The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on reported Crimes in Louisiana: A spatial and temporal analysis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2011

Abstract

This research assesses the impact that one natural disaster-Hurricane Katrina-and subsequent population movements have had on crime in the state of Louisiana. Using Index Crimes from the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, time series of violent and nonviolent crime rates were first analyzed using autoregressive, integrated, and moving average (ARIMA) models. Cumulative percentile maps were created next to analyze spatial trends of crime hot and cold spots in the study area. Overall, results from this research support theories that suggest that crime rates remain stable or actually decline in regions receiving evacuees from areas hardest hit by the hurricane. In the case of Orleans Parish, results are inconclusive due to unreliable crime rates for the period following Hurricane Katrina until the beginning of 2006. It is suggested that crime rates in Orleans Parish fell drastically after the storm. However, some crime types, including robbery, burglary, and larceny, returned to pre-Katrina levels and murder and aggravated assault even exceeded prestorm averages by the end ofDecember 2007. © 2011 by Association of American Geographers.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Professional Geographer

Number

560

First Page

244

Last Page

261

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