Posted: May 1st, 2025

Emergency Communication

Using the information from the

Boston Marathon Bombing

and

Hurricane Irene in North Carolina

, read each case study.

Based on your research, create a 2 to 3 full page report in a Microsoft Word document, including answers to the following questions:

What barriers were identified to message development for each of these case studies?

How was timeliness an issue in each of these case studies? How was it addressed?

What was the call to action (response) for each of these case studies?

How were the seven steps of crisis communication used (or not) in each of these case studies?

What were the similarities between these case studies when it comes to emergency and crisis communication?

What were the differences between these case studies when it comes to emergency and crisis communication?

Be sure to support your points for each of the components in parenthesis with data from the program and outside research

Homeland Security
Information Network
CASE STUDY
Organizations
Cross section of local,
state and federal law
enforcement and
intelligence agencies
Continuous, secure
information sharing
between more than
400 individual, multijurisdictional intelligence
officials nationwide,
providing real-time support
of the investigation
Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN)
Sector
Law Enforcement
Dates
April 15–19, 2013
www.dhs.gov/hsin
Homeland Security
Information Network
CASE STUDY
HSIN SUPPORTS PROMPT RESPONSE TO
BOSTON MARATHON BOMBINGS
HSIN Connect provided continuous, secure
information sharing between more than
400 individual, multi-jurisdictional intelligence
officials nationwide, on-demand, from the
first operational period of the response to the
bombings at the Boston Marathon. This capability
was important to ensuring awareness and
coordination between DHS Office of Intelligence
and Analysis (I&A), fusion center and state and
local law enforcement officials during the ongoing
investigation. HSIN also provided a secure,
trusted platform for the sharing of documents
and general updates between DHS National
Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) and
trusted members of the private sector through
the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center
(NICC). Further, the HSIN Help Desk supported an
unprecedented number of requests for the use of
HSIN resulting from the Boston bombing incident.
The day after the bombing, the Help Desk
fielded 1,200 individual calls. In the week that
followed, the Help Desk responded to more
than 5,000 service requests. Typically, the Help
Desk gets 250 inquiries per day or approximately
1,750 inquiries a week. Before Boston, the most
calls Help Desk had received in one day was
500 during the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill.
Organizations HSIN Supported
During Boston Marathon
Incident Response
• M
ore than 20 state fusion centers from
Maine to California
• F
ederal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies (FBI, Amtrak,
New Jersey, Boston, Houston) and Joint
Terrorism Task Forces
• M
ultiple DHS component agencies,
including: ICE, CBP, USCIS, I&A, OPs, TSA,
USCG, and NPPD
The HSIN Help Desk
effectively resolved more than
5,000 service requests in
the week after the bombing,
ensuring quick and secure
access for users nationwide.
HSIN provided all these services while in the
midst of its migration to the new, HSIN R3
platform, successfully completing the cutover of
large communities of interest throughout this
operational period.
For more information:
HSIN.Outreach@hq.dhs.gov
Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN)
www.dhs.gov/hsin