Physical Safety: A Matter of Balancing Responsibilities

Ensuring the population’s physical safety is one of the core tasks of any government. In general, a government is typically held accountable for safe handling of hazardous substances, food safety, flood protection, controlling and preventing infectious diseases, as well as managing risks engendered by new technologies. In 2011, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior asked the Scientific Council for Government Policy to investigate the development of a generic risk policy in relation to physical safety. This work contains the Council’s survey and recommendations for good governance in the area of general public safety.