“Gripped by fear”: Public risk (mis)perception and the Washington, DC sniper

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the roots of public fear and often‐distorted reality of risk, and proposes methods by which emergency management agencies can successfully manage fear, should a terror‐based event occur within their jurisdiction.

Design/methodology/approach

The October 2002 sniper crisis in Washington, DC is used to identify the processes by which public fear is generated, maintained, and managed.

Findings

In the USA's post‐9/11 era of terror‐awareness, extreme actions of groups like Al Qaeda are no longer necessary to spark detrimental anxiety‐based social reactions. The two snipers who placed the nation's capital under siege for three weeks with one rifle and a box of bullets confirmed this fact. Washington, DC's duct tape and plastic panic buying spree, spurred by a Terrorism Threat Index increase, illustrated how the mere hint of a future event can induce irrational behavior.

Practical implications

Clearly, the emergency management community can no longer simply blame the media for such strong public sentiment. Controlling public fear is a public safety responsibility but fear management must be supported by the Federal government to be effective. There exists a rapidly‐growing need for agencies to adopt formal fear management capabilities staffed by appropriately‐trained, dedicated officials. In many cases of terrorism, fear is the greatest emergency that must be managed, and irresponsible or inadequate attempts to do so can actually increase public risk. This paper proposes methods by which emergency management agencies can successfully manage fear, should a terror‐based event occur within their jurisdiction.

Originality/value

This paper will assist emergency managers, administrators at the city, county, and national levels, and others involved in planning for the management of fear during emergencies that can occur in the aftermath of terror‐based events.

Citation

Coppola, D.P. (2005), "“Gripped by fear”: Public risk (mis)perception and the Washington, DC sniper", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 32-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/09653560510583824