BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. – Hurricane Katrina didn’t merely toss the lives of law-abiding Gulf Coast citizens into chaos, it disrupted the routines of criminals in ways that law enforcement officials and criminologists are still struggling to understand.
Like the currents and eddies of the storm’s devastating surge -- which at times left one home standing while flattening another next door -- Katrina’s impact on crime rates has been both fickle and hard to quantify.
Edward Shihadeh, a professor of sociology at Louisiana State University and co-coordinator of the university’s Crime and Policy Evaluation Research Group, noted that measuring Katrina’s impact in the storm zone and areas that received large numbers of refugees is impossible because of the massive population shifts it caused.
“In order to calculate a crime rate on a per capita basis, you need to have an intelligent guess what the population is,” he said. “Any calculation based on the (pre-Katrina) population data is worthless.”
Also complicating matters in many of the hardest-hit areas is the destruction of police department computer systems used to track arrests and convictions.
“We’re only now kind of getting back to where we can operate,” said Maj. Bobby Underwood, chief of the patrol division of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, which has set up shop in an old Dollarwise store miles inland from its wrecked former headquarters in Bay St. Louis.
Anecdotal evidence and interviews with local law enforcement officials in Hancock County, Miss., indicate that crime rates have climbed in some areas and declined in others in the months since Katrina. Certain crimes, such as looting, rose sharply in the storm’s wake and then abated, while others, including domestic violence and alcohol-related offenses, are becoming more pernicious as the months drag on.
Changing the face of crime
Some examples of the varied ways the storm has changed the face of crime in the Gulf Coast:
· The exodus of much of New Orleans’ populace has slashed the violent crime rate in what was annually ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in America. Police Lt. Billy Cerevolo told the Houston Chronicle in December that the city’s Ninth Ward -- once a hotbed for crime -- is now considered a “retirement district” because officers there do very little aside from protecting the badly damaged property of residents who may never return. A citywide decline in serious crime led Louisiana state Rep. Peppi Bruneau to suggest in November that the city should begin downsizing its police department.
· In Houston, home to an estimated 100,000 new residents displaced by Katrina, police said last week that at least 23 people who relocated to the city from the hurricane zone are either victims or suspects in murders. Mayor Bill White has asked FEMA to pony up $6.5 million to help police combat increased crime.
· In Baton Rouge, La., which saw its pre-Katrina population of 227,818 approximately double overnight, police statistics show no significant increase in serious crime in the three months after the storm. “Police officers I talked to … said the one big increase has been in traffic accidents and traffic altercations,” said Shihadeh, the LSU professor. “They said, ‘This is pretty much what we do around the clock.’”
Interviews with law enforcement officials in Hancock County, Bay St. Louis and Waveland support the premise that the storm had nuanced effects on individual jurisdictions.
For example, officials in both cities say that they have been making few drug busts in recent months while the Sheriff’s Department narcotics unit, which lost two of its four officers in the aftermath of Katrina, is now seeing more drug activity than before the storm.
“It was dead, but it started picking up around Nov. 1, and in December, we had a case a day,” said Matt Karl, the department’s director of narcotics enforcement.
Dealing drugs from FEMA trailers
Some recent busts carried out by the squad include the seizure of 7 pounds of crystal methamphetamine from a local dealer and a raid that led to the arrest of 10 suspects who allegedly were selling crack out of a pair of FEMA trailers.
The latter case is a source of frustration in the overtaxed department, since the suspects were released on bail and have returned to selling drugs from the encampment, said Deputy Abe Long.
“They’re still there, and they’re back at it,” he said, adding that calls to FEMA to try to get them evicted were in vain: “They all say, ‘We’re going to get back to you,’ but we’ve had no further contact.”
Other trends, though, are universal among the departments.
All made numerous looting arrests in the first weeks after the storm, and Waveland Police Chief James Varnell said his officers continue to pick up the occasional “accidental looter.”
“A lot of people are sightseeing and just pick something up,” he said. “These are people who never would ever have thought of stealing anything and didn’t look at it as stealing.”
Overall, he said, crime in Waveland is probably up slightly from pre-Katrina levels, “but I don’t think it’s that much more.”
'Crimes of opportunity'
Frank McNeil, police chief in Bay St. Louis, said his department has seen an increase in “crimes of opportunity,” such as residential break-ins and theft of building materials, tools and heavy equipment. But that rise has been offset by drops in drug-related arrests and petty crime, leaving the overall number of crimes reported today at about the same level as before the storm, he said.
But he said his officers do get called out on a lot more calls from residents hearing “suspicious” sounds.
“In those trailers, you can hear everything that’s going on outside,” he said.
All three departments say that one area where they have seen a significant increase is domestic violence, a trend that experts say tracks with what they’ve seen after previous natural disasters.
Kenny Hurt, director of investigations for the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, attributes the rise to frustration among residents over the extended hardships they’ve had to weather and to nerves frayed by extended periods spent in close quarters.
“Everybody’s confined in the trailers, and a lot of neighbors are crammed in so close (in FEMA encampments),” he said.
Waveland’s Varnell agreed with Hurt’s general assessment but said the bureaucracy surrounding the rebuilding process is the biggest source of frustration.
“Everything you do takes an act of Congress. Everything is a task,” he said. “Nobody has any patience, and the officers are on edge, too.”
A matter of control
Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said that while difficult circumstances play a role, they aren’t the underlying reason that violence in the home typically increases after a natural disaster.
“I think for perpetrators of domestic violence, control is a huge issue, and when they have no control over anything else in their lives, control of their family is still available to them,” she said, adding that rape also often climbs after natural disasters. “(The frustration) doesn’t cause it, but it impacts frequency and severity.”
Some of the changes in crime patterns since Katrina are the result of changes in police agencies’ ability to combat it.
All three police agencies in Hancock County have been able to replace most of their essential equipment –– patrol cars, guns, bullet-proof vests and computers -- thanks to donations from out-of-state departments. But all have lost staff since the storm and have had to reprioritize to meet post-Katrina realities.
No place to put drug task force
“We haven’t seen as many drug arrests as before, said Waveland’s Varnell, speaking from a trailer in the parking lot of the city’s wrecked police station on Highway 90. “But that’s probably a result of the (diminished) population and the time dedicated to it.
“We lost all our equipment for our narcotics task force, … (and) now we don’t have a place to put it or to put the task force.”
At the makeshift sheriff’s station, meanwhile, narcotics officer Long is trying to work through a thick pile of backlogged drug cases on his desk.
“We’re not allowed to work overtime, … we can’t hire anybody and we have no relief,” the 35-year-old deputy said, shaking his head. “We’re just taking care of problems as they arise instead of being proactive.”
Da train, boss! Da train!
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Cheers to Laurie N! Well said! I cannot imagine why anyone would want to stay inside a toilet bowl that was about to be flushed. The weather service said it was going to be a big storm. Rich or poor, a resourceful person would find a way to get out of town until the storm blew over. Why is it in most white communities in the storm's path you found everyone out cleaning up the place, and in New Orleans the only cleaning out you saw was people looting stores? The CHIEF responsibility lies with the individual. You can't expect the government to do everything for you. The city and state government really should be held accountable BEFORE the federal agencies. It's easier to blame the faceless feds, thats why. It's also easier to make this a race issue, because thats what always is done in this country. Take some responsibility for your own community. When bad weather comes here, people PREPARE for it. I've never even SEEN a FEMA trailer.
Frank G. (Sent Feb 3, 2006 1:37:43 AM)
Instead of being honest about the difference between LA and MS victims, all you hear is excuses.
Here's a novel idea: Roll up your sleeves and GET BUSY REBUILDING YOUR COMMUNITY! If you sit and wait for the government to do it for you, you'll be waiting a long time. There are still homes in Florida that haven't been repaired from Hurrican Andrew.
GET OVER IT NEW ORLEANS!
Want to know the difference between Katrina and the asian tsunami? About 200,000 lives lost and no warning.
T. S. Pates (Sent Feb 3, 2006 2:22:06 AM)
How much more tax money would make everyone happy? Ten billion? Twenty?
As a professional in emergency services, I would like to pose this question to you:
How would you send tons of emergency relief to New Orleans?
The airport was under water.
The rail system was under water or completely destroyed.
The sea ports weren't functioning.
Roads were destroyed or underwater.
It takes time and lots of manpower to execute any kind of relief effort - especially to a place cut off from the rest of the country.
People don't consider this. No, its much easier to complain. Too bad more people didn't band together and begin the work before the billions of dollars in aid, workers, and programs arrived to assist.
Part of handling any kind of disaster is to be prepared for it in the first place.
THAT SOLELY LIES WITH THE CITY GOVERNMENT...Mayor Nagin, are you listening?
Emergency Guy, GA (Sent Feb 3, 2006 4:07:57 AM)
Friends of mine from our Sheriff's Department drove 1,100 miles to New Orleans to help out. The thanks they got? People shooting at them, looting from their "camp" while out on patrol, and no pay for their time. Oh, and equipment, vehicles, and boats provided by our local taxpayers. You're welcome.
Todd Billingsley (Sent Feb 3, 2006 4:42:29 AM)
Um...who said Mayor Nagin was in New Orleans throughout the entire course of this disaster? I seem to recall seeing him on countless national TV news programs IN WASHINGTON DC! Pretty hard to run the show from some cushy hotel room on the loop in DC. Why people are making this guy out to be some kind of hero is beyond me! The whole "chocolate" episode and "God did this because he's angry with us" crap is just plain insane.
question everything, st. paul, mn (Sent Feb 3, 2006 5:00:32 AM)
i think these comments have gotten away from a blog about....LAW ENFORCEMENT...don't the rest of ya'll?...jeez..stick to the subject...and these are MISSISSIPPI cops...New Orleans...is not in MISSISSIPPI!!!
andy,ms (Sent Feb 3, 2006 9:06:29 AM)
THE MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS PUT IT BEST,HIS CHOCOLATE CITY......WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP!I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU TEXAS,YOU HAD A GREAT STATE TILL THEY BROUGHT IN THE WORST PEOPLE OF ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS CITIES IN THE COUNTRY!
GARY COLUMBUS OHIO (Sent Feb 3, 2006 9:25:48 AM)
For whomever complained about the disruptive evacuee children in Texas:
These kids have lost everything they've ever known and have been transplanted to a city where the locals (judging by other blogs) are hostile toward them. Have some understanding. After 9-11 no one was blaming the children living/going to school in the shadow of the WTC for their lack of focus.
RICH people living near ground zero were given $ for hotels and to replace big screen tvs or whatever else they desired, no questions asked. The EPA cleaned up aparments after 9-11. It was expected so that a sense of normalcy could return. Where has that feeling of unity gone?
I am so sick and tired of americans who see my friends, family and communities on the gulf coast as money grubbing, lazy good for nothings. This after these same people gave everything to help out a corner of manhattan in 2001.
I was in nyc for 9-11. I visited family in Bay st Louis in November. let me tell you that the magnitude of the disaster of KATRINA IS SO MUCH WORSE!!! You cannot imagine unless you've been there both before and after.
Dont tell me that people aren't helping themselves when I see a neighbor salvaging the remnants of his home with only his neighbors beside him. NOT FEMA!
You forget that we are all americans. You seem to have the typical selfish response of brushing off a problem you would rather not deal with.
I am just so happy that there are many americans who have volunteered and have big enough hearts to make up for your lack of compassion.
kristina, NYC (Sent Feb 3, 2006 5:19:03 PM)
In case most of you have forgotten, this MSNBC site is about Waveland and Bay St. Louis, MISSISSIPPI. If you want to complain about the New Orleans refugees or evacuees, whatever you want to call them, please go to another site. We are not lazy, welfare people, contrary to your obviously mislead belief. Of the few of us in Waveland and Bay St. Louis who have gone to Houston, I know of 2 who are doctors, one a nurse, a lawyer, and 2 engineers, so get your facts straight before you bunch us all together. And to all of you who think FEMA trailers are a waste of money, I hope you are comfortable in your nice cozy bed tonight, as I go to sleep on the table in my FEMA trailer, which by the way, I am very grateful to have, considering that I have a concrete slab in place of where my house was. And yes it was a nice house on a tree lined street, a block and a half from the beach. And yes, my husband and I both work and both pay taxes, and pay three different kinds of homeowner's insurance as well as flood insurance even though we aren't in a flood zone. And no, my home was not below sea level, but 23 feet above it!!! My suggestion to all of you is when you do lay your head down on your pillow in your nice bed, that you thank the good Lord above that he spared you from this nightmare and ask his forgiveness for being so heartless, because God forbid, the next time it could be you who needs my compassion and understanding and maybe just a little help. Also, to the Bay St. Louis and Waveland Police departments as well as the Hancock County Sheriff's department, keep up the good work.
Marybeth Gex Denney, Waveland, Mississippi (Sent Feb 3, 2006 9:16:12 PM)
P.S.
Thanks Kristina! It might also be noted, that Mississippi, one of the poorest states in the union, was the most giving state of all. That should say worlds about who we are!
Marybeth Gex Denney, Waveland, Mississippi (Sent Feb 3, 2006 9:33:18 PM)
Marybeth - you tell them girl!! (this is T.Ryan) -
I'll add this to what you said so well: for those who keep saying: "they should have left" - I DID leave for the hurricane, and so did a lot of people; but it didn't matter if you left or not - you still had nothing when you came back!
I would like to tell Ron Morningstar what I think about his comments, but I wouldn't waste my time and they wouldn't print it. All I will say is "and they call us here in the South the ignorant ones" - amazing! I will pray for that guy, because he needs it! I invite him and all the others to come down and stay with us in our trailers and take a look around - or just ask any of these awesome volunteers who have been here what it is like!
Watch what you say:
"what goes around - comes around!"
T. Ryan (Sent Feb 4, 2006 12:25:32 AM)
Relax, Mississippians. Katrina hit more than just one area. Nobody is lumping good people in with the bad. Everyone in the country is horrified at what happened to you all. Nobody wants to see anyone suffer. People talking about New Orleans here shouldn't bother you. If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it.
Bob (Sent Feb 4, 2006 12:44:54 AM)
Whoops! I made a mistake...the current federal contribution now stands at 100 billion dollars. My bad.
Frank (Sent Feb 4, 2006 8:00:57 AM)
The Tsunami that hit Asia was much worse than Katrina, causing much more death and devastation. But I never heard of tourists getting mugged or raped, or rescuers getting shot at, or stores getting looted. Would anyone care to explain that?
Byron Calvert, Calico Rock, AR. (Sent Feb 4, 2006 11:04:23 AM)
It seems that the masses have, once again, overlooked the fact that New Orleans was not the only area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Other (affected) areas have come together to assist eachother, while New Orleans residents complain and expect everything to be handed to them.
Here is a simple fact that most (non-black) Americans might agree with: If one does not carry homeowners'/renters' insurance, or if one does not pay their insurance premiums, the typical American individual suffers a total loss. Many Americans suffer such personal/property losses, daily... where is the Red Cross? Where is their countless months of free shelter, food, medical coverage, etc.?
The "race card" has been abused, yet again... and I feel that revocation of said "race card" is long overdue.
Luckily, the "refugees" were not in my community long... but, while they were, crime rates drastically increased (extra police/security had to be brought in from larger outlying communities, just to maintain some sembleance of order).
Jessica, TX (Sent Feb 4, 2006 12:25:00 PM)
WELL SAID...Marybeth Gex Denney...i think you summed it up!
andy,booneville ms. (Sent Feb 4, 2006 2:03:46 PM)
As a former resident of Waveland, New Orleans and Manhatten, N.Y., I find it both sad and amusing that such an event, a monster storm worse than most movie directors could imagine has become a focal point for all of the ills of American society. The people of Hancock county are pretty much like folks in Tacoma or any of the five boroughs of NY. One of NASA's most important facilities is there. I have google earth and I have not yet switched to the new service. It is late evening in France and I'm going to look at Waveland and the Bay one more time the way it was before Katrina. I know it will never be the way it was but I also know the character of the people and they and their towns will be back again! My parents lost their house on Farrar so I do know the loss second hand. You guys hang in. Remember all of the thousands of people who have physically helped and the others who have understood the magnitude of the entire event. The other people who are complaining don't really know what they are talking about! Ignore them.
terry malone II Marseille, France 13001 (Sent Feb 4, 2006 3:05:13 PM)
Terry - Thanks for the encouragement!! I CAN usually ignore the misinformed and ignorant comments, but it just gets a little hard sometimes! I actually work at NASA's Space Center in Hancock County and some may be interested in knowing this is the Center where the engines for the space shuttle are tested and it is actually where I stayed for Katrina - it's about 25mi North of Bay St. Louis. Sorry to hear of your family's house on Farrar, I lived very close to there and EVERYTHING is gone, even the big Catholic Church (St. Clare's)and the school - completely gone, only slabs! The help we are getting from thousands and thousands of great people has been awesome and it does far outweigh the small negativity you sometimes come across on this site. I look at these postings and I really enjoy hearing from people who live here and are now displaced and I also enjoy hearing all the positive comments and prayers that people are sending to us here in the Bay - to all those people, Thank You and please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers - that's what is getting us through and giving us hope!
T.Ryan (Sent Feb 4, 2006 10:01:44 PM)
The behaviour of this certain group of people as seen above^^^^^^^^ in that article you just hopefully read... must be someone elses fault, as we all know african americans are law abiding citizens and shudder at the mere suggestion of crime... NO IM SERIOUS... really... i am...... im serious... its somebody elses fault!
jeff francis, tampa florida (Sent Feb 5, 2006 12:23:57 AM)
lets get one thing straight... according to the media mississippi took about the same amount of damage as new orleans, its populations is mainly white americans, and yet... they asked that the government not to send in national guard because they didnt need it, and the mayor himself stated that anyone recieving the 90$ paycheck isnt working, because due to hurricane katrina THERE ARE JOBS EVERYWHERE, they didnt have a mass evacuation of refugees, and the blacks interviewed in there state all seemed to assimilate to the behaviour of a majority group of people, they all spoke with good english and took jobs. maybe the real reason new orleans cant seem to get back on there feet is due to violence in neighborhoods that blacks are having to live in due to outsider whites coming in and shooting off guns and stuff... YEAH
ALIENJUICE OF ATLANA AND TAMPA GO FALCONS AND BUCS (Sent Feb 5, 2006 12:37:33 AM)
We are former Waveland, MS residents currently living in Memphis post Katrina. Our jobs disapeared overnight and I have a shell for a house in Waveland that we are trying to repair. I worked liked a dog to save my house from sludge and mold. I live temporarily in an apt and chose not to live in a FEMA trailor on site because we could not get power for 3 months. No one I know deals drugs from their FEMA trailor. As a nurse, I work everyday and everyone I know works everyday. I prefer to be called an evacuee but people have called me worse. New Orleans is 45 minutes from my home but we have all been lumped together in this mess and it is unfortunate it took a natural disaster to uncover some harsh truths about New Orleans, our goverment and the complete lack of preparation for this huge an event. It's scary when you have no control in your life. It is also easy to blame those with little power. To those that have not experienced this type of devastation, chaos, confusion, be grateful for what you have. I know 3 couples that are divorcing due to the stress of this. Anyone who comes to the area to assist is changed in a very dramatic and positive way. I'll be happy to give you a tour.We lost most everything but our family and friends rallied around to help but when ALL your family and friends are devasted too, you rely on outside resources like the Red Cross, Salvation Army , church volunteers, FEMA etc. I am uncomfortble with being a "victim" and I do not have a victim mentality. I choose to think of this as a life lesson and my response as a test of character and chance to grow from the adversity--this is how I cope with the daily criticisms. A little empathy would be nice from those who have not walked in my shoes but I suspect it would take an event such as this to truly open your eyes and your heart.
Theresa B (Sent Feb 5, 2006 1:30:26 PM)
Hey Terry! Things were so great in MS and LA that you moved to France, eh? Why aren't you here helping us?
STFU (Sent Feb 5, 2006 8:01:08 PM)
God Bless You, Maryann!
Granny, Indiana (Sent Feb 5, 2006 8:57:33 PM)
I don't know why we are rebuilding a city under sea level and WILL flood again anyway.If they are going to keepsending in billions of dollars to N.O. why don't they build all of the new buildings further north above sea level?Does this make sense to anybody else?
As far as law enforcement goes I think they are doing the best they can under the circumstances.In most cases I'm prety sure that the drug dealers and looters have more and better weapons.Thank GOD for people willing to put it all on the line to protect us.If we didn't have police and military just imagine how bad it would be.I support all of the local police in the Gulf Coast area as well as the war againt terror all over the world.These people make our country a great place to be.May GOD bless America and the people who protect us.
A.Grimes,Dallas,Tx. (Sent Feb 6, 2006 10:50:06 AM)
Terry in France, my home was also on Farrar, 2nd block, we will be rebuilding hopefully in the not too distant future. If your parents are going to rebuild, tell them to look us up, a lot of us are interested in getting our little neighborhood back. To T Ryan, hey girl. Keep your chin up. We made it through Camille and will survive this one. Thanks Andy, you keep up your comments, they give us strength. To everyone else, please understand that I don't dislike anyone, black or white. I think people should be judged on their merits, not on the color of their skin. I know there are good people and bad people everywhere. Most of us here on the coast love New Orleans, as a matter of fact most of our ancestors are from there. It just gets so frustrating when they stereotype everyone in the South as being lazy good for nothings. I believe like most that you should get only what you earn. That being said, please know that people in Mississippi only want a little help, not a handout. If all of you really want to hear a good story, someone should really talk to the Waveland PD on how they weathered the storm, hanging in trees. Kudos to them.
Marybeth Gex Denney, Waveland, Mississippi (Sent Feb 6, 2006 12:12:19 PM)
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