Picking up on a theme raised in my last post on the Pitt Review, there is clearly an argument to be made for greater openness with the public and with local emergency services as a means of strengthening community resilience. As a piece in
today's Independent highlights, however, increasing transparency may have negative consequences for national security. Understandably, the Security Services are not too happy about publishing flood risks maps - with such information proving potentially subversive (in the hands of terrorists planning to attack dams, for example).
This highlights a central dilemma in the community resilience equation: just how transparent can the authorities be about the true nature of risk? And, moreover, how can we better foster an approach that recognises the interconnectedness of risk - fostering integration (rather than competition) between local level resilience and strategic approaches to national security across central government.
Michael Harvey
michael.harvey@demos.co.uk
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