The Justice System In Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina:
The Justice System in Peril
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Hurricane Katrina: The Justice System in Peril
Introduction
President George W. Bush described Hurricane Katrina as “One of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history.” In 2005, Katrina rampaged over the Gulf coast and several states, but completely devastated Louisiana and the city of New Orleans in particular. It formed over the Bahamas on August 23rd and continued its historic devastation through August 30th. The storm moved on but left a path of destruction behind it. There were a number of issues in the aftermath worth mentioning. While most focus on the economic impact and death toll, other nightmarish issues like law enforcement …show more content…
Lost records and accountability during evacuations were among the many challenges the justice system was faced with. With the crime outbreak that occurred due to the reasons voiced earlier, there were two waves of criminal activity that created a backlog of prosecutions. The first wave was already kept in custody and jails and had their trials approaching. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the already detained had their cases postponed due to other, greater law violations and destroyed facilities (Garrett and Tetlow, 2006). These greater law violators were the second wave who failed to escape law enforcement during the disaster. As a result, the court system had to conduct several times more trials than it usually did in the same period of time as crime multiplied during the storm. Therefore, more new crime cases appeared every day as older ones were solved, contributing to the “justice system jam”. According to Garrett and Tetlow (2006), this hold-up existed for years after the hurricane …show more content…
E. III. (2010). Mob Rule in New Orleans: Anarchy, Governance, and Media Representation. Biography, 33 (1), 185-208.
Garrett, B. L., & Tetlow, T. (2006). Criminal Justice Collapse: The Constitution after Hurricane Katrina. Duke Law Journal, 56 (1), 127-178.
Haider-Markel, D. P., Delehanty, W., & Beverlin, M. (2007). Media Framing and Racial Attitudes in the Aftermath of Katrina. Policy Studies Journal, 35 (4), 587-605.
Leitner, M., & Helbich, M. (2011). The impact of Hurricanes on crime: A spatio-temporal analysis in the city of Houston, Texas. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 38 (2), 214-222.
Lugosi, C. I. (2007). Natural disaster, unnatural deaths: The killings on the life care floors at Tenet 's Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina. Issues in Law & Medicine, 23 (1), 71-85.
National Strategy For Homeland Security (2007).
Roberts, P. S. (2006). FEMA after Katrina. Policy Review, 137: 15-33.
Smith, Michael & Rojek, Jeff (2005). Law Enforcement Lessons Learned From Hurricane Katrina. USC Research, 1-12.
Townsend, Frances et al (2006). The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. Department of Homeland Security,
The Justice System in Peril
XXXXX
Hurricane Katrina: The Justice System in Peril
Introduction
President George W. Bush described Hurricane Katrina as “One of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history.” In 2005, Katrina rampaged over the Gulf coast and several states, but completely devastated Louisiana and the city of New Orleans in particular. It formed over the Bahamas on August 23rd and continued its historic devastation through August 30th. The storm moved on but left a path of destruction behind it. There were a number of issues in the aftermath worth mentioning. While most focus on the economic impact and death toll, other nightmarish issues like law enforcement …show more content…
Lost records and accountability during evacuations were among the many challenges the justice system was faced with. With the crime outbreak that occurred due to the reasons voiced earlier, there were two waves of criminal activity that created a backlog of prosecutions. The first wave was already kept in custody and jails and had their trials approaching. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the already detained had their cases postponed due to other, greater law violations and destroyed facilities (Garrett and Tetlow, 2006). These greater law violators were the second wave who failed to escape law enforcement during the disaster. As a result, the court system had to conduct several times more trials than it usually did in the same period of time as crime multiplied during the storm. Therefore, more new crime cases appeared every day as older ones were solved, contributing to the “justice system jam”. According to Garrett and Tetlow (2006), this hold-up existed for years after the hurricane …show more content…
E. III. (2010). Mob Rule in New Orleans: Anarchy, Governance, and Media Representation. Biography, 33 (1), 185-208.
Garrett, B. L., & Tetlow, T. (2006). Criminal Justice Collapse: The Constitution after Hurricane Katrina. Duke Law Journal, 56 (1), 127-178.
Haider-Markel, D. P., Delehanty, W., & Beverlin, M. (2007). Media Framing and Racial Attitudes in the Aftermath of Katrina. Policy Studies Journal, 35 (4), 587-605.
Leitner, M., & Helbich, M. (2011). The impact of Hurricanes on crime: A spatio-temporal analysis in the city of Houston, Texas. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 38 (2), 214-222.
Lugosi, C. I. (2007). Natural disaster, unnatural deaths: The killings on the life care floors at Tenet 's Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina. Issues in Law & Medicine, 23 (1), 71-85.
National Strategy For Homeland Security (2007).
Roberts, P. S. (2006). FEMA after Katrina. Policy Review, 137: 15-33.
Smith, Michael & Rojek, Jeff (2005). Law Enforcement Lessons Learned From Hurricane Katrina. USC Research, 1-12.
Townsend, Frances et al (2006). The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. Department of Homeland Security,