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Principal Investigator: Terri Adams-Fuller, Ph.D., (Howard University)

Investigator: Miguel Ferrer, M.A. (JHU)

Project Objectives:

This study has three major objectives: (1) examine the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the infrastructure and operational practices of the Biloxi-Gulfport police departments; (2) examine the response patterns, coping strategies, and best practices employed by the Biloxi-Gulfport police officers during the disaster; (3) compare the similarities and differences in the findings among the study sites.

Project Summary & Planned Activities:

The Hurricane Katrina disaster brought a number of important issues and central emergency management questions to the forefront of public discourse.  The most salient questions included: (1) what can we expect when those we rely upon in the mist of a disaster are personally impacted by the catastrophe they are responding to? (2) what contributed to the divergent response of first responders, particularly police officers, during the height of the Hurricane Katrina disaster? and (3) what coping strategies employed by first responders are most effective during the height of a disaster? 

Due to the media reports of dereliction of duty among New Orleans police officers during the Hurricane Katrina crisis the Howard University – PACER research team originally focused on this police department as the major foci of its research to examine these issues.  However, additional questions persist.  Hence, this project examines the impact of the Katrina crisis on the Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi police departments and compares the similarities of the response patterns among the various sites impacted by the disaster.  This comparative analysis will provide insight into the causes of the divergent responses of law enforcement officers during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. 

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