Wake of Disaster: New Orleans Crime Rates Following Hurricane KatrinaEssay Preview: Wake of Disaster: New Orleans Crime Rates Following Hurricane KatrinaReport this essayIn the Wake of Disaster: New Orleans Crime Rates Following Hurricane KatrinaDaily crime and disorder are major aspects of life in urban settings. Bars on first-floor windows, broken class, and warning signs of lost or stolen valuables suggest there is a significant amount of crime in the area. “These examples indicate not only the obvious–that the area around you is dangerous–but also that neighborhood developers failed to consider all of the people who would use the space and consequently built in opportunities for crime.”(Brantingham). Many different types of indicators can be found in all types of neighborhoods, but there is a strong case of urban settings having a key influence of crime and disorder in the course of daily life. In American society, crimes range from petty theft to property damage to drug activity to homicide. These crimes are committed in everyday life but are significantly impacted by the occurrence of a natural disaster. Through examining urban crime trends one can better understand the effects a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina can have on the local crime rate and social disorder.
Urban areas are subject to a large amount of crime. The population demographics tend to be people of lower socioeconomic status. Crime typically occurs in the poorer neighborhoods, supporting the idea that poverty causes crime. These areas typically have “hot spots” for crime where the majority of crime takes place. Because criminal offenders are usually among the lower class, crime takes place in the urban areas in which they live. While it is known that members of the lower socioeconomic class are offenders of crime, the question remains–what drives people to commit these crimes?
There are many forces drive criminal activity. Some commit crimes because they are in desperate need, while others do so as a form of rebellion. In a review of crime trends, it is believed that the structure of daily activities increases criminal opportunities. Robberies alone, are a crime that normally take place at night but now in more suburban areas where parents are making the commute to work and dropping children off at school for the day, this is leaving houses very vulnerable for robbing. “The obligatory activity patterns of daily life–the commute to work, shopping, recreation, and socializing–moves people around and concentrates activity in one part of the city during one part of the day and in other parts of the city at other times”(Brantingham). But this same robbery would never be able to happen in urban areas in the broad day light, it would more likely be an opportunity after dusk and everyone is home and the streets are more empty, leaving it more apt to make and attempt on a house or place to rob. Researchers defined three key elements in the occurrence of crime as: motivated offenders, suitable target and the absence of capable guardians against violation (Cohen et al 1979, 589). All of these elements can be attributed to the increase in crime following Hurricane Katrina.
On August 29, 2005, the most destructive hurricane to ever hit the US made landfall–Hurricane Katrina. Striking the Gulf region as a category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Katrina caused severe damage to Louisiana and Mississippi. New Orleans, Louisiana suffered the greatest damages, flooding nearly 80%. 204,000 homes endured severe damages, with 180,000 homes under water during the flood (Caruso 2005). Hurricane winds of up to one hundred and twenty five miles per hour (NOAA) and left eighty one billion dollars worth of damage and killed over 1,500 people. There were many affects of the outcome of Hurricane Katrina, leaving many people who were left to commit crimes such as carjacking, looting stores, murders, thefts and rapes. These crimes did not only happen in New Orleans but also in the surrounding states that were also affected by the natural disaster. One article states “New Orleans will forever exist as two cities: the one that existed before that date, and the one after” (NOLA.com). Ranked as the “costliest” and one of the five deadliest hurricanes, Katrina left the Gulf region in massive ruins. Despite government warnings people remained in the city limits; some because they simply chose not to leave and others because they did not have the means or resources to evacuate. Those who stayed were trapped, many of which were from lower income situations. In the wake of destruction, Katrina left thousands of residents homeless and jobless. Over 800,000 citizens were forced from their homes. These types of conditions provide many opportunities for crime to take place.
There are many different types of crimes that are being committed in urban cities, but those that are looked at by the media are incidents involving serial killers, rioters, bank robberies, car jacking, drive-by shootings and human smuggling. With that said, the images the media gives about urban crime patterns is very much so incorrect. “The FBIs Uniform Crime Reports, show that violent crimes account for only about one-either of the index crimes reported to police. The other seven-eighths are property crimes.”(Brantingham) Crime and disorder that is found in urban cities is usually more routine and corrosive that the media image suggests. Many acts of minor violence, property damages and conditions of disorder and lack of respect that never gain attention from the news make up the real criminal components of urban life; assaults and property crime take place much more frequently than violent crimes. “Crime tends to occur with greater frequency in poorer neighborhoods of all cities, but it can occur anywhere. Crime is channeled by a citys routine social activity patterns and the structure of its transport network into some urban settings and away from others”(Brantingham). Most criminal offenses occur in places that have more opportunity such as shopping plazas, entertainment areas, major transit stops, and neighborhoods populated by more or less well off, young, single adults.
While crime is part of everyday life, crimes rates tend to increase following disasters. There was more room for criminal offenses in New Orleans, post Katrina due to the simple fact that they lacked the equipment to catch and punish those who are committing these crimes. A Texas University Evaluation of the impact of Hurricane Katrina found that in the time prior to the hurricane, crime in New Orleans was increasing and the population was decreasing. Immediately following the storm, the city of New Orleans was in a state of chaos. Generally speaking, industrialized countries endure more severe economic losses from natural disasters. The evaluation divides a natural disaster into four stages: mitigation, preparation, emergency and reconstruction.
Consequently, while many Americans had seen the end of the American economy on a national level, many of them would have benefited from the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Despite the “debt crisis” generated by the storms, the financial fallout from New Orleans and New York, both of which were considered safe havens, remains to this day.
It’s clear that an extremely weak economy forced on American homeowners to endure massive cost-cutting and debt repayments to cover their basic needs. In that context, the “real estate bubble” created in 2010, which put America’s housing stock at a near record 50 years of record highs, had more to do with the damage to the housing market than any other time in history.
The American Dream is now being threatened as families have no means to secure a good education.
On September 10th, the Times of London wrote a piece titled, “The Future of America: Why the Great Recession Is a Dark Day for New England.”
Readers have been following its lead and have been wondering what the future has in store in Boston at a time when Americans will be watching their homes deteriorate to a level that will seriously impact their ability to get an education. This lack of a safe place to live coupled with a high concentration of unemployment caused by the recession has created a feeling of dread over the possibility of losing an important piece of town. Some of us were shocked to read this sentence, but others didn’t think so. It is impossible to keep reading, but what we were surprised were the statistics. The bottom line is that while real incomes have increased by nearly 10 points, the unemployment rate is lower than it was in the mid-SEP 2000. The real figure is now 15%. The picture is bad. But the truth is that the economic crisis hasn’t completely ended. The recovery process is still in its infancy, but those who know the hard work and perseverance involved in recovery are now looking at the future.
Crisis for the future of America
The recent events leading up to Hurricane Sandy in 2014 have demonstrated the depth and magnitude of the problem and have provided a stark warning that a second wave of the financial crisis could hit the country.
As Sandy turned up in Atlantic City, a number of towns were closed for several weeks. When the storm roared down with the biggest storm of the 19 years on the water, it caused widespread flooding and severe flooding across most of the Atlantic Coast.
While New Orleans and New Jersey saw the worst flooding of its magnitude in recent memory, the devastation was so immense that the New York Times reported the following:
Three days after the storm, more than 700 children had to be taken to hospitals. … Some of the children with disabilities at the orphanages near Sandy-dwelling homes were being held hostage by a handful of families.
This is simply a warning. What we saw is the extent of the economic situation for real poor and middle class New Yorkers and their families in New York City and throughout the Northeast.
And let’s not