Office of Homeland Security [OHS] Law & Legal Definition

Homeland security is a broad term that refers to the security efforts to protect the U.S against terrorist activity. The Office of Homeland Security (OHS) was established by President Bush, nearly a month after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to take care of security measures within the U.S. The agency’s aim was to coordinate the efforts of more than 40 federal agencies in order to prevent further terrorist attacks.

The Office of Homeland Security served primarily as a coordinating body. In other words, it was charged with coordinating efforts of other agencies, in addition to the development of a national strategy to prevent terrorism.