NCJ Number
60715
Date Published
1977
Length
259 pages
Annotation
A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DEVIANT BEHAVIOR WHICH OCCURRED DURING AND AFTER THE 1972 AGNES FLOOD IN WILKES BARRE, PENN., INDICATES THAT CRIME DECREASED DURING THE DISASTER PERIOD.
Abstract
IN ORDER TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES WHICH OCCUR IN HUMAN ACTIVITY DURING DISASTERS, DATA FROM THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS AND FROM THE WILKES BARRE POLICE WERE ANALYZED. COMMUNITY PROFILES OF THE WILKES BARRE AND SCRANTON AREAS SERVED AS HEURISTIC DEVICES TO FORM A CONTEXT FOR THE EXAMINATION OF DEVIANT BEHAVIOR IN THE 1972 CRISIS. BACKGROUND LITERATURE INDICATED THAT THE MISCONCEPTION THAT PEOPLE WILL PANIC IN THE FACE OF GREAT THREAT OR DANGER IS WIDESPREAD, BUT IT IS NOT BORNE OUT IN REALITY. ALTHOUGH AN OUTSIDER OBSERVER MAY VIEW VICTIMS' BEHAVIOR AS IRRATIONAL AND CONFUSED, SUCH BEHAVIOR ONLY INDICATES DISORGANIZATION, NOT PANIC. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE IMPACT OF THE DESTRUCTIVE AGENT, A DISASTER SYSTEM ARISES SPONTANEOUSLY TO MEET HUMAN PROBLEMS AND TO RESTORE A SOCIAL EQUILIBRIUM. DISASTER RESEARCHERS AGREE THAT BECAUSE OF THE EXPECTATION THAT LOOTING WILL OCCUR, THERE IS WITHIN DISASTER-STRICKEN COMMUNITIES ANXIETY ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF LOOTING. HOWEVER, EMPIRICAL STUDIES FIND IT DIFFICULT TO CITE MANY EXAMPLES OF ACTUAL LOOTING. SPECIFIC EXAMINATION OF THE PROBLEM OF CRIMINALITY DURING THE AGNES FLOOD INDICATES THAT SOCIAL NORMS DEVELOP DURING A CRISIS WHICH ENCOURAGE AND REINFORCE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ACT IN AN ALTRUISTIC FASHION. OLD RIVALRIES AND CONFLICTS ARE FORGOTTEN, OR AT LEAST SUBLIMATED, IN THE FACE OF OVERWHELMING TASKS. THE NEW SYSTEM OF PRIORITIES STRESSES COMMITMENT OF RESOURCES TO COMMON COMMUNITY ENDS RATHER THAN PRIVATE REQUIREMENTS. ORDINARY CRIME IN THE WILKES BARRE AREA WAS SHARPLY REDUCED DURING THE DISASTER SITUATION, AND THE ONLY INCREASE OCCURRED IN ALCOHOL-RELATED CRIMES. THE INCIDENCE OF VIOLENT CRIME WAS NONEXISTENT AFTER THE FLOOD, AS DETERMINED BY BOTH OFFICIAL REPORTS AND UNOFFICIAL INTERVIEWS. ARRESTS FOR PROPERTY CRIMES DECREASED SUBSTANTIALLY, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF AVAILABLE PROPERTY AND THE PROLIFERATION OF SECURITY FORCES. JUVENILE CRIME DECREASED BECAUSE OF THE TRANSFER OF KNOWN DELINQUENTS OUT OF THE FLOODED AREAS. ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION CONCERNS THE SUBSEQUENT RISE IN REPORTED CRIME, AND THE OCCURANCE OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION FLOOD LOAN FRAUD. TABULAR DATA, FIGURES, REFERENCES NOTES, AND INDEX, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE PROVIDED.