Presents an assessment of the Neutral Zone, a community-based gang prevention and intervention program developed in Washington State. The Neutral Zone offers at-risk or gang-affiliated youths a viable alternative for productively spending their time. Evaluation based on direct observation, focus group interviews, and official crime statistics…

The seven articles that follow this introduction put the discussion of particular criminal justice programs into the context of public policy and focus on the effects of a "get tough" approach. The importance of theory and policy in program evaluation cannot be ignored. (SLD)

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…

This article shows how microcomputer software can help in overcoming key methological problems in program/policy evaluation by: (1) paired comparisons; (2) sensitivity analysis to deal with missing information; (3) allocation percentages to deal with multiple alternatives; (4) sub-optimizing to deal with conflicting constraints; and (5) decision…

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…

Describes how Youth for Oakland United is working for positive alternatives to crime and incarceration. It argues for a critical need for safe common spaces for teens and cites preventive measures in cities across America. It documents how research on Oakland recreation centers resulted in a successful citizen ballot initiative for youth…

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…

Weighing in at 567 pages, including 107 pages of footnotes, the 9/11 Commission Report is a metaphor for the primitive and often dysfunctional state of risk management in large organizations such as colleges and universities. President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, told the commission that government decisions "were made from…

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…

These proceedings of the Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice deal with the proposed abolition of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which was marked for elimination in the proposed budget of the Justice Department. Testimony is presented that supports retention of this office along with the comments of senators, police and…

This report describes the economics of programs working to reduce crime in Washington State. For a variety of approaches, from prevention programs designed for young children to correctional interventions for juvenile and adult offenders, it systematically analyzes North American research studies from the past 25 years. For this review, the…

Examines a program with typical failure rates for chronic drunk driver treatment, and identifies factors associated with client success. Results indicate that socioeconomic status, criminality, and time-at-risk predict client success following treatment. Staff prognosis, maturity, child abuse, and other conditions do not predict success. (RJM)