Examines recidivism rates for 3,994 first-time, driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) offenders. Results indicate that convicted DWI offenders placed on probation had a 47% greater risk of a re-arrest for DWI than did individuals who completed a pretrial intervention (PTI) program. Discusses the utility of a PTI alternative. (RJM)

This study examined the effectiveness of individual behavioral skills training in conjunction with in situ training in teaching 13 preschool children abduction prevention skills. Children's performance was measured during baseline, training, and at 2-week, 1-month, and 3-month follow-ups using in situ assessments in which abduction prevention…

Panel data were analyzed to determine whether funding for collaborative juvenile crime prevention programs reduced arrests in California counties. Because the data were a population (i.e., all 58 counties in the state), regression results were summarized descriptively, and special attention was given to the direction and magnitude of key…

The Urban Crime Prevention Program (UCPP) was designed to combat urban crime through the establishment of 85 innovative neighborhood-based crime prevention projects across nine cities for 18 months. UCPP's main goals were to increase citizen participation in innovative neighborhood crime prevention efforts, to bolster the capabilities of…

Examines the manner in which substance-using shelter tenants, many of them ex-offenders, who lived in an urban, single- room-occupancy neighborhood, engaged in the process of recommunalization. Identifies and describes eight developmental stages of recommunalization, and links recommunalization to proposals for solving the war on drugs. (RJM)

Provides an overview of a comprehensive, prison-based treatment assessment, including a six-month follow-up study. Results show that 80% of the inmates referred to the program graduated. Graduates demonstrated marked reductions in criminal and drug-use activity and had lower relapse and recidivism rates when compared to other parolees. (RJM)

In New South Wales, Australia, a cost-effectiveness evaluation was conducted of an adult drug court (ADC) program as an alternative to jail for criminal offenders addicted to illicit drugs. This article describes the program, the cost-effectiveness analysis, and the results. The results of this study reveal that, for the 23-month period of the…

Assesses an intervention model for reducing fear of criminal violence among the African American elderly. Senior citizens (n=31) participated in four crime prevention workshops. Eighty-three percent, as compared with 68% before the workshops, reported feeling safe at home at night. Significant posttest correlations were noted for posttest fear of…

In contrast with earlier findings indicating that public information campaigns produce little change in public attitudes and behaviors, current research suggests that the Advertising Council's "Take a Bite Out of Crime" campaign, initiated in 1979, has had a substantive impact on the public's response to crime prevention. Data from a…

There are probably thousands of programs and courses intended to prevent or reduce violence in this nation's schools. Evaluating these many programs has become a problem or goal in itself. There are now many evaluation programs, with many levels of designations, such as model, promising, best practice, exemplary and noteworthy. "Model program" is…

"Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California" is an anti-crime organization led by more than 200 California sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys, and victims of violence. This report brings together new evidence from California and around the nation showing that the after-school hours are the peak time when youth become involved in…

A British follow-up study of 25 convicted perpetrators of child abuse compared group and individual treatment outcomes. Results found some evidence for positive change in the group condition in terms of greater honesty in reporting normal and deviant sexual outlets, in addition to the improvement in attitudes toward women. (CR)

Recidivism of first-time offenders sentenced to a "boot camp" program is compared to traditional prison sentences and probation; Variables such as age, race, and type of offense are included in cross-tabulations and multivariate analysis. A survey of 83 participants studied attitudes toward the experience. Discussion of findings points…

An evaluation is presented of "Changing Lives Through Literature," a program designed as an alternative to jail. The study followed up the first 32 men to complete the program and compared them to a matched group of 40 probationers. Reconviction rate was favorable. Interview information and other influences on recidivism are considered.…

The history of risk assessment in criminal justice has been written on several occasions. In this article, the authors assess progress since Andrews, Bonta, and Hoge's statement of the human service principles of risk-need-responsivity (RNR) and professional discretion. The review is conducted in the context of the advent of the fourth generation…