Law Enforcement Agencies in Disaster Response in Nepal: Analyzing the Competency of the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force
Abstract
Although Nepal Police and Armed Police Force are the key responding tools of disaster response in Nepal, their response competency does not suffice the need for effective response. Applying quantitative research methodology, this research has in-depth investigated the fundamental and technical knowledge, and preparedness activities of such police personnel. Ultimately it was discovered that their knowledge and preparedness are not adequate to meet the need. On the other hand, the practice of the usage of disaster untrained police personnel in response operations is prevalent in the country. And this tendency is not only risking the life of the disaster victims but also putting the responders’ lives at stake. Amidst such bleakness, during the investigation, the perception of the police personnel on their engagement in disaster response was found highly aspiring. Indeed this tendency will work as the force multiplier if their capacity is enhanced properly. The study has further investigated that the lethargic national investment in the disaster response capacity building process is the fundamental problem in terms of the competency building process. Heavy reliance on foreign aids and national and international non-government agencies has not only increased the dependency on capacity building process but also mired the national mechanism turning responsible authorities and institutions lethargic.
References
Arya, A. S. (1993). Training and Drills for General Public in Emergency Response to a Major Earthquake. Training and Education for Improving Earthquake Disaster Management in Developing Countries. UNCRD Meeting Reports Series, 57, 103-114.
Barelli R., Gulli, A., & Norris, E. (2014). Soft skills in disaster preparedness and relief: A new approach to safety for non health care rescue teams. AnEur-Opa 2014-15 Project. Retrieved from http://www.cemec-sanmarino.eu/doc/SoftSkillsDisasterReliefDraft-6.pdf
Bird, M., Cowie, S., Hawkes, A., Horton, B., Macgregor, C., Ong, J. E., …Yasin, Z. (2007). Indian ocean tsunamis: environmental and socio-economical impacts in Langkawi, Malaysia, The Geographical Journal, 173(2), 103-117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4959.2007.00224.x
Bonkiewicz, L., & Ruback, R.B. (2012). The role of the police in evacuations: Responding to the social impact of a disaster. Police Quarterly, 15(2), 137-156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611112442808
Brancato, G., Macchia, S., Murgia, M., Simeoni, G., Blanke, K., Korner, T… Zlotnik, J. H. P. H. (2004). Handbook of recommended practices for Qquestionnaire development and testing in the European Statistical System.
Chhetri, M. B. P. (1999). Nepal Country Report. Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Kathmandu.
Descy, P., & Tessaring, M. (2002). Training and learning for competence.Second report on vocational training and research in Europe: executive summary (pp.3-43). Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act 2017. (2017, November 21). Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/106076/129931/F1996604288/NPL106076%20Npl.pdf
Drabek, T., & Hoetmer, G. (1991). Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government. Washington, DC: International City County Management Association.
Drabek, T. E. (1985). Managing the emergency response. Public Administration Review, 45, 85-92. https://doi.org/10.2307/3135002
Efron, R. (1969). What is Perception? In R. S. Cohen & M.W. Wartofsky (Eds.), Proceedings of the Boston Colloquium for the Philosophy of Science 1966/1968 (Vol. 4, p.137). Dordrecht, Holland: Reidel Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-3378-7_4
Gillespie, D., & Colignon, R. (1993). Structural change in disaster preparedness network. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 11(2), 143-162.
Godfrey, M., Sophal, C., Kato, T., Piseth, L.V., Dorina, P., Saravy, T., Savora, T., & Sovannarith, S. (2002). Technical assistance and capacity development in an aid-dependent economy: the experience of Combodia. World Development, 30(3), 355-373. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00121-8
Grunewald, F., & Burlet, A. (2016). Nepal earthquake: A rapid review of the response and a few lessons learnt. Retrieved from https://www.urd.org/IMG/pdf/Lessons_learnt_and_areas_to_be_improved_in_Nepal_response.pdf
Heide, E. A. D. (1989). Disaster Response: Principles of Preparation and Coordination. St. Louis, Missouri: The C.V. Mosby Company.
Ingrassia, P. L., Foletti, M., Djalali, A., Scarone, P., Ragazzoni, L., Corte, F. D., & Fisher, P. (2014). Education and training initiatives for crisis management in the European Union: a web based analysis of available programs. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 29(4), 115-126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X14000235
Jones, S., Oven, K. J., Manyena, B., & Aryal, K. (2014). Governance Struggles and policy processes in disaster risk reduction: A case study from Nepal. Geoforum, 57, 78-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.07.011
Knoblich, G., & Sebanz, N. (2006). The social nature of perception and action. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(3), 99. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00415.x
Koirala, P. K. (2014). Disaster management institution and system in Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Home Affairs.
Kuroiwa, J. A. (1993). Peru’s national educational program for disaster prevention and mitigation (PNEPDPM). Training and education for improving earthquake disaster management in developing countries. UNCRD Meeting Report Series, 57, 95-102.
Mendis, D. S. K., Karunananda, A. S., Samaratunga, U., & Ratnayake, U. (2007). An approach to the development of commonsense knowledge modeling system for disaster management. The Artificial Intelligence Review, 28(2), 179-196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-009-9097-6
MoHA & DPNet-Nepal. (2015). Nepal Disaster Report 2015. Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and Disaster Preparedness Network Nepal (DPNet-Nepal), Kathmandu.
MoHA. (2016). Gorkha Earthquake -2015: Experience and learning. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Home Affairs, Disaster Management Department.
National Planning Commission. (2013). An approach paper to the thirteenth plan (Fy 2013/14 – 2015/16). Kathmandu, Nepal: Government of Nepal. Retrieved from http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/nep150783.pdf
National Planning Commission. (2015). Fourteenth Plan: Fiscal Year 2016-17 to 2018-19. Kathmandu, Nepal: Government of Nepal. Retrieved from https://www.npc.gov.np/images/category/14th-plan-full-document.pdf
Nazli, N. N. N. N., Sipon, S., & Radzi, H. M. (2014). Analysis of training needs in disaster preparedness. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 140, 576-580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.473
Nepal Police. (2016). Disaster Management Division SOP. Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepal Police Headquarters.
Penrose, J. M. (2000). The role of perception in crisis management. Public Relations Review, 26(2), 155-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(00)00038-2
Pine, T. (1996). Integrated emergency management: Hierarchy or network? In T. Horlick-Jones, A. Amendola & R. Casale (Eds.), Natural risk and civil protection (pp.494-506). London, UK:E &FN Spon.
Poul, B. K. (2019). Channeling disaster aid: Process and problems. Disaster Relief Aid: Changes and Challenge (p.44).Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77282-0
Quartelli, E. L., & Dynes, R. R. (1977). Response to Social Crisis and Disaster. Annual Review of Sociology, 3, 23-49. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.03.080177.000323
Ronan, K., Crellin, K., & Johnston, D. (2010). Correlates of hazards education for youth: a replication study. Nat Hazards, 53(3), 503-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-009-9444-6
Slattery, C., Syvertson, R., & Jr, S. K. (2009). The eight step training model: Improving disaster management leadership. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 6(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.2202/1547-7355.1403
Subedi, S. (2013). Armed Police Force in Disaster Management. Kathmandu, Nepal: Army Command and Staff College.
Tanaka, K. (1996). The Kobe earthquake: The system response. A disaster report from Japan. European Journal of Emergency Medicine, 3, 263-269. https://doi.org/10.1097/00063110-199612000-00009
Tint, B.S., Waters, V. M., & Driel, R. V. (2015). Games for learning and dialogue on humanitarian logistics applied improvisation training for disaster readiness and response: Preparing humanitarian workers and communities for the unexpected. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 5(1), 73-94. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHLSCM-12-2013-0043
Twigg, J., & Mosel, I. (2017). Emergent groups and spontaneous volunteers in urban disaster response. International Institute for Environment and Development, 29(2), 443–458. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247817721413
Varano, S. P., & Schafer, J.A. (2012). Policing Disasters: The role of Police in the Pre-Disaster Planning and Post-Disaster Responses. Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, 17, 83-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-6136(2012)0000017008
Wolf, J., & Moser, S. C. (2011). Individual understandings, perception, and engagement with climate change: insights from in-depth studies across the world. Advanced Review, 2, 547-569. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.120
Yasuda, T., Takayama, Y., & Soma, K. (2014). Activities of Japanese police in the Great East Japan Earthquake. Journal of International Criminal Justice Research, 1, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0153-2_ov
Zhou, L., Pereera, S., Jayawickrama, J., & Adeniyi, O. (2014). The Implementation of Hyogo Framework for Action for disaster resilience education. Procedia Economics and Finance, 18, 576-583. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(14)00978-2
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).