to find out what matters of general interest have been picked up during ordinary work. Much of the content of these weekly reports is ephemeral, and sometimes even frivolous, but we try to keep it up to the minute.
95. The discipline of this routine requires staff to think about a wide variety of subjects and gradually to acquire a feel for public reactions. This in turn should give us an increasing capacity to produce a more soundly based judgement of probable public reaction to proposals, and it should bring new currents of public opinion to light at an early stage. 96. Occasional items of intelligence interest have come to our notice and have been passed on.
97. This department has no specific role in the security organization in times of natural disaster etc. We did however find that C.D.O.s could be useful after rainstorm damage last summer. Meetings were held after the heavy rains with the Police, Fire Services, Public Works and Social Welfare Departments and it seemed that C.D.O.s had a potential local co-ordinating role.
98. Emergency organizations have been put to the test on a number of occasions in recent years and have developed a high degree of efficiency and speed of response. So far as these organizations are concerned we cannot suggest any amendment to existing routines, nor any specific role for the C.D.O.s to play. C.D.O.s have however been instructed to assess the significance in the local context of any disaster or other emer- gency and always to go to the scene themselves in a situation of any seriousness. At the scene it may be that scope for some new kind of im- provisation will emerge for there is often a novel twist to events in such circumstances. Since C.D.O.s have only a small staff and are not execu- tives the only role in emergencies in relation to other government organiza- tions will be that of observer and, where this seems to be useful, co- ordinator at the district level.
99. For natural disasters there is a potential for assistance being provided from the public for those who suffer. Four local emergency relief organizations of voluntary agencies and local members of auxiliary services have been formed with a view to mobilizing voluntary assistance in times of emergency. These organizations have earmarked potential temporary shelters for the homeless and are capable of producing man- power to provide assistance in small ways to supplement the operations of
government organizations. The sort of need we foresee is the guarding of deserted homes and property, reassurance and distraction or entertain-
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