Hurricane Katrina: reflecting history and forcing change in the New Orleans police department

When Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of New Orleans in 2005, the city and its police department faced extreme challenges. As government on many levels failed to respond meaningfully for days on end to a compounding humanitarian crisis, a depleted, stressed New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) worked t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Murphy, Danny (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
Published: 2025
In: Routledge international handbook of policing crises and emergencies
Year: 2025, Pages: 59-72
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Description
Summary:When Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of New Orleans in 2005, the city and its police department faced extreme challenges. As government on many levels failed to respond meaningfully for days on end to a compounding humanitarian crisis, a depleted, stressed New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) worked to respond to citywide crises in unprecedented circumstances. While Katrina was a cataclysmic event that would have overwhelmed any police agency, NOPD’s response came to be marked by corruption emblematic of its long-troubled history, despite valiant efforts by many officers during the storm. The exposure of NOPD’s problems led to a new, unprecedented force on the department to change in ways it never had: the most extensive court-ordered reform mandate in American policing history, requiring a nearly complete rebuild of the dysfunctional department. In the process, against all odds, NOPD went from being considered possibly the worst department in the country to a model of reform for other agencies facing crisis.
Item Description:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 71-72
ISBN:9781032207872