Kelly Frailing

Changes and Challenges in Crime and Criminal Justice After Disaster

While prosocial behavior is widely observable after disaster, there is undeniable evidence that antisocial behavior also occurs in the immediate and longer term aftermath of disaster. We begin by examining the crime that occurred in New Orleans in the immediate wake of Katrina and the circumstances that facilitated it. We also take a longer term look at one of New Orleans’ most intractable crime problems, that of murder. We explore Katrina’s direct and indirect effect on murder rates in New Orleans, including innovative law enforcement responses to this crime. We conclude with a discussion of policies and practices relevant to reducing crime in the immediate and longer term wake of disaster that incorporate law enforcement and other initiatives.

The Resilience of Crime

The Resilience of Crime. This chapter explores how organized illegal activities are able to reorganize and flourish following disruption by disaster. In our examination of the drug market in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, we observe that new dealers, more users, and a smaller sales space facilitated the reorganization of the drug market and attendant lethal violence. We also observe that lethal violence declined as the market stabilized in the years after the storm and as the city underwent some important demographic changes. We contend that social learning and deterrence theories are useful in understanding drug market participation correlates, especially gang membership, and we provide prescriptions for prevention that are rooted in these theories.

The Resilience of Communities

The Resilience of Communities. Resilience is a hot topic in disaster research; and in this chapter, we investigate factors that can serve to diminish resilience and potentially facilitate crime. We begin by examining types of disaster and find that natech and technological disasters may diminish resilience. We then examine community characteristics and here, we focus on resilience’s counterpart, vulnerability. We find that certain community characteristics, including high proportions of racial and ethnic minorities, children and the elderly, women, the disabled, and those with low socioeconomic status, increase vulnerability to loss of life and property as a result of disaster. Finally, we examine official response characteristics and find that an ineffective official response may diminish resilience. We contend that an examination of these factors in tandem will lead to a greater understanding of resilience and to resilience’s role in reducing disaster crime.

The Case for a Criminology of Disaster

The Case for a Criminology of Disaster. For decades, the study of human behavior in disasters has been under the purview of sociology. Disaster sociology has delivered indispensable insights about behavior in disasters, but may have cut off a potentially valuable avenue of investigation with the claim that antisocial behavior and crime in disasters are rare. In this chapter, we examine the two disasters that served to challenge this claim, Hurricanes Hugo and Katrina. The crime that verifiably occurred in the wakes of these storms necessitated a departure from the usual sociological explanations of behavior in disaster and opened the door for criminological explanations. We then provide detail on what appear to be the most useful theories for explaining crime in disaster, thereby setting the stage for the remainder of the book.

Property Crime in Disaster

Property Crime in Disaster. Disaster sociologists have long claimed that looting in disasters is a rarity. In this chapter, we investigate this claim by examining burglary after a number of disasters. In our examination, we utilize methodological techniques that are more typical of criminology. We find that in contrast to disaster sociologists’ claims, burglary rates increase after disaster in certain circumstances, including when the affected area has poor socioeconomic conditions prior to the disaster’s impact and when formal and informal guardianship are absent in the aftermath. We contend that social disorganization, routine activity, and general strain theories are useful in understanding disaster burglary, and we provide prescriptions for prevention that are rooted in these theories.

Interpersonal Violence in Disaster

Interpersonal Violence in Disaster. Disaster sociologists have long claimed that antisocial behavior in disasters is rare. In this chapter, we investigate this claim by examining the types of interpersonal violence that have occurred in disaster. Importantly, we focus on all phases of disaster, warning, impact, emergency, and recovery and reconstruction, to fully observe these crimes. We find evidence for murder, hate crimes, rape and sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence in disaster. We contend that routine activity and GSTs are useful in understanding interpersonal violence in disaster, and we provide prescriptions for prevention that are rooted in these theories.

Fraud in Disaster

Fraud in Disaster. While fraud is a relatively popular topic among criminologists, it has not found the same level of interest among disaster researchers. In this chapter, we examine the types of fraud that have occurred in the wake of disaster. Importantly, we focus on the later phases of disaster, recovery, and reconstruction, to fully observe this type of disaster crime. We find evidence for contractor fraud, price gouging and profiteering, disaster benefit fraud, and corruption by individuals, as well as for corporate fraud by insurance companies. We contend that routine activity and general strain theories are useful in understanding disaster fraud, and we provide prescriptions for prevention that are rooted in these theories.

Culture and a Criminology of Disaster

Culture and a Criminology of Disaster. In this chapter, we focus on a number of disasters around the world that resulted in antisocial behavior and try to make sense of that behavior in a cultural framework. We find that cultures that are characterized by xenophobia, religious intolerance, and acceptance of violent symbols including gangs and guns may produce antisocial behavior when a disaster strikes. We also summarize what is known and as yet unknown about crime in disaster and make our final proclamation that a criminology of disaster is here and here to stay.

Conceptualizing Fear in the Disaster Context

Conceptualizing Fear in the Disaster Context. Disaster sociologists claim that while those impacted by disaster experience the emotion of fear, they nevertheless act in rational and prosocial ways. Criminologists’ examination of fear centers largely on how fear of victimization drives behavior. In this chapter, we attempt to bring the criminological perspective to understanding fear and how it can drive behavior in disaster. In so doing, we link the concepts of fear and social concern in facilitating prosocial behavior, and we explore how fearlessness might facilitate antisocial behavior. We also examine the social construction of fear and the role of rumor in producing both fear and behavior in disaster settings. We contend that in some circumstances, fear may facilitate a normative breakdown that permits antisocial behavior.

Through the Lens of Katrina Long-Term Disaster Recovery in the United States

This article serves to provide background information on Hurricane Katrina and to introduce the content of each substantive article in this issue.