The Prison City of New Orleans: Law's Responses to the Disaster of Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

Purpose – This study examines the legal system's responses to the disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans particularly in the first two weeks after the storm. During this period, issues of law and order were a primary concern of government decision makers, and these issues framed those of rescue of and aid to the survivors.

Approach – The chapter draws on the analytic concept of the carceral state as it is publicly displayed in official reactions to disaster rumors of disorder and violence. The empirical focus is on policing activity and on events at the Orleans Parish Prison and Camp Greyhound, a temporary detention center established after the storm.

Findings – Largely unfounded rumors of disorder, including roaming gangs, extensive looting, rape, and murder, fueled the emphasis on law and order and policing and carceral decisions of officials. Actions intended to facilitate an individual's survival or comfort or evacuation were often treated as criminal. New Orleans became a prison city.

Originality – The analysis develops the concept of a “prison city” as an embodiment of the carceral state and suggests that the carceral state prompts and reinforces rumors about disorder and the tendency to designate policing and incarceration as essential first responses to disasters in the United States.

Citation

Ferrara, A.J., Stillman, P.G. and Villmoare, A.H. (2012), "The Prison City of New Orleans: Law's Responses to the Disaster of Hurricane Katrina", Deflem, M. (Ed.) Disasters, Hazards and Law (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 17), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 203-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-6136(2012)0000017013