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Property Crime in Disaster

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Toward a Criminology of Disaster

Part of the book series: Disaster Studies ((DIS))

Abstract

Property Crime in Disaster. Disaster sociologists have long claimed that looting in disasters is a rarity. In this chapter, we investigate this claim by examining burglary after a number of disasters. In our examination, we utilize methodological techniques that are more typical of criminology. We find that in contrast to disaster sociologists’ claims, burglary rates increase after disaster in certain circumstances, including when the affected area has poor socioeconomic conditions prior to the disaster’s impact and when formal and informal guardianship are absent in the aftermath. We contend that social disorganization, routine activity, and general strain theories are useful in understanding disaster burglary, and we provide prescriptions for prevention that are rooted in these theories.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Meeting people’s immediate needs in the postdisaster period may be partially accomplished by freely offering necessary goods. Supermarkets in Darwin, Australia, did just that in the wake of a tropical storm there, with very few instances of reported hoarding. The doors of the stores remained open for nearly a month and as the affected area transitioned into the recovery period, the government reimbursed the store owners for their losses (Haas et al. 1977), probably costing much less than criminal justice system expenditures on looting prevention and prosecution. Anecdotal reports from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina indicate some businesses did the same, but of course this was in the context of botched governmental response to the storm. For more on the importance of an effective official response, see Chapter 7.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminology and Justice, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Kelly Frailing

  2. Criminology and Justice, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Dee Wood Harper

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  1. Kelly Frailing
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  2. Dee Wood Harper
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Frailing, K., Harper, D.W. (2017). Property Crime in Disaster. In: Toward a Criminology of Disaster. Disaster Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46914-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46914-4_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-46913-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-46914-4

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