Interdisciplinary Research Groups
Crime and Policy Evaluation Research group (CAPER)
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita displaced hundreds of thousands of people
from their homes, and many of them evacuated to nearby cities and communities.
Baton Rouge received perhaps the largest share of evacuees relative to
its population size - as many as a quarter million added to a population
base of about 400,000, according to some estimates - and a substantial
number of them are expected to remain longterm or permanently. The CAPER
group investigates the strains on Baton Rouge's social fabric posed by
this influx. They build on previous annual community surveys, and develop
a panel sample that began the spring before the hurricanes and will continue
for three additional waves over the course of the year following the event.
They focus on the impact that social capital - community involvement,
connections, and trust - has on a range of outcomes, including trust or
blame of authorities, public policy preferences, fear of crime, feelings
of stress and/or optimism, attitudes toward the evacuees, and intergroup
relations, especially race relations. Given the magnitude of the event,
they expect to measure effects that are otherwise difficult to detect.
The study addresses central concerns of sociology, political science,
and criminology. The CAPER group will also provide local government and
civic, religious, relief, and economic organizations with findings they
can use in their decision-making. For more information, contact Matthew
Lee, Department of Sociology.
InterCollege Environmental Cooperative
Materials Science and Engineering Task Force
