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Ya Heard Me?

Ya Heard Me?. The Failure of Emergency Communication Systems During Hurricane Katrina: Preparation, Response, and Aftermath. Introduction:.

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Ya Heard Me?

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  1. Ya Heard Me? The Failure of Emergency Communication Systems During Hurricane Katrina: Preparation, Response, and Aftermath

  2. Introduction: This study examines the failures of New Orleans' emergency communication systems and the impacts these failures had on the city during and after Hurricane Katrina. Outline: Emergency Systems Failures During Katrina Impacts on Citizens, N.O.P.D., Federal Response  "The Danziger Bridge Effect": Police Misconduct During Katrina Applying The Theories Conclusion: Post-Katrina Improvements

  3. “We could not communicate with federal authorities or any adjacent law enforcement agencies. So [communication] was in fact the primary cause of all of the dysfunctions throughout this entire event.” -NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley "It got to the point that people were literally writing messages on paper, putting them in bottles and dropping them from helicopters to other people on the ground.” -Washington Post

  4. Pre-Storm Emergency Communication Systems • Primitive and Out-Dated System • Radio, Telephone, Internet etc. • Lessons from 9/11 • Misused Federal Funding • “Project Safecom” • There was NO Emergency Radio Frequency in place prior to storm • Incompatible Emergency Systems • Local and Federal

  5. Emergency Systems Failures:Communication Breakdowns • City and Region-wide power failures • Internet, Radio, Cell Phone, Landline • Even backup gear failed • Government issued Satellite Phones also failed • “The storm knocked out 3 million phone lines, numerous 911 call centers and nearly half of the areas television and radio stations. Many first responders, including police officers, could not communicate.”-David Paulison (FEMA) • Resulted in the use of more primitive forms of comm.

  6. The Impacts: Effects on N.O.P.D., Citizens, and Federal Response • N.O.P.D • Limited/No contact within Police Districts • "Thousands of 911 calls came in but they went to a voicemail. Very little was done… We addressed most weeks after they came in.” –Officer Richardson • Citizens • Limited/No contact with family • Search and Rescue • Oral Histories • Federal Response • Inhibited/Prevented Federal Resources • “As a matter of fact, we didn’t – get back with FEMA until the end of week two. And that’s – again, that’s a coordination problem that we really shouldn’t have had.”-Officer Jeffery Winn

  7. The “Orders” • Mayor Nagin’s “Proclamation of Force” • Law/Military compel citizens to evacuate city • Governor Blanco’s “Martial Law” • Legally, Martial Law cannot be declared in LA. • “Shoot Looters” • “Order” given by Warren Riley • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfvDbzpr8ec&playnext=1&list=QL • “Take Back the Streets” • Order given to police to “Do what you have to do!”-Warren Riley • “If you can sleep with it, I’m ordering it done.”-Warren Riley

  8. The Rumors • Word of mouth became only form of communication • Rumors = Fact • Rumors assumed to be legitimate due to lack of formal communication • “Raping Babies” “Helicopters are being shot at.” -Eddie Compass • Children’s Hospital • Lack of communication allows for • Personal Interpretation • Personal Elaboration • “I guess I heightened people’s fears...I erred on the side of caution.” –Eddie Compass

  9. Communication Failures:The Resulting Problems • Fear • Citizens and Police in constant state of fear • ”When the telephone lines and the cell towers went down, and the power went out, the ability of agencies to mount an effective and coordinated response was lost, and the public was plunged into even greater uncertainty and fear.” • Individuals responsible for restoring “order” • “Reasonable” vs. “Unnecessary Force” • Anxiety and Uncertainty • Citizens and cops alike unaware of magnitude of devastation • Anxious about status of family members • Anxious about status of city and its future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ph5f5LbM0&feature=related

  10. The Danziger Bridge Effect:Police Misconduct During Katrina • At least 10 people shot by Police during Katrina • Danziger Bridge Shootings • Seven Police involved in two murders • Cover-up and Conspiracy • Henry Glover Tragedy • Shot, Beaten, and Burned • Cover-up and Conspiracy • McCann Shooting • Shot unarmed man in the back • Police Officer’s Dilemma

  11. Communication Failures and Police Misconduct • Police Accountability • Accountable to who? • Ambiguous Orders • Open to individual interpretation • How do I “Take back the Streets?” • “If you can sleep with it…?” • Every cop can “sleep” with a different level of violence • Unverified Rumors • Psychologically increased the magnitude of situation • Creates heightened stress, fear, and anxiety in Police • Fearful for their safety and the safety of others • Anxiety and Uncertainty • “Itchy trigger finger” • “The Lone Wolf” or “One Man Army” • Police feel as though they are responsible for “restoring order”

  12. Police Brutality: Worden Reading • Sociological Theory on Force During Katrina • Effects of Situational Factors intensified without communication • Psychological Theory on Force During Katrina • Behavioral Predispositions intensified • Police “Code of Silence” • “Perhaps the greatest single barrier to the effective investigation and adjudication of complaints is the officers’ unwritten code of silence, which consists of one simple rule: an officer does not provide adverse information against a fellow officer.” • Made easier with breakdown in communication

  13. Would You Shoot?

  14. Police Officer’s Dilemma • Study on white subject's reactions to ambiguous images • How schemas determine interpretations • Response time determined by ethnicity • Police fire at an armed target faster if they are black • More likely to make mistake if black • Social Learning reinforces discrimination • Media • Harry Lee

  15. Applying the Theories:Communications Failures and the State of Nature • Communications failures and civil society • Lack of communication = State of Nature? • No communication = No authority figure? • Hobbes’ State of Nature • War of All vs. All • Anticipatory Violence • Locke • Is there a common judge? • Rousseau • General Will? • Collective Self-Preservation • Charles Mills • Civil Society does not include blacks • Always in a State of Nature

  16. The Seven Recommendations from The U.S Senate's Homeland Security Committee: • Recommendation #1- Create a New, Comprehensive Emergency Management Organization within DHS to Prepare for and Respond to All Disasters and Catastrophes. • Recommendation #2 - From the Federal Level Down, Take a Comprehensive All-Hazards Plus Approach to Emergency Management. • Recommendation #3 – Establish Regional Strike Teams and Enhance Regional Operations to Provide Better Coordination between Federal Agencies and the States. • Recommendation #4 - Build a True, Government-Wide Operations Center to Provide Enhanced Situational Awareness and Manage Interagency Coordination in a Disaster. • Recommendation #5 - Renew and Sustain Commitments at All Levels of Government to the Nation’s Emergency Management System • Recommendation #6 – Strengthen the Plans and Systems for the Nation’s Response to Disasters and Catastrophes. • Recommendation #7 – Improve the Nation’s Capacity to Respond to Catastrophic Events.

  17. Improvements for the Future: Learning From Katrina • Create Office of Emergency Communications • Create “Disaster-Proof” Communications Systems • Regional integration across departments • Train Cops for Disaster Situations • Behavioral, Psychological, Attitudinal training

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