tragic the aftermath of a disaster can be if a coordinated emer-
gency management system is not institutionalized.
A country’s civilian police force—with its large numbers and
countrywide distribution of personnel—is a critical resource for
EM. In most cases, police are the first responders in disasters,
and how they execute their responses can directly impact the
number of lives lost and the level of damage sustained. The af-
termath of the December 2007 elections in Kenya is an example
of how a police organization’s inability to maintain public order
and security surrounding an election can lead to a large-scale,
protracted disaster.
Disasters can have widespread impact across different govern-
ment sectors.
If a government cannot respond effectively to a disaster, citi-
zens, lacking food and public services such as water, sanitation,
and electricity, may resort to public demonstrations that might
require police intervention. If police are unable to maintain
order, the economic sector may be decimated from extensive
looting. Further, trouble could result if people start flooding
across national borders. This migration of refugees could cripple
the border security systems of the affected country and its
neighbors, severely damaging the economies of the source and
receiving countries. EM systems should be in place so police
and other government agencies can intervene before conditions
spiral out of control.
sources, initiating information flow, and coordinating with and
integrating government emergency response personnel. Cell
phones are critical for establishing the necessary communica-
tion structure within this system, but no computer components
are needed.
In September 2009, the Government of Indonesia (GOI)
activated SEMS in response to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake
that struck off the west coast of Sumatra. The earthquake caused
severe damage to the city of Padang, and cost more than a thou-
sand lives. Within a day, the INP had fully activated SEMS, set
up an emergency operations center, and initiated disaster victim
identification. Al Dwyer, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
(OFDA) DART Team leader, and Albert Nakatsuma, USAID’s
Environmental and Disaster Relief Coordinator in Jakarta, both
witnessed SEMS in operation, and highly praised its efficiency
and utility. The GOI also used the SEMS system to effectively
coordinate elections that were held in 2009. The SEMS model
has been expanded and is being used in other Indonesian min-
istries, including those responsible for pandemic crisis manage-
ment. In January 2010 the Indonesian legislature codified the
SEMS system into law. It is interesting to note that legislative
authority, as depicted in the diagram on page 11, is not essential
for EM system development because in Indonesia, an EM plan
provided the impetus for passage of EM legislation.
A Collaborative Approach
Developing systems for emergency management, public order
management, and election security is not a high cost endeavor.
Successful Emergency Management Systems in Devel-
The systems are not expensive to develop because they rely on
oping Countries
principles of good governance, instead of costly high-technol-
In 2006, ICITAP began working with the Indonesian National ogy equipment. While police are a rule of law actor, by virtue
Police (INP) to develop an emergency management system that of the fact that they are nearly always the country’s most prev-
came to be known as the standardized emergency management alent government representatives, and therefore the public’s
most likely link to the government. Police are the glue that
system (SEMS). ICITAP helped the INP develop policies,
binds different governmental agencies together when planning
procedures, and a training program that deployed master INP
and responding to disasters. Additionally, they are the critical
instructors to different regions throughout the country. These
governmental actors in terms of POM and ES. While DOD
instructors conducted classes for INP personnel and represen-
cannot work directly with police, ICITAP can work with DOD
tatives from other government agencies who would work with
the police when responding to disasters. This ensured a whole of to promote linkages between the police and the military in host
countries, so they can more effectively address POM, ES, and
government approach to dealing with disasters.
EM. ICITAP has extensive experience and expertise both in
designing and implementing long-term institutional develop-
The beauty of SEMS is that it institutionalizes procedures
ment strategies for EM, POM, and ES. Three possible program
for forming a temporary management hierarchy that enables
models that could meet this mandate follow.
a few police commanders to oversee thousands of personnel.
Police are trained on how to establish and manage command
1) DOD and ICITAP could develop a comprehensive EM
posts that serve as coordination centers for working with other
government service providers. SEMS enables police managers to system, in which police play a key role in terms of coordinating
a whole-of-government response to disasters and civil disorder
move from being reactive to proactive—rapidly mobilizing re-
12