Review

• Four recent catastrophic building collapses and a near miss are raising concerns about the state of America’s aging buildings and questions about who, if anyone, is checking their safety.
• Many cities have buildings showing signs of aging and in need of repair.

Many disasters had clear warning signs

There were two common threads prior to many of the recent building collapses: visible signs of the defects that eventually led to the building’s demise and a history of documents submitted to city building departments clearly showing deteriorating conditions. For example:

• Three years earlier, an engineers report had raised concerns about the structural integrity of concrete in the pool deck area that later collapsed, but the strength of the pool deck slab was not thoroughly investigated.
• Federal investigators in a 2023 preliminary report found that the original design of the pool deck did not follow building standards.

In May 2023, three people died when part of a 116-year-old apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, collapsed. Inspectors pointed to a history of improper maintenance, and photos show clear signs of trouble, such as walls that were bowed.
In April 2023, one person was killed when a New York City parking garage collapsed. The nearly-100-year-old building had several past violations, and its collapse triggered a swift check of similar garages that turned up more potential hazards.
In a near-miss, in November 2023, a large hole opened in the base of another New York City parking garage, offering a view to the Amtrak rail line below. It forced the closure of the line while the building was repaired.

What cities and states can do

• Just as human beings need to see their physicians on a more regular basis as they age, older buildings also require more care and attention.
• That is even more important when they are exposed to adverse environmental conditions, such as corrosive de-icing salts in the Northeast and saltwater and salt air moisture in coastal regions.

• Policies vary by state, but there are currently few widespread mandated rules for structural inspections of entire existing buildings.
• Several Florida cities and counties have extended the state-mandated periodic inspections to commercial buildings.

Cities need to prioritize inspections

• In the New York City apartment building, a visible, vertical crack in the corner column, which should have been a glaring red flag, was ignored.
• The NYC Buildings Department commissioner recently said that “The Department of Buildings does not have enough of its own staff to inspect every building in New York City.”

• Building departments across the country are understaffed and have oversight challenges.
• If cities and states enact periodic structural condition assessment rules for existing buildings within their jurisdiction, problems could also be spotted by expert inspectors before they develop into failures.

If you see something, say something

• Residents also must adopt a more vigilant and proactive approach to identify and prevent structural problems.
• Anyone can learn to identify the telltale signs of building deterioration and defects, though there may be some hidden structural deterioration behind architectural finishes that may not be visible.

If you see any of the following problems, report them to your landlord or the city building department – they could be signs of structural trouble:
Water intrusion, ponding, leaks, water stains, rust stains and peeling paint on floors or ceilings.
Sagging floors, roofs and ceilings and bulging or bowed walls.
Cracks that are expanding in elevated floors or roof slabs, walls, beams and columns.
Cracks on a floor slab that create a trip hazard, or wall cracks, which may be the result of the foundation settling.
Chunks of concrete falling from slabs, beams, walls and columns; and exposed rusted steel reinforcement.
Rusting or corroded steel beams and columns.
Balconies where the rainwater drains toward the interior of the building, rather than away from it.
Rotted wood structural parts, such as floor joists or wall studs.
Everyone needs to understand the warning signs and be willing to speak up so officials and building owners take the necessary steps to stem this scary tide and protect residents. Our buildings are talking to us, and in some cases crying out for help – it’s time everyone listened.
Abieyuwa Aghayere does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• That the Post Office was able to bring so many prosecutions – and to conduct them so appallingly – is because the company was not supervised.
• Just as any other public company or private citizen might, the Post Office brought private prosecutions.
• As co-directors of the Criminal Law Reform Now Network, we have been working on a review of private prosecutions since 2019.

How private prosecutions are brought

• To bring a private prosecution, a person or company asks a magistrate to issue a summons against the accused person.
• When the accused person answers the summons, an ordinary criminal case ensues – not a civil case.
• This is one duty which the Post Office manifestly declined to perform, as has been highlighted by statutory inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Safeguards for private prosecutions

• There has long been the possibility for the director of public prosecutions (DPP) – who, since 1986, is the head of the CPS – to take over a private prosecution or discontinue it.
• Since 2009, the policy has been to discontinue private prosecutions which do not meet the same core standards (that there be a realistic prospect of prosecution or that a prosecution is in the public interest) with which the CPS must comply.
• However, it would normally be up to the accused person themselves to ask that the DDP or CPS should take it over, and the decision would still be made on the basis of the files in the possession of the private prosecutor.

Private prosecutions should be reformed, not abolished

• It is important not to look at private prosecutions entirely through the prism of the Post Office scandal.
• Where wealthy and determined victims have the means to investigate and prosecute effectively, they may, in fact, be doing a public service.
• Some succesful private prosecutions have led to confiscation orders being made against convicted defendants that have resulted in millions of pounds being handed over to the Treasury.
• In recent years, many legal firms specialising in private prosecutions have formed their own Private Prosecutors’ Association.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) is recommending precautionary measures for the treatment of male patients with valproate medicines.
• A safety signal is information which suggests a new potentially causal association, or a new aspect of a known association between a medicine…, Ongoing referralsProcedureStatusUpdateHydroxyprogesterone-containing medicinal products – Article-31 referralUnder evaluationPRAC continued its assessment

• In recent times, we’ve seen plenty of big news stories emerge from senate inquiries and estimates hearings.
• Estimates hearings have, if anything, been even more sensational.
• Earlier in the year, former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe copped a grilling over inflation and rising rents.

The history of senates

• This is because senates and “upper houses” in parliamentary systems have traditionally been dominated by older representatives of the establishment.
• Traditionalists were recently scandalised by the idea of relaxing the dress code to allow hoodies in the chamber.
• This is why senates and other “upper houses” around the world typically have the power to review and amend legislation passed by their colleagues in the “lower house”.

The importance of committees

Even when it is not debating bills in the chamber, the Australian senate continues to play this role in our democracy by scrutinising government business in its committees. These committees conduct their own hearings, investigations and inquiries. Broadly speaking, and with some exceptions, there are three types of senate committee:
standing committees, which serve for the full length of the parliament
select committees, which serve for shorter periods and investigate specific issues
joint committees, which have members from both the senate and the House of Representatives.
There are eight standing committees in the Australian Senate. Each covers different broad areas of policy (like economics or education), and conducts estimates hearings in its area.

So what are senate estimates?

• According to senate standing orders, estimates hearings are committee proceedings in which senators may “ask for explanations from ministers in the senate, or officers, relating to items of proposed expenditure”.
• After the budget is handed down in May, senior officials and ministers must front up to standing committees to answer questions about estimates (hence the name) of their expenditure for the coming year.
• But they’re just as likely to be squabbles between opposing politicians (who could forget this testy exchange, for example).

What about senate inquiries?

• The other thing to know about senate inquiries is that while they’re not always high profile, there are a lot of them.
• The senate may only sit for 60-odd days a year, but this doesn’t mean senators get an easy ride.
• Read more:
  Question Time reforms are worthy but won't solve the problem of a broken political culture

  There are 52 senate inquiries happening right now.

• But if senate estimates and inquiries go the way of rowdy question time, the upper house’s ability to provide effective and diligent scrutiny will suffer.

Lachlan Johnson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.