On a cold April night in 1814 a British raiding force rowed six miles up the Connecticut River to burn the privateers of Essex, then known as Pettipaug. People who want to keep their phones concealed can opt out of the system in their device settings, or turn the phone off before the test.By Jerry Roberts for Connecticut Explored The government said it had been working with charities and organisations who focus on vulnerable women and girls “to ensure they are not adversely affected”, according to Sky News, and had taken their concerns on board. The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) warned people with hidden phones to turn off the alerts. NCDV’s Sharon Bryan described hidden second phones as “an emergency lifeline for victims and survivors living under the constant threat of abuse”. “This siren test may unexpectedly reveal their presence to abusers – with disastrous consequences,” Bryan said.Įmma Pickering, from domestic abuse charity Refuge, said it was a “very real risk to survivors of domestic abuse”. “These devices can be a lifeline for women who need to access support or flee their abuser,” she told the BBC. Does the alert put people at risk?ĭomestic violence campaigners fear the test could reveal hidden phones of vulnerable people and abuse victims, potentially putting them at risk. They “have been credited with saving lives during severe weather events”, said the FT.Īll 4G and 5G Android and Apple phones are filled with emergency alert capability worldwide. The system is modelled on similar schemes in the US, Canada and Japan, said the FT, while in the Netherlands it is also used to warn about terrorist attacks. It is unlikely to be used during an active terror attack, according to Sky News, as the attackers “would then receive a notification as well”, but the broadcaster added that decisions would be taken as and when needed. The test “may be inconvenient for some”, but “please forgive us for the intrusion, because the next time you hear it, your life… could depend on it”. “We must use every tool at our disposal to keep people safe,” said Mark Hardingham, the chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council. “The bar for this is exceptionally high.” "You are not going to be spammed by the government with constant incoming messages,” he told the BBC. Oliver Dowden, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of the system, said it could be “the sound that saves your life”. The government has said it would use the alert scheme “in a defined area when there is an imminent risk to life”, including extreme weather events like last year’s wildfires and flooding. “Thirty years after Britain decommissioned its national air raid siren network, the government is setting up a new system to warn citizens”, said the Financial Times (FT). “The shriek of sirens has become the defining sound of emergencies,” it said, especially during the Second World War when their sound was “a constant in many parts of the UK”, warning of German bombing raids. The government has been working on the scheme for three years, and staged pilots in East Suffolk and Reading. It was originally planned for the early evening, according to the BBC, but was brought forward to avoid alarming large numbers of people at the FA Cup semi-final, which kicks off at 4.30pm. Is Britain prepared for more wildfires?.Why Easter weekend is ‘riskiest time’ for phones and laptops.MPs and their screens: should mobile phones be banned from the chamber?.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |