Core Faculty, Walden University, Minneapolis, United States Policy Analyst, Minneapolis, MN 55401, United States.
Disasters. 2011 Jan;35(1):200-19. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2010.01200.x. Epub 2010 Aug 23.
This study used a mixed methods approach to estimate whether a moral panic occurred after Hurricane Katrina forced the evacuations of more than 250,000 people to Houston, Texas. The study viewed data from the Houston Police Department combined with a qualitative review of references of criminal activity in local print media. In total, over 8,500 lines of text were analysed to discern themes associated with media representations of the influence of evacuees on the city of Houston. There was little evidence of statistically significant increases in crime over the months following the evacuations. There was, however, evidence that evacuees, principally from New Orleans, were blamed for perceived increases in violent crime and lawlessness. There are also significant policy implications for state, local and federal governments. In particular, the policies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were blamed for at least some of the perceived crime attributed to Katrina evacuees.
本研究采用混合方法来评估在超过 25 万人因卡特里娜飓风被迫撤离到德克萨斯州休斯顿后，是否发生了道德恐慌。该研究结合休斯顿警察局的数据和对当地平面媒体犯罪活动的定性评论，查看了相关资料。总共有超过 8500 行文本被分析，以识别与媒体对休斯顿市难民影响的描述相关的主题。几乎没有证据表明在撤离后的几个月里犯罪率有统计学意义上的显著增加。然而，有证据表明，被疏散者，主要是来自新奥尔良的被疏散者，被指责为暴力犯罪和无法无天行为的增加。这对州、地方和联邦政府也有重大的政策影响。特别是，联邦紧急事务管理局的政策至少被归咎于一些被认为是卡特里娜飓风难民所犯罪行的原因。
