CrimProf Matthew Lippman Scoffs Urban Evacuation Drill

From DailyHerald.com: University of Illinois at Chicago CrimProf Matthew Lippman recently criticized the nation's first large-scale urban evacuation drill Thursday afternoon in Chicago.

The orderly drill, which comes as the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks looms, underscored both the difficulty of re-creating a disaster’s havoc and also how far the city may always be from the elusive goal of “preparedness.”

“This is in no way a realistic exercise to ensure the public that Chicago is able to evacuate the Loop,” scoffed Lippman, who specializes in terrorism. “Is this really serious, or just a nice little media presentation?”

Lippman said it was good to have a crowd-control test, but there should be a focus on hospitals, police and fire response, and communication equipment. Rest of Article. . . [Mark Godsey]