National risk register

Posted: August 12th, 2013

Introduction

The National Risk Register is a government document that was first published in 2008 by the National Security Strategy. The document contained information on how citizens and organizations can be best prepared for civil disasters and tragedies.

Types of Risks

The civil emergencies were subdivided into newly assessed risks and high priority risks.

The other part of the register is the description of the risks that are largely categorized into major accidents, natural hazards and malicious attacks.

The document is a collection of the numerous risks, the techniques of addressing these risks and the possible solutions.

Critique of the National Risk Register’s Organization

The register was categorized in an organized way that was easy to browse through and discover the points of interest.

The register contained detailed information about the natural hazards, accidents and malicious attacks.

Details Dealt with

The National Risk Register was very detailed and provided enough genuine material. Other natural hazards that were mentioned include flooding, volcanic hazards, severe weather.

Analysis

In the human diseases category, influenza and SARS were the main diseases analyzed.

Comprehension

The section was written in simple language that avoided the medicine jargon that distracts any avid reader from understanding the message. The use of simple language was important in expressing the gravity of the pandemics and other natural emergencies. The use of numbers and percentages made the whole study even weightier.

Strengths

It was elaborate, focused and comprehensive. The study followed the same systematic format that started with the definition, the examples and the intervention by different parties.

Weaknesses

It focused on the common examples of disasters that have been experienced everywhere. The material should have included other examples of rare industrial and transport accidents such as nuclear accidents. The examples being mentioned were elaborate but numerous forcing the author to mention very few details.

The chapter had many examples that needed further explanation making it less informative. This section was not satisfactorily handled as very little information on the different examples of cyber crime and attacks were mentioned.

Other information on the cyber security plans by the government was also scathingly addressed. The categorization of industrial action as being a national risk is a flawed argument. This is because industrial action is a choice by the people themselves to go out of their way and openly express their displeasure at their working conditions.

Other Weaknesses

The theoretical framework lacked the proper organization that would completely inform a scholar about the risks that citizens encounter on a daily basis. The allocations for findings in the different risks were also very brief.