Hurricane Katrina

Criminal Behavior in the Aftermath of Katrina

Hurricane Katrina resulted in distraught victims committing desperate actions to survive the aftermath of the catastrophe. One such response by many residents to the consequences of Katrina was their involvement in activities considered to be criminal in nature and defined as crime by legal policy. News media accounts depicted many acts of looting and violence. Although similar acts took place in other cities, such as in Biloxi, Mississippi, the majority of the news media reports (some of which were later determined to be unfounded) focused on the deviant behaviors of New Orleans residents. The concerns of racial identity, race relations, and racial implications related to the storm were heavily influenced by the images fed to the general public of the impact on the New Orleans area and on the cities that welcomed large numbers of evacuees (such as Houston, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana).

It is clear that survivors in the areas most affected by Katrina engaged in looting. Looting can be defined as taking the property of others, without prior approval, during and after a natural disaster or human-caused catastrophe or uprising, such as what occurred after the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, California. What is undetermined about the looting that took place following Katrina is the extent to which it occurred and the majority of the types of items stolen. Research has found that in the aftermath of disasters in the United States, looting is an unusual occurrence. Because of the destruction and chaos following Katrina, much of what is known about any looting is from anecdotal accounts and ethnographic interviews. Although many Katrina survivors may have been engaged in acts that would generally be deemed illegal, it is useful to carefully consider the types of acts and motivations for committing them (e.g., survival).

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