Office of Homeland Security

The Missouri Office of Homeland Security administers and coordinates programs designed to build a more secure Missouri through counterterrorism training and funding; cybersecurity information sharing, education and exercises; law enforcement information sharing and active-threat training; threat and hazard identification and risk assessment; critical infrastructure protection; and statewide law enforcement mutual aid. The team operates with the core understanding that close collaboration and coordination with local, regional, state and federal partners is essential to fulfilling these wide-ranging homeland security missions.

The Missouri Office of Homeland Security’s origins date back to September 26, 2001, just 15 days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when Missouri named a Governor’s Special Advisor on Homeland Security, making Missouri the first state to appoint a liaison to the federal government for homeland security issues.

On July 21, 2005, Executive Order 05-20 made the Office of Homeland Security a division of the Missouri Department of Public Safety to enable better coordination between DPS agencies that do much of the daily work that makes up homeland security, such as the Missouri State Highway Patrol and State Emergency Management Agency. Executive Order 05-20 also established Missouri’s Homeland Security Advisory Council to review state and local security plans and grant funding requests and make recommendations for changes to better protect Missourians. The DPS director is the chair of the council; the Homeland Security Director is the vice chair.

The Missouri Office of Homeland Security is not part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and does not have jurisdiction in matters of immigration, naturalization, customs enforcement or the National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS). For information about any of these federal programs, please call (202) 282-8000 or click here for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website.