Department of Homeland Security (Sanctaria)
 Logo of the Sanctarian Department of Homeland Security | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | November 19, 1974 as Department of Defence |
| Jurisdiction | Sanctaria |
| Headquarters | Carson Poe Building, Port Sanctus, Sanctus |
| Employees | 670,000 civilian employees 728,000 active duty military 108,000 reserve military |
| Annual budget | S£561.75 billion (2020) |
| Minister responsible | |
The Department of Homeland Security (often referred to as DHS), is the Sanctarian governmental department responsible for the national and public security of the Divine Federation, as well as oversight of the Sanctarian Defence Forces. It is equivalent to the defence ministries and also the interior ministries of other countries. The department was created in 1974 as the Department of Defence, with further duties added to the department by successive governments.
The department is headquartered in the Carson Poe Building, named for the first Defence Secretary, which is located at Port Sanctus alongside some military installations. It is the only government department not headquartered in the government district of Sanctus. The department is also responsible for border protection, the customs agencies, and the Federal Intelligence Agency also falls under the department's purview.
The Department is led by the Secretary for Homeland Security, who is nominated by the Chancellor, confirmed by the Senate, and appointed by the President. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary for Homeland Security is Nicola Allman MP.
History[edit | edit source]
The department was originally formed in 1974 as the Department of Defence. This department was solely responsible for the Sanctarian Defence Forces and at the time, due to Sanctarian neutrality, had an armed force makeup of approximately 150,000 active duty personnal, and a budget of approximately S£85 million.
In changes to government structure in 2015 and in 2022, responsibility for the domestic intelligence services, immigration, border control, as well as other domestic duties were added to the department's purview, and it was renamed to the Department of Homeland Security. Successive governments have also vastly increased the budget of the department, and since 2015 have seen the SDF grow from 240,000 active duty to almost 730,000 active duty personnel.
Many civil servants were also transferred to the department with the organisational changes in 2015, with civil staff growing from 35,000 in 2012 to almost 700,000 in 2020.
Organisation[edit | edit source]
The Department of Homeland Security is headed by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, also known as the Secretary for Homeland Security. The Secretary is aided by the senior civil servant in charge of the department, the Director-General. The Department itself is then split into various divisions or directorates, with each division headed by other senior civil servants, Directors, who report to both the Director-General and the Secretary of State. This is mirrored in all other government departments, with the only political staff being the Secretary themselves, or any other politician appointed to aide them. Civil servants throughout the department report to their superiors, who eventually report to the Director-General, who is then answerable to the Secretary. The Secretary in turn reports back to the Cabinet and, indeed, the Parliament.
The Sanctarian Defence Forces are led by a Chief of Staff who reports to the Secretary directly. Directly subordinate to the Chief of Staff are the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coastguard.
The Sanctarian Intelligence Service formed a part of the Department of Homeland Security between 2015 and 2022, but was latterly moved back to the Department of Foreign Affairs upon the establishment of the Federal Intelligence Agency in 2022. The Director of the FIA also reports directly to the Secretary for Homeland Security, however, bypassing the Director-General of the department.
Structure[edit | edit source]
- Department of Homeland Security
- Public Affairs Directorate
- Security Directorate
- Sanctarian Border and Customs Authority
- Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Security
- Intelligence Analysis Bureau
- Sanctarian Defence Forces
- Department of the Army
- Department of the Navy
- Department of the Air Force
- Department of the Coastguard
- Defence Intelligence Agency
- Office of the Chief of Staff
- Federal Intelligence Agency
Duties and responsibilities[edit | edit source]
The Department of Homeland Security is the lead Sanctarian agency for security and defence, and its head, the Secretary for Homeland Security, is the Chancellor's principal security advisor, though other officials or individuals may have more influence on their policy decisions. The Department works in two ways to protect the the Divine Federation of Sanctaria within, at, and outside its borders:
- It works in the civilian sphere to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, including terrorism, but also natural disasters. It is also responsible for, in this sphere, processing and adjudicating various immigration matters, including applications for work visas, asylum, and citizenship, as well as keeping the borders secure through secondment of members of the Sanctarian Federal Police.
- In the military sphere, it works to deter war and ensure the nation's security through use of the Sanctarian Defence Forces. In this matter, the scope of responsibility includes overseeing, directing, and controlling the planning for and employment of global or theater-level military forces and the programs and operations essential to the defence mission.
The Department of Homeland Security uses a large workforce to conducts these activities - it has the largest workforce in the Sanctarian government, with over 1.5 million employees; approximately 50% of this workforce is comprised of active duty military personnel.