Policing Disasters: A conceptual model and case study of police resilience

This chapter presents a case study of resiliency factors among police officers involved in Hurricane Katrina six years post-storm. It describes the developing a model that facilitates learning from experience, anticipating future issues and proactively developing resilience and adaptive capacity in police officers and organizations. The chapter discusses with a case study that critically explores the experience of police officers in the context of a major disaster. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) initiated a study of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) to evaluate the physical and mental health symptoms among personnel involved with hurricane response and recovery. Police work is one example of a "hard-drinking" occupation and shares many risk factors for alcohol abuse, such as stress, isolation, peer influences, preponderance of young males, and group norms. Trust affects the effectiveness of interpersonal relationships, group processes, and organizational relationships, and is crucial for empowering officers.