LEA 314 TOPICS

DISASTER AND EMERGENCY PLANNING

Emergency and disaster planning is one of the most important interrelated

function in a security system. It is important in any organization as physical security, fire

protection, guard forces, security of documents and personnel security.

Emergency and disaster planning refers to the preparation in advance of

protective and safety measures for unforeseen events resulting from natural and human

actions.

Disaster plans outline the actions to be taken by those designated for specific

job. This will result in expeditious and orderly execution of relief and assistance to

protect properties and lives. These plans must also be rehearsed so that when the bell

ring, there will be speed and not haste in the execution. Speed is the accurate

accomplishment of a plan as per schedule, while haste is doing a job quickly with errors.

Plans therefore must be made when any or all of the emergencies arise. Those plans,

being special in nature, must be prepared with people whose expertise in their

respective field is legion together with the coordination and help of management,

security force, law enforcement agencies, and selected employees.

Planning is necessary to meet disaster and emergency conditions and it must be

continuing and duly supported by management. One aspect of the plans will be to

consider recovery measures to be undertaken by the organization. Being prepared for

the eventuality gives better chances of protection and eventual recovery than those not

prepared. Without planning, the emergency or disaster can become catastrophic. With a

good, suitable plan to follow, the unusual becomes ordinary, hence, the mental
preparedness for easy survival and recovery.

Understanding Disaster

A DISASTER is a sudden, unforeseen, extraordinary occurrence. It can be

considered as an EMERGENCY but an emergency may not always be a disaster. An

EMERGENCY falls into 2 broad categories:

floods, earthquake, famine, typhoon, diseases,

volcanic eruption, crashes, industrial accident, fires,
landslide, avalanches, tsunamis, etc.
Disaster

(Natural Crisis)

Induced arson, bombing, kidnapping, robbery, hostage-taking,

skyjacking, assassination, ambush, and other acts
Catastrophe terrorism

(Man-made Crisis)

Commonalities:

 Deciding Policy

 Assessing Threat

 Identifying Resources

 Selecting crisis team personnel

 Locating crisis management center

 Equipping the crisis center

  Testing contingency plans and emergency procedures

 Dealing with the media

 Dealing with victims and their families

 Dealing with other affected person (such as employees)

 Getting the organization’s normal work done

 Returning to normal after the crisis

Plan Checklist

 Identify the type of crisis/disaster/induced catastrophe

 Identify which operation, facility, personnel at risk

 Prioritize accordingly

 Determine effects of emergencies in the operation

 Identify broad categories that must be addressed in your contingency planning

 Review existing emergency plans to identify gaps

 Consider the environment with in which your emergency plans will be

implemented.

Assessing the Risk

Pro-crisis Actions - “The planning process begins with an understanding of the

situation and recognition that a number of policy decisions must be made before the

actual planning can begin.”; “Many emergencies can be prevented completely with

adequate thought and action. Others can be anticipated – often by doing nothing but

mere common sense. REMEMBER! It was not raining when NOAH build the ark.”

Checklist for a Disaster Action Plan

 Identify the type of disaster occurred in the area

  Identify those that could affect your operation in the area

 Determine which scenarios are plausible

 Survey your physical facilities and operating procedures to determine

preparedness

 Survey surrounding area to determine if there are operations or facilities near

which might create emergencies

 Establish a liaison with law enforcement agencies and emergency response

groups

 Know where to get help, how to get help, and what help you can expect

 Know who currently has authority to make key decisions with in your organization

and who control access to decision makers in an emergency

 Review emergency procedures, its completeness and accuracy

Phases in Emergency/Disaster Planning

Phase I - Assessment of the Situation

This will be a research in depth by a knowledgeable and specially trained group

on the vulnerabilities as well as the resources available for the disaster plan. Surveys

and Inspection may be conducted

Phase II – Writing the Plan

The plan will have to be written based on the findings in phase I. The plan can be code

title, management will just call for the name of the plan.

Phase III – Testing the Plan

 Dry runs of the emergency plan is a part of the entire process of planning to

determine plan reliability and to identify deficiencies and make neceassry corrections or

adjustments.

Phase IV – Critique the Plan

This involves the analysis of feedbacks. The unworkable procedures should be

noted and finally corrected.

Checklist for Reviewing Policies, Procedures, and Plans

 Compile and review your organization”s policies on various contingencies before

establishing your plans

 Ensure that these policies are known throughout the organization and that they

are included in your emergency manuals

 Ensure that your procedures and plans are consistent with your organization’s

established policies and goals

 Identify appropriate outside consultants and other sources of assistance in

developing and implementing your plans and procedures

 Ensure that appropriate personnel have any security clearances or background

cheks which might be required

 Establish a viable record-keeping system and procedures to ensure they are

followed.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT TEAM

Disaster Team Leadership

 Disaster team leadership is vested in one person, who should designate an

alternate capable of acting independently in his or her absence. One of the team

leader’s primary tasks is to ensure that control is maintained over the team’s activities,

information flow, and the implementation of decisions and organizational policies. For

these reason, the team leader should be a person who has demostarted ability to

function under pressure, must have sufficient authority to make on the spot decisions

with in the framework of overall organization’s policy, access to decision makers when

required, and the ability to recognize which decisions to make independently and which

to refer to upper management.

Disaster Action Team Members

Depending on the size of the organization and the number of people available,

the following team mebers maybe considered:

 Team leader/ Alternate

 Executive Assistance

 Public Affairs

 Liaison Officers

 (for family/victim/government/International)

 Administrative Support

 Communications Specialist

 Legal Specialist

 Medical and Relief Operations Officer

 Financial Specialist
 Each disaster team member must be oriented and trained on their respective role

and the functional requirements for disaster management.

Disaster Action Team Duties

On Pre-event

 Supervise the formulation of policies

 Ensure the development of procedures

 Participate in preparing plans

 Oversee and participate in exercise of plans

 Select crisis management/disaster center

 Participate in personnel training

 Review preparation of materials

 Delegate authority

 Brief personnel

 Ensure the assembly of supplies

 Ensure preparation of rest, food, medical areas

During the Event

 Establish shift schedules immediately

 Delegate tasks

 Focus on underlying problem

 Maintain control

 Follow organizational policies

 Use prepared procedures

 Innovate as needed
 Ensure that information is shared with the entire team

 Review all press release and public statements

 Double check or confirm informations if possible

 Aid victim and their families

 Try to anticipate future consequences

 Control stress of team members

 Ensure log maintenance

On Post Event (After the Incident)

 Evaluate effectiveness of plans

 Evaluate adequacy of procedures

 Debrief personnel

 Evaluate equipment and training used

 Revise plans and procedures in the light of new experience

 Reward personnel as appropriate

 Assist victims as appropriate

 Document events

 Prepare after-action reports

 Arrange an orderly transition to normal conditions

 Retain archives

The chain of events during a disaster is simplified as follows:

 Security receives initial report of emergency

 Security notifies Disaster Team Leader

 Team leader decides if immediate action is required

  If action is required, he notifies the other team members to convene at the crisis

management center

 Initial liason established and actions taken: create log, contact of family,

employees involved, government or law enforcement liaison contacts, prepare

contingency press guidance, others.

 Respond to event

Crowd Control and Riot Prevention

Riot, in general is an offense against the public peace. It is interpreted as a

tumultuous disturbance by several persons who have unlawfully assembled to assist

one another, by the use of force if necessary, against anyone opposing them in the

execution of some enterprise of a private nature; and who execute such enterprise in a

violent manner, to the terror of the people.

Under the law, it is punishable for any organizer or leader of any meeting

attended by armed persons for the purpose of committing any of the crimes punishable

under the Revised Penal Code, or any meeting in which the audience is incited to the

commission of the crimes of treason, rebellion or insurrection, sedition or assault upon a

person in authority or his agents (Art. 146, RPC). It is also punishable for any person

who shall cause any serious disturbance in a public place, office, or establishment, or

shall interrupt or disturb public functions or gatherings or peaceful meetings (Art 153,

RPC).

Some Basic Definition of Terms

Tumultuous – The disturbance or interruption shall be deemed tumultuous if

caused by more than three persons who are armed or provided with means of violence.
 Outcry – The means to shout subversive or proactive words tending to stir up

the people to obtain by means of force or violence.

Crowd – It consists of a body of individual people with no organization, no single

partnership. Each individual’s behavior is fairly controlled and ruled by reason. All the

participants have been thrown by circumstance into a crowd for some common purpose

that may give them at least one thing in common.

Mob – A mob takes on the semblance of organization with some common motive

for action, such as revenge for a crime committed on the scene where the crowd

assembled, an aggravated fight, or a confrontation with the police. At times like this,

there is already a strong feeling of togetherness (“we are one” attitude).

Riot – It is a violent confusion in a crowd. Once a mob started to become violent,

it becomes a riot.

Role of Planning in Crowd Control or Riot Prevention

A sound organizational planning, training, logistical support and a high

departmental morale are the essential success elements in modern counter-riot

operations.

The control of violent civil disorder involving large segments of the population,

especially in congested urban areas, requires a disciplined, aggressive police counter-

action which at the same time adheres to the basic law enforcement precepts. This is

done through effective police operational planning.

Through planning, the law violators can be arrested and processed within the

existing legal frameworks by the exercise of reasonable force. Without an immediate

decisive police action, the continually recurring conditions of civil unrest and

lawlessness could quickly evolve into a full-scale riot. Police planning could provide the

best police reaction and order can be restored with a minimum of property damage and

injury.

What are the Police Purpose and Objectives in Anti-Riot Operations?

Containment – Unlawful assembly and riot are as contagious as a plague unless

they are quarantined from the unaffected areas of the community. In here, all persons

who are at the scene should be advised to leave the area, thereby reducing the number

of potential anti-police combatants.

Dispersal – The crowd of unlawful assembly or riot should be dispersed at once.

It may appear at first to be a legal assembly but the nature of the assembly at the time

of the arrival of the police may clearly distinguish it as being unlawful. Once it is

determined, the responsibility of the police to command the people to disperse. Crowd

control formations may be done if necessary, to expedite their movements.

Prevention of Entry or Reentry- The police have to protect the area once the

people have been moved out or dissipated into smaller groups to prevent them from

returning. Enforce quarantine by not allowing the group to resume their actions.

Arrest Violators – One of the first acts of the police upon arrival at the scene of

the disturbance is to locate and isolate individuals who are inciting the crowd to violate

or fragrantly violating the law. Prevent any attempt by the crowd or mob to rescue those

arrested by enforcing total quarantine.

Establish Priorities – Depending upon the circumstances, it is always

necessary to establish priorities. Assessing the situation to determine the nature of

assistance and number of men needed is part of the planning process.

Basic Procedures in Anti-Riot Operations

Assess the Situation

 determine whether the original purpose of the gathering was lawful or not

 determine also the lawfulness at the time of arrival at the scene

 assess their attitude, emotional state, and their general condition

 determine any state of intoxication and other conditions that may lead to violence

 identify the cause of the problem

 locate and identify leaders or agitators

Survey the Scene

 determine as soon as possible the best position of the command post

 locate the best vintage point for observations

 consider geographical factors such as natural barriers, buildings, and weather

condition

 note the best method of approach

Communicate

 report on your assessment, keeping your assessment brief but concise, giving

your superior the sufficient data with which to proceed for plans of action

 ask for assistance or help from the command post hence remain close to the

radio as possible until additional units arrived or to communicate new

developments

Maintain a Watchful Waiting

 make your presence known to the people in the vicinity

  if the crowd is too much to handle, stay near the command post and wait for

additional support units

 use radio or other means of communications to call for assistance

 make preparations for decisive police action.

Concentrate on Rescue and Self-Defense

 take care of the immediate needs of the situation until help arrives

 apply first aid to injured people and self protection must be considered

 remember the primary objective of protecting lives, property and the restoration

of order

Maintain an Open Line of Communication

 keep the dispatcher advised on the progress of the scene

 continue directing the support units to the scene and the general perimeter

control

Establish a Command Post

 follow what is in your contingency plan for civil disturbance

 make every officer aware of the command post for proper coordination

Take immediate action for serious violations

 arrest perpetrators

 isolate the leaders or agitators from the crowd

 show full police force strength

Give the dispersal order

 disperse the crowd upon order

 anti-riot formations and procedures must be used

  use of force necessary for dispersal maybe considered

General Guidelines in Handling Riot

Preplanning must be high on the agenda whenever the department anticipates any

disorder or major disturbance.

1. Meet with responsible leaders at the scene and express your concern

for assuring them their constitutional guarantees. Request them to

disperse the crowd before attempting to take police action.Maintain

order and attempt to quell the disturbance without attempting to punish

any of the violators.

2. Use only the force that is necessary but take positive and decisive

action.

3. Post the quarantine area with signs and barricades, if necessary.

4. Keep the traffic lane open for emergency and support vehicle.

5. Consider the fact that most impressive police action at the scene of

any type of major disturbance is the expeditious removal of the leaders

by a well-disciplined squad of officers.

6. For riot control, consider the following:

 Surprise Offensive – The police action in its initial stages at a riot must be

dramatic. The elements of surprise may enhance effectiveness of riot control

 Security of Information – Plans for action and communications regarding the

movement of personnel and equipment should be kept confidential

  Maximum utilization of Force – A show of police force should be made in a well-

organized manner, compact, and efficient in a military-type squad formations.

 Flexibility of Assignments – Officers and teams should be flexibly assigned to

various places where the need is greatest.

 Simplicity – Keep the plan as simple as possible and the instructions are direct to

avoid mass confusion among the officers.

Special Problems in Crowd Control and Anti-Riot Operations

Snipers – Certain psychopathic people may attempt to take advantage of the

mass confusion and excitement at a riot scene by taking a concealed position and

shooting at people with some type of weapons, usually rifle.

Arsonist – Persons holding torch in their hands are potential arsonists. They

must be taken into custody immediately.

Looters – Acts of simple misdemeanor thefts or may consists of robbery of

breaking and entering. Take the suspects into custody by whatever means are

necessary.

CRIME MAPPING
FIGURE 1: MAP OF CHOLERA DEATHS AND LOCATION OF WATER PUMPS
 CRIME MAPPING- is used by analyst in law enforcement agencies to

map, visualize, and analyze crime incident patterns. It is a key component of

crime analysis and policing strategy. Crime maps have only recently begun

to emerge as a significant tool in crime and justice. Until a decade ago, few

criminal justice agencies had any capability for creating crime maps, and

few investigators had the resources or patience to examine the spatial

distribution of crime. Today, however, crime mapping is experiencing what

might be termed an explosion of interest among both scholars and

practitioners. This introduction begins by examining some early examples

of mapping of crime, focusing in particular on factors that inhibited the

widespread integration of mapping into crime prevention research and

practice in the past. It then turns to innovations in mapping technologies

and crime prevention theory that have recently brought crime mapping to

the center of trends in crime prevention. The final section introduces the

contributions that follow and discusses how they illustrate the many uses

of mapping in crime prevention. It examines the pitfalls and problems that

researchers and practitioners are likely to encounter in developing and

analyzing maps, and the potential advances in crime mapping we might

 expect in coming decades.

CRIME MAPPING: EARLY APPLICATIONS

The idea of mapping crime is not new and, in fact, dates back to the early

1800s in France. A review of the historical literature from that period to the

present time shows several epochs during which interest in crime mapping was

great, but then faded dramatically. In this section, we examine three such

periods and discuss the reasons why what seemed like promising beginnings

did not lead to sustained interest in crime mapping.

In 1829, Adriano Balbi and Andre-Michel Guerry created the first maps of

crime (Kenwitz, 1987; Beirne, 1993). The collaboration itself is of interest

because it combined Balbi's training in ethnography and general mapping

techniques with Guerry's training as a lawyer inter- ested in patterns of

criminality. Using criminal statistics for the years 1825 to 1827 and demographic

data from France's latest census, they developed maps of crimes against

property, crimes against per- sons, and levels of education. Comparing these

maps, they found that the northeastern portion of France (from Orleans to the

Franche- Comte) was better educated, that areas with high levels of crimes

against property had low incidences of attacks on people, and that the areas

with more property crime were populated by people with higher levels of

education (see Figure 2). While the results regarding geographic differences in

educational levels came as no great sur- prise, the others ran counter to

popular views at the time. Guerry, however, paid little attention to these
reactions because he was not interested in developing or testing theories

(Oberschall, 1989).

The Belgian astronomer and statistician Lambert-Adolphe Quetelet attempted

to fill the theoretical void. In 1831 and 1832, he independently published three

maps dealing with the same themes but spreading across larger areas.

Quetelet saw a correlation between crime and several variables including

transportation routes, educa- tion levels, and ethnic and cultural variations.

Quetelet continued theoretical development through his concept of the

"average man" and his quest to discover, through statistics and "social physics,"

the explanation of societal behavior (Quetelet, 1835). His contributions to

statistics, which were very controversial at the time, suggested the application

from astronomy of the normal distribution and error measurement to social

phenomena (Maltz, 1991). Quetelet's use of statistical tools combined with the

average man concept was founded on the belief that aggregations of data

provide statistical stability, assuming there is no change in any underlying

causal relationships. As he stated, "The greater the number of individuals

observed, the more do individual peculiarities, whether physical or moral,

become effaced, and allow the general facts to predominate, by which society

exists and is preserved" (Quetelet, 1835:12, as reported in Stigler, 1986).

Indeed, Quetelet found stability over time in crime, birth, and suicide rates

and other social phenomena, to the extent that critics said he was

questioning the very existence of free will.

Despite groundbreaking work in providing explanations for the distribution

 of crime, these ecological perspectives were hastily dis- carded with the

advent of a "positivist" criminology eager to locate thecauses of crime within

the biological and physiological framework of individuals (Morris, 1958; Beirne,

1993). Robinson (1982) draws the following conclusion about the development

of thematic maps and Quetelet's (1835) statistical approach.

TYPES OF MAPPING

Manual Pin Mapping

Wall maps have long been a simple and useful way to depict crime

incidents or hot spots. Many police departments still have large maps tacked to

the wall of the briefing room with the most recent crimes represented by pins.

Although useful, manual wall maps, offer limited utility because they are difficult

to keep updated, keep accurate, make easy to read, and can only display a

limited amount of data. For example, although different colored pins could be

used to represent different types of crime, date and time of incidents, the nature

of incidents, and other information cannot be displayed easily. In order to

update a manual wall map, for example, the pins must be removed each month.

Unless a photo or some other mechanism is used to record the previous

month’s map, the information illustrated on the map is lost.

Thus, comparison is difficult, if not impossible, from one month to the next.

Finally, the maps become unreadable when they display large amounts of data

because of the numerous pins and/or holes.

Computer Mapping

The following is an example of a computer map. It has been taken from

MapQuest©, an Internet mapping program, where an address is entered and a

map of the surrounding area appears with a pin to locate the address.

Even though it is possible to zoom in and out of this type of map, the

geographic features (e.g., locations, streets, parks) are static and cosmetic only.

In essence, a computer map is similar to a wall map, in that the computer is

used to place a point at a specific location just as a person would put a pin on a

wall map. Thus, computer maps have limitations similar to wall maps. For

instance, when using MapQuest© to map an address, clicking on a point will not

provide information behind that point, such as the specific address. While

visually appealing and easy to use, computer mapping does not allow any more

effective analysis than manual pin mapping.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A geographic information system (GIS) is a set of computer-based

tools that allow a person to modify, visualize, query, and analyze

geographic and tabular data.

A GIS is a powerful software tool that allows the user to create anything from

a simple point map to a three-dimensional visualization of spatial or temporal data.

A GIS is different from manual pin maps and computer maps in that it allows the

analyst to view data behind the geographic features, combine various features,

manipulate the data and maps, and perform statistical functions. There are many

different types of GIS programs, which include desktop packages.

Crime Analysis Mapping

“Crime mapping” is a term that has been used for the past few years to

refer to research analysis using GIS in a law enforcement setting. In this report,

the term crime analysis mapping is used to describe this process because using

a GIS to analyze crime is not just the act of placing incidents on a map but also

of analysis. Consequently, “crime analysis mapping” is:

The process of using a geographic information system in combination

with crime analysis techniques to focus on the spatial context of criminal and

other law enforcement activity.

GIS Components

The following is a description of the major components of a GIS, which

include data representation, data features, visualization, scale, and querying.

Data representation

Real world data are represented by one of four features in a GIS. They

include point, line, polygon, and image features.

Point feature

A point feature is a discrete location that is usually depicted by a symbol or

label.

A point feature in the geographic information system is analogous to a pin placed

on a paper wall map. Different symbols are used to depict the location of crimes,

motor vehicle accidents, traffic signs, buildings, beat stations, and cell phone

towers. The following map shows a robbery point map.

Line feature

A line feature is a geographic feature that can be represented by a line or set of

lines.

The following map shows how different types of geographic features such as

railways, streets, and rivers can be represented by a line in a GIS. Additional

examples are streams, streets, power lines, bus routes, student pathways, and

lines depicting the distance from a stolen to a recovered vehicle.

Polygon feature

A polygon feature is a multisided figure represented by a closed set of lines.

In the following map, the largest blue polygon represents the city

boundary, the green are census tracks, and the black are census block groups.

Other examples of polygon features used in law enforcement would be patrol

areas, beats, neighborhoods, or jurisdictions. Polygon features can represent

areas as large as continents and as small as buildings.

Image feature

An image feature is a vertical photo taken from a satellite or a plane

that is digitized and placed within the geographic information system

coordinate system so that there are -x and -y coordinates associated with it.

Data of geographic features

Each type of feature has “attributes” or a table of data that describe it. All

the attributes for three of the four types of features (point, line, and polygon) are

stored in a GIS as a data table (Note that a digital orthophotograph has an –x

and –y coordinate but does not have an associated data table worthy of

analysis). The ability to view, query, relate, and manipulate data behind these

features is the true power of a GIS. A manual pin map and a computer map

depict points, lines, and polygons but do not have data associated with the

features and are not easily manipulated. In a GIS, simply clicking on a point,

line, or polygon can produce the data table associated with that particular

feature.