Looking Back To Go Forward: Toward a Criminology of Disaster

1. Looking Back To Go Forward: Toward a Criminology of Disaster Kelly Frailing and Dee Wood Harper Prepared by Diana Carreon

2. Definition of Disaster • Little agreement, at least three dozen published definitions • After WWII, idea that disasters cause social disruption emerges • Quarantelli takes up the mantle, his definition of a disaster is entirely social • Disasters have a sudden onset, disrupt collective routines, result in unplanned courses of action taken in response and are a danger to social objects • Current research paradigm of disasters is that disasters are social phenomena and that they reflect the ways in which social changes occur • Disagreement still exists, especially as new types of disasters (TSSRs and SACDs) are observed, and consensus becomes all the more important

3. Crime and Hurricanes • Hurricane Hugo, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands • September 17, 1989 • Category 4 • Widespread destruction of support systems and physical structures • Massive looting of all types of stores, property • National Guard sent in to quell unrest • Social conditions on the island contributed to the amount of looting

4. Crime and Earthquakes • San Francisco earthquake and fire, California • April 18, 1906 at 5:12am • 8.3 magnitude • Morris’ (2002) data source: first hand account • 300,000 left homeless, estimated death toll 1,500 • Dynamite used to fight fires • Soldiers ordered to shoot looters and examples of looting • Jewelry from corpses • Pillaging in Chinatown

5. Crime and Earthquakes • Kanto earthquake, Japan • September 1, 1923 just before noon • 7.9 magnitude • 91,000 dead from quake and fires, 381,000 homes destroyed • Rumors of Korean uprising follow, spread by government • Japanese police, military and civilians killed 6,000 Koreans

6. Crime and Earthquakes • Tangshan earthquake, China • July 27, 1976 • 7.5 magnitude, followed by severe aftershock 15 hours later • 240,000 killed, 800,000 injured • One of the deadliest earthquakes of the last four centuries • Zhou’s (1997) data sources: official statistics and retrospective survey • Testing social disorganization • Crime rate in Tangshan higher in 1976 than in 1975 and in 1977

7. Crime and Earthquakes • Tangshan earthquake, China (continued) • Mass looting was the most common crime in the earthquake’s wake • Causes of mass looting rooted in earthquake itself, death and destruction, but causes of individual theft and mass violence rooted in disorganization caused by the earthquake • Contrasts idea that looting only occurs after civil disturbances and not natural disasters

8. Crime and Earthquakes • Haiti Earthquake • January 12, 2010 • 7.0 magnitude • Between 200,000 to 250,000 dead • Over 634,000 still living in squalid displacement camps over a year and a half after the earthquake struck • Two types of crimes observed after the earthquake: crimes fueled by desperation and gang-related crimes • Desperation crimes include stealing water from orphanage, sexual intimidation of/violence against women with food coupons

9. Crime and Earthquakes • Chile Earthquake • February 27, 2010 • 8.8 magnitude • About 800 people killed and 1.5 million displaced • Solid construction of buildings dramatically reduced the death toll • Collective action was taken by citizens to protect their property from looters • But 35 looters were arrested in the days immediately following the earthquake

10. Crime and Earthquakes • Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan • March 11, 2011 • 9.0 magnitude • Earthquake and tsunami effected the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant • Reason for a lack of looting following the disaster is threefold: • Japan’s policy on recovering lost property • Police presence • Organized crime syndicates (Yakuza) • Computer scammers and tobacco smuggling emerged following Japan’s disaster

11. The full set of PowerPoint slides is available upon adoption. Email bhall@cap-press.com for more information.