ReadyLink

Mission Statement
The executive order defines the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness’ mission as being responsible “to administer, coordinate, lead, and supervise New Jersey’s counter-terrorism and preparedness efforts.” The executive order also set the office’s goal as coordination of “emergency response efforts across all levels of government, law enforcement, emergency management, nonprofit organizations, other jurisdictions, and the private sector, to protect the people of New Jersey.”

Vision Statement
A state prepared to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from the full spectrum of destructive and injurious consequences resulting from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and technological emergencies. 

Who We Are
The Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness is an office created by Executive Order 5 (Corzine) in March of 2006 after a bi-partisan Homeland Security and Public Safety Transition Policy Group submitted their recommendations to the incoming Governor.

The Office is led by Director Edward Dickson and comprised of two Divisions, the Division of Operations and Division of Preparedness, and eight bureaus. The Office is primarily housed in Hamilton with a satellite office in Newark.

The Office is designated as the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for all federal homeland security and preparedness funding.

What We Do
 This Office has one shared focus – strengthening our state – through a partnership with individual citizens, the private sector, and state and local partners – in the face of many threats and hazards from terrorists to natural disasters.  We have taken an all-hazards approach in the discharge of our duties.  Our Counter-terrorism efforts are fully integrated with the NJ State Police, local law enforcement agencies and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). However, Preparedness Planning, Critical Infrastructure protection and Grants management efforts are exclusively centralized in the Office.

 This Office helps to direct prevention, detection, protection, response, and recovery planning, not only at the state level, but also at the regional and national levels with our varied partners.   In addition to coordinating our efforts with other state agencies, we have a critical role in the national and regional arenas to help shape state and inter-state homeland security policy and practices. 
This Office oversees the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force (P.L. 2001, c. 246), the state’s multi-agency cabinet-level policy body for homeland security, counter-terrorism and preparedness issues. The director of the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness serves as the Task Force’s chair. As such, OHSP is responsible for directing the state’s preparedness efforts.

The State Police continues to operate the Office of Emergency Management. The Superintendent of the State Police dual reports to the Attorney General and to the Director of the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness on matters related to homeland security, preparedness, and the Office of Emergency Management.
While OHSP has responsibility for overseeing statewide emergency response coordination, the NJOEM continues as the state’s primary operational agency in terms of managing the consequences of emergencies and the post-event response to emergencies.