Project Summary: There are no overarching ethical standards or principles for homeland security despite the complex mix of ethical issues that arise in each of the homeland security mission areas. For example, to prevent terrorism, the government must consider the need for secrecy and confidentiality versus the need to share information among agencies or the public's right to know. There also are ethical issues related to racial or ethnic profiling, awarding no-bid contracts in disaster relief or homeland security research and development projects, and proper treatment of suspects and persons detained as terrorists. However, as the homeland security system and the Department of Homeland Security are still relatively new in terms of government bureaucracy, ethical codes or standards have only gradually been applied in a piecemeal, incremental fashion. Therefore, until such time as a clear, comprehensive, and ethical code for homeland security emerges, it is important to understand the theoretical or phi