Public administration in disasters: Integrating emergency management into jail and prison preparedness

• Published date: 01 January 2024
• Author: Carl E. Dement
• Date: 01 January 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13608

SCHOLARLY TAKES

Public administration in disasters: Integrating emergency

management into jail and prison preparedness

Carl E. Dement

University of Central Oklahoma, School of

Criminal Justice, University of Central Oklahoma,

Edmond, Oklahoma, USA

Correspondence

Carl E. Dement, 100 N. University Edmond,

Edmond, OK 73034, USA.

Email: cdement1@uco.edu

Abstract

Jail and prison administrators have historically struggled to prepare for and

respond to disasters. State and county Emergency Managers, as public administra-

tors, are responsible for coordinating preparedness to mitigate disaster impacts.

The author used 41 qualitative interviews with emergency management and cor-

rections professionals to assess the extent to which these two collaborate for car-

ceral disaster readiness. The findings indicate that Emergency Managers omit local

jails and prisons from their planning, training, and exercises. Additionally, neither

sees the other as a legitimate partner in disaster preparedness. This forces correc-

tions professionals to face disasters without the aid of emergency management

experts thereby exposing inmates, staff, and the public to greater risk.

Evidence for practice

•The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and corrections professionals

should recognize the role of emergency management in carceral disaster

preparedness.

•Local OEM vulnerability mapping needs to include carceral facilities.

•The OEM has a duty to initiate a collaborative relationship with carceral facilities.

•Carceral eligibility for disaster funds should include a requirement for adequate

disaster planning.

Emergency management has developed into a recog-

nized subdiscipline within public administration

(Comfort et al., 2012,539).TheprofessionofEmergency

Manager (EM) requires coordinating with community

stakeholders to anticipate disasters and improve mitiga-

tion, preparation, response, and recovery (Chang &

Neal, 2019, 105). EMs can prepa re for harm through

anticipation of slow-onset seasonal disasters like hurri-

canes, wildfires, and heat waves. Despite these prepara-

tions, slow-onset disasters still injure or kill people and

cause systems to fail.

One population especially impacted by disasters are

inmates held in local jails and prisons (hereafter referred to

as carceral facilities). Carceral facilities are not legally required

to adhere to disaster evacuation orders mandated by local

authorities (Omorogieva, 2018, 33). Omorogieva pointed out

that there are no national mandates from either the Con-

gress, FEMA, or the Department of Justice (DOJ) requiring

uniform carceral disaster planning or response. The courts

have, therefore, been reluctant to interfere with the discre-

tionary function of carceral administration where only

limited legal duty has been established (Spotts, 2010, 559).

As a result, scholars have documented the unnecessary suf-

fering inflicted on inmates locked in their cells when prepa-

rations are inadequate, despite the recurring nature of

seasonal hazards (Dement & McAleavy, 2021,

98, Vumback, 2019, 10).

Deciding whether to evacuate inmates is a tough deci-

sion for carceral administrators. The cost and coordination

of evacuating inmates are complicated by the heteroge-

neous nature of this group. For example, some inmates

suffer from mental illness or special medical conditions,

some are high security risks, and still others are in protec-

tive custody for their own safety. If the decision to stay is

made and preparations are not adequate, both inmates

and staff will suffer and the carceral organization could be

subject to civil suits (Savilonis, 2013,17).However,adminis-

trators who decide to evacuate encounter a separate set of

problems. For example, organizing secure transportation

for mass inmate movement, paying daily fees to the host

facility, and safety of inmates and staff are variables which

make an inmate evacuationunpopular.

Received: 7 July 2022 Revised: 21 January 2023 Accepted: 26 January 2023

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13608

56 © 2023 American Society for Public Administration. Public Admin Rev. 2024;84:56–64.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar