prison reform, and prisoner reentry, and other topics.

Commentary

The Gun Laws That Work, and the Gun Laws That Don't

May 27, 2022

Are certain gun laws and regulations likely to improve or worsen public safety? At a time when many Americans are searching for solutions to the country's intolerably high rates of gun violence, social scientists can help provide answers.
Tool

The Mass Attacks Defense Toolkit

May 31, 2022

After studying 600 mass attack events and plots, interviewing dozens of experts, and reviewing hundreds of references, researchers provide a toolkit that organizes important tips that reduce the likelihood and casualties of mass shootings and other deadly attacks.

Topics in Focus:

Explore Homeland Security and Public Safety

News Release

RAND Launches Center to Study Ways to Manage Catastrophic Risk and Compensate Victims

The RAND Corporation has created a new research center that will analyze different approaches to compensating individuals, businesses, and others following catastrophes ranging from natural disasters to terrorist attacks.

Jun 24, 2013
News Release

Health Reform Shields Young Adults from Emergency Medical Costs

A new federal law allowing young adults to remain on their parents' medical insurance through age 25 has shielded them, their families, and hospitals from the full financial consequences of serious medical emergencies.

May 29, 2013
News Release

Hospital Emergency Department Use, Importance Rises in U.S. Health Care System

Hospital emergency departments play a growing role in the U.S. health care system, accounting for a rising proportion of hospital admissions and serving increasingly as an advanced diagnostic center for primary care physicians.

May 19, 2013
News Release

Land-Use Zoning Shown to Affect Crime Rates in Los Angeles

Using zoning laws to shape the type of development and activity that occur in a neighborhood may be one way to reduce crime in urban areas. Single-use commercially zoned blocks in Los Angeles have crime rates that are 45 percent higher than similar blocks that include residential uses.

Mar 5, 2013
News Release

Nation's Health Security Research Is Not Balanced Enough to Meet Broad Safety Goals

Federal support for health security research is heavily weighted toward preparing for bioterrorism and other biological threats, providing significantly less funding for challenges such as monster storms or attacks with conventional bombs.

Dec 3, 2012
News Release

Frequent Alcohol Testing Program Reduces DUI and Domestic Violence Arrests

In its first six years, an innovative alcohol monitoring program called the South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Project reduced county-level repeat DUI arrests by 12 percent and domestic violence arrests by 9 percent.

Nov 15, 2012
News Release

RAND Stanton Research Fellows Issue New Studies Examining Nuclear Security Issues

Three Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows at the RAND Corporation—Robert Reardon, Markus Schiller, and David Kearn—have published new research examining nuclear security issues.

Oct 2, 2012
News Release

RAND Review Election Coverage Points to Policies of 'Farsighted Leadership'

In an effort to look beyond the 2012 U.S. election and promote "farsighted leadership in a shortsighted world," the latest edition of the RAND Corporation's magazine offers commentaries intended to transcend partisan rhetoric and foster policies that both presidential candidates could well accept.

Sep 21, 2012
News Release

The Illicit Drug Landscape in the U.S and Paths for Future Efforts

The nature of the American drug problem has changed substantially over the last 20 years. It is now less of a crime problem illustrated by drug market violence and more of a health problem with higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and a criminal justice problem of burdensome incarceration rates.

Sep 18, 2012
News Release

Costs, Benefits, and Efficiency of Aviation Security Measures

The threat of terrorist attack on American aviation has made the system the focus of intense security efforts, but it is difficult to determine if the benefits outweigh their cost. Efficient security policy—a focus on getting the most security for the least cost—should be the priority in an era of fiscal austerity.

Aug 20, 2012
News Release

Efforts to Curb Tobacco Use in Arkansas Have Paid Dividends, but More Effort Needed

A decade of unprecedented efforts in Arkansas has cut cigarette use by nearly one-third and reduced incidence of tobacco-related illnesses such as heart attacks and stroke. To maintain the gains it has made, Arkansas should continue its financial commitment of devoting the tobacco settlement funds to public health programs.

Aug 16, 2012
News Release

U.S. Forest Service Should Consider a Different Mix of Aircraft to Fight Wildfires

The U.S. Forest Service should upgrade its large airborne firefighting fleet to include more amphibious scooper aircraft, with air tankers and helicopters in a supporting role during the initial attack of fires before they become large.

Jul 29, 2012
News Release

U.S. Military's Role with Petroleum Is to Assure Security

Energy purchases made by the U.S. Department of Defense do not influence world oil prices, making cutting fuel use the only effective choice to reduce what the Pentagon spends on petroleum fuels.

Jun 18, 2012
News Release

Book by Noted Expert Proposes a Renaissance of Thought on Nuclear Deterrence for Today's Strategic Environment

A new book by the late French scholar Thérèse Delpech provides a critical review and update of nuclear deterrence theory, focusing a critical eye on nuclear issues during the Cold War, examining the lessons of past nuclear crises, and outlining ways in which these lessons apply to major nuclear powers and nuclear pretenders today.

Apr 17, 2012
News Release

Conflict with al Qaeda Will Continue Into Its Third Decade, Although Tactics May Change

While al Qaeda's capacity for large-scale attacks has been drastically reduced and the organization seriously weakened, the United States can expect to continue its battle with the terrorist group for many years to come.

Feb 16, 2012
News Release

Voluntary After-School Program Can Reduce Alcohol Use Among Middle School Children

If prevention researchers build programs with developmentally relevant content, and provide this content in an engaging, confidential, and non-judgmental way, it can help middle school-aged children avoid alcohol.

Feb 8, 2012
News Release

California Workplace Safety Program Can Reduce Injuries When Inspectors Enforce It

The first evaluation of the California Injury and Illness Prevention Program found evidence that it reduces workplace injuries, but only at businesses that had been cited for not addressing the regulation's more-specific safety mandates. Higher penalties could enhance compliance but having inspectors conduct more in-depth assessments and linking the violations and injuries to the program would have more impact.

Jan 26, 2012
News Release

California Faces Challenges Meeting Health Needs of Offenders Released from Prison

With the health care safety net in California under stress from the state's continuing financial crisis, jurisdictions across the state face unprecedented challenges caring for the health and social service needs of people released from state prisons.

Nov 16, 2011
News Release

Al Qaeda's Efforts to Recruit Homegrown Jihadists in America Remain Largely Ineffective

Despite al Qaeda's increasing use of the Internet to attempt to radicalize and recruit homegrown terrorists in the United States, the turnout has been tiny and mostly inept.

Aug 31, 2011
News Release

RAND Book Provides Critical Review of U.S. Actions Since 9/11; Recommends Future Anti-Terror Path

A new collection of essays by experts from the RAND Corporation examines America in the decade since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing a critical eye on the nation's actions since the attacks and outlining changes in strategy needed to improve efforts against jihadist groups.

Jul 26, 2011

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RAND Topic:
Homeland Security and Public Safety

Topic Synonyms:
Homeland Defense

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