After Hurricane Irma in 2017, thousands of people lined up for post-disaster assistance in Osceola and Brevard Counties in Florida. In Haiti, mobs attacked and looted trucks carrying relief supplies after a devastating earthquake in 2021. “Pure chaos” was how one man in Spain described the situation after sleeping on the floor of a subway station “hungry, thirsty, and tired” when a widespread power outage left thousands in most of Spain and Portugal without power. In the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires in early 2025, protesters rallied outside the home of the city’s mayor to call for her resignation. These and many other similar responses to disasters underscore the importance of planning for crowd control and management when disaster deprives people of the necessities of life. The need for specialized law enforcement units to help manage and control crowds cannot be underestimated in efforts to attend to victims of a disaster.
This article seeks to clarify the difference between crowd management and crowd control while describing various types of disasters and the need for law enforcement specialty units to help maintain order and mitigate the impact of disasters.
Management vs. Control of Crowds
The words management and control are often used interchangeably when referring to law enforcement operations with crowds. Both terms fall under the definition of public order policing as recognized by the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA), but they have different meanings. The NTOA recently published Public Order Response and Operations Standards, in which crowd management is defined as
Techniques used to manage lawful assemblies before, during, or after the event for [the] purpose of maintaining lawful status.
Managing crowds may entail establishing queue lines, dividing larger crowds into smaller, more manageable groups, or creating timeframes for distribution of supplies. Within the same NTOA publication, crowd control is defined as
Techniques used to address civil disturbances to include a show of force, crowd containment, crowd dispersal equipment and tactics, and preparations for multiple arrests.
Before, during, or after disasters, either or both techniques of public order policing may be necessary. Specialty law enforcement units are best adept to conduct such operations.
Three Types of Disasters
Disasters can be separated into three general categories: natural, technological, and human-caused. Natural disasters, as the name would imply, encompass those events occurring naturally in the environment such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, etc. Disasters of a technological nature involve failures related directly to technology-driven systems we rely on, such as the electrical grid or control systems for other critical infrastructure. Finally, those events which are precipitated by human behavior, such as acts of terrorism, or deadly mass panic, fall under the category of human-caused disasters.
The three types of disasters mentioned are not absolute. A combination of any two or three can result in a hybrid event. An example would be a dangerous heatwave (natural) that taxes the electrical grid into long-term failure (technological), resulting in the deaths of scores of people from exposure. As backup power to critical infrastructure runs out, people now become desperate for fresh food and water, thereby causing civil disorder (human-caused) as people clamor for life-sustaining resources.
Regardless of the type of disaster, law enforcement and other government officials must be prepared to deal with unruly crowds, which may result. This is the point at which specialized law enforcement units can be of great help.
Specialty Law Enforcement Units
Law enforcement agencies, especially those at the federal or state level, or in larger urban areas, are best suited for the job of controlling unruly crowds through the deployment of their specialty units. The Massachusetts State Police or the New York City Police Department are examples of such agencies. Specifically trained and equipped, these units are effective at managing or controlling crowds by using specialized tactics and equipment. Units may include incident management teams, public order units, motorcycle units, equestrian units, communications and logistics units, or aerial assets. When combined, these units comprise what is known as a “mobile field force,” which is defined by the Center for Domestic Preparedness as “a well-trained, disciplined, organized demonstration of police force that emphasizes unity of command and can be rapidly deployed in civil disorder situations.”
A closer look at each mobile field force component provides a clearer picture of the important contributions law enforcement specialty units can make when disaster strikes.
Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMATs)
IMATs can work autonomously or in conjunction with other governmental entities to coordinate law enforcement activities with those of other agencies to mitigate the impact of disasters. Most IMATs work under a unified command within the structure of the Incident Command System. Their work can begin well before an expected disaster, such as a hurricane, but may also be initiated during or after unanticipated disaster events.
IMAT officers are experts at the use of technologies that facilitate cooperation among disparate agencies, and they possess administrative and operational skills necessary to ensure coordinated integration of law enforcement into disaster response.
Public Order Units
Public Order Units (POU), also called crowd control units, are specially equipped police officers trained to restore order when crowds become unruly. Through team tactics implementing techniques for quelling unrest, POUs are an essential asset to have on hand, especially at locations where food, water, or other aid is distributed. These units are especially effective at restoring and maintaining order when used in conjunction with other specialty units comprising a mobile field force.
Bicycles are often used by POUs as an adjunct to officers on foot. In the hands of a trained operator, bicycles provide a means of rapid deployment to hot spots otherwise inaccessible to motor vehicles. They have proven to be effective at moving or channeling crowds and can be used in a blocking or defensive mode when dealing with unruly people.
Motorcycle Units
Motorcycles were among the very first motorized vehicles utilized by police beginning at the turn of the twentieth century. They continue to be an effective mode of rapid transportation well-suited to areas where access may be limited due to roadway damage or other obstacles that prohibit four-wheeled vehicles. Motorcycles have also proven useful at controlling unruly crowds when combined with POUs and other units comprising a mobile field force. Similar to bicycles, they can be used to move or channel a crowd, create blocks, or create defensive formations.
Equestrian Units
Officers mounted on horseback can be highly effective at diverting people’s attention away from their immediate dire situation by providing a psychological respite through their public relations impact. Well-mannered horses often prove to be a curious attraction with a calming effect on people. Properly trained horses and their riders also provide an invaluable tool for moving or channeling crowds when used in conjunction with other mobile field force assets. The intimidation factor they possess to move crowds provides a paradox to their calming effect. This makes them a flexible tool for decision-makers when policing crowds. Horses can also access areas inaccessible to motor vehicles, making them effective support for search-and-rescue operations in disaster zones.
Communications and Logistics Units
During disaster-induced unrest, a multi-agency response is likely, and it is critical that agencies communicate with one another to coordinate their actions. Larger law enforcement agencies operating on multiple radio frequencies often have the expertise to coordinate disparate communications systems into a common operating structure. Police agencies lacking this ability may rely on local fire or local and state emergency management agencies to distribute radios or electronically patch disparate radio systems together.
Logistics is the heartbeat of disaster response, and law enforcement logistics units are a proven complement to the overall effort. These units can assist in distributing needed supplies to the public while providing a law enforcement presence to keep order. They can be supported by specialty law enforcement vehicles such as aerial assets, all-terrain vehicles, boats, and tracked vehicles when available.
In addition to providing needed relief supplies to the public, these logistics units provide needed support to disaster response personnel. Food, water, and specialty equipment are but some of the many requirements needed during disaster response, and law enforcement logistics units stand ready to provide them.
Aerial Assets
Having a bird’s eye view gives commanders and other operators a perspective they cannot achieve on the ground and thus increases situational awareness for better decision-making. Combined with the ability to conduct search operations and deliver supplies, law enforcement aerial assets are invaluable during disasters.
Aerial assets come in the form of manned or unmanned aircraft. Each has advantages and disadvantages, but both provide a tremendous advantage in observing where concentrations of people are located and patterns of crowd behavior. Having a view from above provides decision-makers the ability to recognize problem areas quickly and to effectively deploy mobile field force assets where needed. Aerial assets are among the most highly specialized disaster response units, and their coordination within the Incident Command System is critical to safe aerial operations.
Response and Coordination
Whether before, during, or after a disaster, law enforcement specialty units provide valuable resources for managing or controlling crowds. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico in 2017, crowds of people desperate for fresh water, baby food, and other essentials, stormed a warehouse of unused emergency supplies. This is precisely the type of situation that the expertise of police specialty units working in conjunction with each other and outside agencies could have improved. IMAT can coordinate efforts of law enforcement with other agencies to bring order. It can use aerial assets to assess crowd size, behavior, and direction of travel, then assign POUs, motorcycles, and equestrian units to quell unrest using coordinated mobile field force tactics. Once order is restored, those assets can transition to help manage orderly crowds receiving relief.
Following Hurricane Maria, Massachusetts sent dozens of law enforcement officials, including the author, to Puerto Rico in response to an Emergency Management Assistance Compact request. Officers from various jurisdictions were deployed to assist local law enforcement in its operations, which had been severely impacted by the storm. Much of the work conducted by this composite unit of POU officers included managing crowds at distribution sites and quelling disturbances created by desperate people seeking relief. This allowed aid to be distributed in an orderly manner, thus preventing theft and hoarding of supplies. Coordination in this effort came via the IMAT working in conjunction with various relief agencies at a Unified Command Post.
Valuable to Disaster Response
This article focused on the vital role law enforcement specialty units can play when disaster strikes. Their role in various types of disasters—natural, technological, human-caused, or hybrid—cannot be overstated. Each unit can stand alone to provide specialized talent, or can be combined with others into a mobile field force providing public order policing to keep or restore order. Emergency managers would be well-served to include these specialty units in any planning or response to disaster events.
Robert Leverone
Robert Leverone, M.A., retired as a lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) after 31 years of service. He was the commander of the MSP’s Special Emergency Response Team, an arm of the agency tasked with crowd control and homeland security-related missions. Robert holds a B.S. in business administration from Northeastern University, an M.S. in criminal justice from Westfield State University, and an M.A. in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, where he authored his thesis Crowds as Complex Adaptive Systems: Strategic Implications for Law Enforcement. Robert is the owner and president of Crowd Operations Dynamix Inc., specializing in training and consulting for law enforcement and private industry organizations in crowd management and control issues.
