<p>The United States Code provides for such a force and I believe Louisiana has one.  They are usually called "state defense forces."  They are a parallel state force with the state components of the National Guard.  They are not subject to call up by the President and serve in policing and emergency management roles in the states.  Not all states have them.  In some states they are both voluntary and require you to provide your own equipment, in others, they are fully funded.</p>

<p>I believe the Military Department of Louisiana has or had such a structure.  Nothing prevents the State of Louisiana from providing either pay or tax incentives to organize and manage the membership and to permit it to exist broadly.  Considering the frequency of natural disasters in Louisiana adding formal training and incentives to such a force would benefit all parties involved.</p>

<p>Imagine the effectiveness of the Cajun Navy if it had received formal training and worked within a planned response.  In most states, these are token forces primarily made up of ex-military who wish to continue service, but no longer wish to be in a potential combatant role.  They serve a small, but often important role, in mitigating the immediate effect of a disaster, but I don't think the states actually think of organizing any large number of people.  Most likely this is because they exist, but are so small that legislators forget they exist and don't expect much from them.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-09T13:33:55.950Z
I think the last point made is a truly important one. On the notion of size, it is hard to imagine a government that is going to get legislative over a small group of people. The opportunity cost diagram doesn't favor it. I was not aware of the united states code. That should provide some interesting research for me. Thank you!
Gregory Nate Muller
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-09T04:13:06.607Z
2018-02-09T04:13:06.607Z
Dave Harris
<p>One possibility is basing it on the bail bond system, paying a recovery fee for rescuing distressed people in certain circumstances.</p>

<p>The United States is unusual in having a private bounty hunting system. Under such a system, bounty hunters receive a bounty for carrying out arrests for those who have skipped bail. B<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_in_the_United_States" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ail is a kind of surety bond which you post to the court to go free between indictment and the outcome at trial</a>. The bails are often large and therefore borrowed from bail bondsmen. If the defendant fails to show up for their trial then the bond is held until they do and eventually forfeited. Good conduct is often controlled through a licensing system. Problem here is such disasters may be infrequent enough that people won't bother having the license. </p>

<p>There are also several <a href="http://www.bornfreeusa.org/b4a2_bounty.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">US states that have wildlife bounties, typically for vermin animals</a>. For example, in Michigan hunters can receive \$0.10 per rat they kill. So you could just have a similar system for rescued people. This is a like the above suggestion, but without a licensing requirement. The worry here is that people may scheme to put themselves in harm's way to get the bounty paid to others.   </p>

<p>Another possibility is something like a "posse comitatus is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff, or other law officer, to conscript any able-bodied man to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon.]<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_comitatus" rel="nofollow noreferrer">3</a>" In <a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&amp;httpsredir=1&amp;article=7539&amp;context=jclc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kopel (2015)</a> (see starting page 71) many states compensate members of the posse and other deputized citizens for their service analogously to jury service. Under this model Cajuan Navy members would present themselves to law enforcement, show they had the proper equipment and preparation, and then be deputized to help, providing compensation and indemnification.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-10T12:52:45.347Z
2018-04-10T12:52:45.347Z
BKay
<p>State-sanctioned militias in the state of Louisiana were an important part of the state's natural disaster response. Tiny boats went off into flooded areas to rescue people. These rescuers may have broken some laws but were allowed to do it because of the broader humanitarian interest they served. </p>

<p>Question: How to incentivize people to get a permit?
The incentives to get a license to become a member of a Cajun navy would be in times of peril---such as hurricanes--- to get to the disaster area quicker. But, this is not a great one. What could the state do to register people in times of non-crises? Tax-breaks? I am not sure</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-08T22:41:19.400Z
What laws did they break? Why not amend the law(s) to exempt such rescues?
Brian Romanchuk
<microeconomics>
How can we incentivize volunteer rescue forces like the Cajuan Navy which assisted in Louisiana?
Gregory Nate Muller
# How can we incentivize volunteer rescue forces like the Cajuan Navy which assisted in Louisiana?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-08)

State-sanctioned militias in the state of Louisiana were an important part of the state's natural disaster response. Tiny boats went off into flooded areas to rescue people. These rescuers may have broken some laws but were allowed to do it because of the broader humanitarian interest they served.

Question: How to incentivize people to get a permit?
The incentives to get a license to become a member of a Cajun navy would be in times of peril---such as hurricanes--- to get to the disaster area quicker. But, this is not a great one. What could the state do to register people in times of non-crises? Tax-breaks? I am not sure

**Tags:** microeconomics
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What laws did they break? Why not amend the law(s) to exempt such rescues?  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-02-09. Score: 2

The United States Code provides for such a force and I believe Louisiana has one. They are usually called "state defense forces." They are a parallel state force with the state components of the National Guard. They are not subject to call up by the President and serve in policing and emergency management roles in the states. Not all states have them. In some states they are both voluntary and require you to provide your own equipment, in others, they are fully funded.

I believe the Military Department of Louisiana has or had such a structure. Nothing prevents the State of Louisiana from providing either pay or tax incentives to organize and manage the membership and to permit it to exist broadly. Considering the frequency of natural disasters in Louisiana adding formal training and incentives to such a force would benefit all parties involved.

Imagine the effectiveness of the Cajun Navy if it had received formal training and worked within a planned response. In most states, these are token forces primarily made up of ex-military who wish to continue service, but no longer wish to be in a potential combatant role. They serve a small, but often important role, in mitigating the immediate effect of a disaster, but I don't think the states actually think of organizing any large number of people. Most likely this is because they exist, but are so small that legislators forget they exist and don't expect much from them.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I think the last point made is a truly important one. On the notion of size, it is hard to imagine a government that is going to get legislative over a small group of people. The opportunity cost diagram doesn't favor it. I was not aware of the united states code. That should provide some interesting research for me. Thank you!  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2018-04-10. Score: 0

One possibility is basing it on the bail bond system, paying a recovery fee for rescuing distressed people in certain circumstances.

The United States is unusual in having a private bounty hunting system. Under such a system, bounty hunters receive a bounty for carrying out arrests for those who have skipped bail. B[ail is a kind of surety bond which you post to the court to go free between indictment and the outcome at trial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail_in_the_United_States). The bails are often large and therefore borrowed from bail bondsmen. If the defendant fails to show up for their trial then the bond is held until they do and eventually forfeited. Good conduct is often controlled through a licensing system. Problem here is such disasters may be infrequent enough that people won't bother having the license.

There are also several [US states that have wildlife bounties, typically for vermin animals](http://www.bornfreeusa.org/b4a2_bounty.php). For example, in Michigan hunters can receive \$0.10 per rat they kill. So you could just have a similar system for rescued people. This is a like the above suggestion, but without a licensing requirement. The worry here is that people may scheme to put themselves in harm's way to get the bounty paid to others.

Another possibility is something like a "posse comitatus is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff, or other law officer, to conscript any able-bodied man to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon.][3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_comitatus)" In [Kopel (2015)](https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=7539&context=jclc) (see starting page 71) many states compensate members of the posse and other deputized citizens for their service analogously to jury service. Under this model Cajuan Navy members would present themselves to law enforcement, show they had the proper equipment and preparation, and then be deputized to help, providing compensation and indemnification.


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