AS HURRICANE Sandy bears down threateningly on the eastern seaboard of America, the best the citizens of that part of the world can hope for is that if this does indeed prove to be a “Frankenstorm”.
Then, the precautions taken by authorities and individuals will prevent the predicted horrors turning into their worst nightmare. Yet as we watch events unfold from here, we would be wise not to dismiss them, supposedly safe in the knowledge that these kinds of weather events only happen on the other side of the Atlantic. For there is a grave danger in being complacent about extreme meteorological manifestations occurring here. Just as we were hit by the storms that convulsed the global economy, so are we likely to be severely affected by the disrupted weather patterns gripping the world.
The causes of an increase in the number and frequency of extreme weather conditions are disputed. Some climatologists are sure man-made global warming, and specifically the increased temperature of our seas (which results in more energy being transmitted into the cyclones) is to blame for an increase in more violent storms across the world. Others disagree, saying there is no conclusive long-term evidence.
Others still, who have looked at data going back over many decades, even dispute whether we are going through a period of climate upheaval that differs from the normal fluctuations expected in the dynamic but complex weather system that makes the Earth the habitable though sometimes inhospitable planet it is.
Yet, whichever side of this theoretical argument one sits on, it seems obvious that in Scotland, as with other parts of the world, we have been hit recently by unexpected extreme weather – the freezing up of motorways and the misery that imposed on thousands of our citizens being one of the most recent manifestations of this phenomenon.
So whether we are just experiencing a blip in the normal weather cycle, or whether global warming is bringing in a more lasting change for the worse, it would be prudent for the country collectively to take a look at the preparations we have made for dealing with more extreme fluctuations in our weather conditions.
The Scottish Government has already ordered more snow ploughs and other equipment to deal with extreme cold, and has put in place major flood prevention works across the country, a process which is continuing.
Such measures are welcome as far as they go. But are they enough? Experience in the US and, closer to home, in parts of flood-ravaged England, suggest they are not. If we are to prepare properly for a future of unstable and potentially crippling weather, we should – at the very least – have a thorough, detailed analysis of the risks and potential risks to Scotland and from that set out a comprehensive plan to deal with whatever the furies deign to throw at us in the future.
Jails must tighten security over phones
When people are sent to prison, it is generally assumed that they are deprived not just of their liberty but also of many of the ordinary modern conveniences that we take from granted in our daily lives. The use of mobile phones is one example. Surely no-one in prison is allowed to use a mobile?
In theory no-one is, but in practice the reasonable assumption made by the lay person that convicted criminals serving time at Her Majesty’s Pleasure do not have access to mobile phones is incorrect. They do. And, what is more, there is evidence that they are using them to carry on their illegal activities, up to and including serious organised crime such as drug smuggling.
Such practices are clearly unacceptable and should be stopped. The question is how? One answer, according to Scotland’s prison chiefs, would be to install phone signal blockers in our jails. But there is a drawback to this. The blocking devices cost £1 million each, which could mean a total of £15m being spent across Scotland if every prison were covered.
While we take the view that everything should be done to stop criminals continuing to orchestrate crime from prison, we question whether this is a wise use of public money. A prison is, after all, a closed environment. There are only a limited numbers of ways in to and out of a jail and only a limited number of people – staff, police, social workers, prisoners and their relatives among them – who go in and out of them.
It must surely be possible to devise tighter security measures at prisons in order to stop mobile phones ending up in the hands of convicted criminals. This would also help to tackle the scourge of drugs in prisons.