AN
ASSESSMENT OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO HURRICANE
KATRINA
By Drs. Michael R. Smith and Jeffrey Rojek
Criminology and Criminal Justice Department
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, University of
South Carolina researchers set out to examine the crisis
response of state and local law enforcement agencies to
the disaster. The media reported the tremendous
difficulties of law enforcement agencies in the Gulf
Coast region facing tremendous difficulties in their
attempts to save lives, safeguard property, and maintain
order after the hurricane’s landfall.
An Assessment of the Law Enforcement Response to
Hurricane Katrina depended on site observations,
interviews, and document reviews to examine the
strengths and weaknesses of the state and local law
enforcement response to Katrina. The researchers’ goals
were: (1) to assess the state of pre-disaster planning
among Gulf Coast law enforcement agencies before
Katrina, (2) to understand how law enforcement agencies
responded to Katrina and its aftermath, and (3) to
evaluate how agencies reconstituted themselves in the
months after the deadly storm.
 Several questions shaped the project: Did agencies have
formal plans for responding to disaster? What
organizational and operational difficulties did agencies
face? What public safety problems emerged? How were they
managed? What changes occurred in the law enforcement
mission? How did agencies cope with the loss of
equipment, facilities, and personnel?
When USC researchers made their first trip to the Gulf
Coast region at the beginning of October 2005,
conditions were still primitive. Their sleeping quarters
were tents, jail facilities and storerooms. Without the
assistance of several high-ranking law enforcement
officials who facilitated their research, they would not
have gained access to the affected areas and personnel.
USC researchers found that law enforcement and other
government officials were willing to admit failures so
that others could learn from their mistakes. One mistake
was inadequate disaster planning at both the local and
state level along the Gulf Coast. The lesson: Other
regions should move quickly in the aftermath of Katrina
to improve their own planning and response capabilities.
USC researchers also found that most law enforcement
agencies in the Gulf Coast region had not adequately
practiced disaster response. Their research indicated
that major disasters require pre-planned lines of
command and control to coordinate the response of
multiple public safety agencies, including those from
out of state. It is clear from their studies that state
and local law enforcement agencies must be familiar with
the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
system for requesting out-of-state assistance and should
have a streamlined process in place for making EMAC
requests.
Moreover, USC researchers concluded that redundant and
interoperable communications systems are vital. The good
news is that these capacities can be developed at the
state and local levels with existing technologies. USC
researchers determined that generators, batteries,
chainsaws, extra radios, and a five-day supply of food
and water for law enforcement personnel should be
stockpiled as part of a comprehensive disaster plan.
Finally, USC research made it clear that providing
medical and psychological care for first responders is
an important, but often overlooked, component of
disaster planning. And, that search and rescue,
point-of-distribution security, looting, and traffic
control are expected law enforcement priorities
following a disaster.
The lessons learned from this research have broad
implications for law enforcement agencies throughout the
country. The bottom line is that state and local
agencies must significantly improve their ability to
respond to natural and man-made disasters and must
assume greater responsibility for disaster preparedness.
Indeed, law enforcement plays a critical role in
responding to disasters. To the extent that lessons can
be learned from the Katrina experience, law enforcement
agencies will be better prepared to save lives,
safeguard property, and maintain public order in the
wake of the next disaster.
Disasters such as Katrina impact people regardless of
race, gender, religion, or socioeconomic status. Today,
the FEMA-created trailer parks that dot the landscape of
the Gulf Coast region house African Americans and
Caucasians, young and old, and rich and poor. All are
struggling to cope and rebuild their lives. USC
researchers reported this was the best and most
personally satisfying research experience of their
careers. They felt humbled that the law enforcement
personnel with whom they spoke were so willing to admit
their mistakes so that others could learn from them.
This project allowed USC researchers to make many
valuable contacts with state and local law enforcement
officials in the area. Several have agreed to share
crime and related data to help USC researchers
quantitatively assess the impact of Katrina on crime and
citizen demand for police services. The final report has
been published and disseminated to many law enforcement
agencies throughout the Southeast. In addition, USC
researchers have coordinated law enforcement disaster
symposiums in South Carolina and published study
findings in scholarly journals.
Biographies
Dr. Michael R. Smith is an associate professor and
graduate director in the Department of Criminology and
Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. He
is also a former police officer and holds a J.D. from
the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in Justice
Studies from Arizona State University.
Dr. Jeffrey Rojek is an assistant professor in the
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the
University of South Carolina. Prior to his
professorship, Rojek was a police officer in Los Angeles
Police Department. |
