This book is a collection of essays, bringing together seventeen contributions from different disciplines, with various, but complementary points of view, to discuss the directions and key components of risk governance. Some of the many issues of interest to risk scholars addressed in this work include the analysis of proactive approaches to the governance of risk from natural hazards; approaches to broaden the scope of public policies related to the management of risks from natural hazards, including emergency and environmental management, community development and spatial planning.

In response to the unacceptable loss of life and property from recent natural disasters, and the awesome prospect of even greater, catastrophic loss in the future, the National Mitigation Strategy (NMS) was developed to provide a conceptual framework to reduce these losses. Hazard mitigation involves recognizing and adapting to natural forces and is defined as any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to human life and property. Contents: why a NMS? designing the strategy; basic principles and goals of the NMS; major elements and strategic objectives of the NMS; mitigation action plan. Tables.

This White Paper sets out the Government's plans for a second phase of reforms of the police service in England and Wales. The reforms detailed have three broad objectives: i) the creation of dedicated neighbourhood policing teams across the country, including police constables, community support officers (CSOs) and wardens, designed to make the service more accessible, accountable and visible in the community; ii) further modernisation of the police workforce with more capacity for front-line policing, including 25,000 new community support officers and wardens by 2008, a new improvement agency to ensure policing is driven by intelligence, good practice and performance monitoring, and an enhanced training and career development structure to improve leadership and management skills at all levels; and iii) greater citizen involvement in determining how their local communities are policed, including minimum national service standards for every force by 2006, that can be built on locally. These reforms are designed to embed a strong, responsive customer service culture throughout the police service, and to help build trust and confidence in relations between the police and the public.