Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:41 am
Time: 11:41 am
Results for evaluative studies
98 results foundAuthor: California State Auditor, Bureau of State Audits Title: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: It Fails to Track and Use Data That Would Allow It to More Effectively Monitor and Manage Its Operations Summary: With annual expenditures at nearly $10 billion—10 percent of the State’s General Fund—the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (Corrections) is responsible for nearly 168,000 inmates, 111,000 parolees, and more than 1,600 juvenile wards of the State. Corrections oversees 33 adult correctional institutions, conservation camps, community correctional facilities, and contracts to house inmates in out-of-state facilities. Further, Corrections provides health care to inmates at each adult facility and through external contractors. The inmate health care function transitioned to a federal court-appointed receiver and is now known as California Prison Health Care Services (Health Care Services). Corrections is also responsible for implementing rehabilitative strategies to successfully reintegrate offenders into communities. -- To be more cost-effective and improve its management, we recommended that Corrections collect and use data associated with factors that affect the cost of its operations. We also recommended that Corrections develop a staffing plan allocating teacher and instructor positions for its education and vocational programs at each institution based on inmates’ needs and to track and use historical inmate program assignment and waiting list data to measure program success. Additionally, we recommended that Corrections encourage the Department of Personnel Administration to exclude provisions in bargaining unit agreements that would permit any type of leave to be counted as time worked for the purpose of computing overtime compensation and negotiate a reduction in the amount of voluntary overtime correctional officers are allowed to work. Details: California: California State Auditor, Bureau of State Audits, 2009. 112p. Source: Report 2009-107.1: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 28, 2012 at http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2009-107.1.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2009-107.1.pdf Shelf Number: 123857 Keywords: Corrections Adminsitration (California)Evaluative Studies |
Author: Daro, Deborah Title: The Duke Endowment Child Abuse Prevention Initiative: Durham Family Initiative Implementation Report Summary: The Durham Family Initiative (DFI) is one of two community-based child abuse prevention efforts that comprise The Duke Endowment’s Child Abuse Prevention Initiative. Beginning in 2002, the Endowment provided support to the Durham Family Initiative (DFI) in North Carolina and Strong Communities in South Carolina to develop a comprehensive approach to address four core outcomes: a reduction in child abuse rates; an improvement in parenting practices and behavior; strengthening community service systems; and an improvement in a community’s capacity to protect children and support parents. Both sites were given considerable latitude in defining how to achieve these objectives and were encouraged to develop strategies with the potential for replication throughout the Carolinas. Although sharing a set of common objectives with Strong Communities, DFI theorizes that child abuse can be prevented by addressing the risk factors and barriers that affect the healthy development of parent-child relationships. Adopting an ecological perspective, DFI staff formulated a work plan to strengthen and expand the pool of available evidence-based direct services, to identify and secure meaningful public policy reforms, and to build local community capacity. Details: Chicago: Chapin HIll at the University of Chicago, 2009. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 28, 2012 at http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Duke%20DFI_Implementation_09_17_09.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Duke%20DFI_Implementation_09_17_09.pdf Shelf Number: 123861 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectCommunity ParticipationEvaluative StudiesPrevention |
Author: Daro, Deborah Title: The Duke Endowment Child Abuse Prevention Initiative: Strong Communities Implementation Report Summary: The Strong Communities initiative is one of two community-based child abuse prevention efforts included in The Duke Endowment’s Child Abuse Prevention Initiative. Beginning in 2002, the Endowment provided support to both Strong Communities and the Durham Family Initiative (DFI)2 to develop a comprehensive approach for achieving four core outcomes: a reduction in child abuse rates; an improvement in parenting practices and behavior; the strengthening of community service systems; and an improvement in a community’s capacity to protect children and support parents. Both sites were given considerable latitude in defining how to achieve these objectives and were encouraged to develop strategies with the potential for replication throughout the Carolinas. Although sharing a set of common objectives with DFI, Strong Communities placed particular emphasis on building collective responsibility for prevention of child abuse and neglect and the promise of reciprocity of help. Project strategies were designed to assist the general public as well as local service providers in understanding the relationship among child maltreatment risk factors and how their individual and collective efforts could directly address this complex and often destructive web of interactions. The project’s logic model argued that once residents feel that their neighborhood is a place where families help each other and, indeed, the expected normative behavior is that individuals ask for and offer help, public demand will drive service expansion and system improvement. Details: Chicago: Chapin HIll at the University of Chicago, 2009. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Duke%20SC%20Implementation_09_17_09.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Duke%20SC%20Implementation_09_17_09.pdf Shelf Number: 123862 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectCommunity ParticipationEvaluative StudiesPrevention |
Author: Daro, Deborah Title: The Duke Endowment Child Abuse Prevention Initiative: A Midpoint Assessment Summary: Building on the Endowment’s longstanding commitment to enhancing the welfare of children in the Carolinas, substantial support was provided to planning teams in both North and South Carolina to develop, implement, and test a range of strategies designed to create multifaceted systems for improving supports and services for parents and young children. The two programs emerging from this planning process, the Durham Family Initiative and Strong Communities, embrace a range of strategies designed to improve parental capacity and functioning, community capacity and collective efficacy, and the public service response to child protection. Both projects operate within conceptual frameworks that reflect a keen understanding of the diversity and interdependency among the varied causes of child abuse, including aspects of individual functioning, familial and cultural values, and local social and institutional capacity. Both focus on reducing maltreatment rates by insuring that parents are in a better position to meet the needs of their children and live in communities more able to support them in this task. However, each operates under a distinct theory of change and has placed different emphasis on the individual, community, and public policy strategies essential for achieving their core objectives. Details: Chicago: Chapin HIll at the University of Chicago, 2009. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Duke%20Mid_Point_Report_09_17_09.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Duke%20Mid_Point_Report_09_17_09.pdf Shelf Number: 123863 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectCommunity ParticipationEvaluative StudiesPrevention |
Author: Wasilewski, Yvonne Title: Identifying and Responding to the Needs of Children in Domestic Violence Shelters: Final Report June 1, 2008 Summary: The Domestic Violence Shelter Screening Project (DVSP) was a collaborative effort between the Center for Child and Family Health, the Center for Child and Family Policy, and six North Carolina domestic violence shelters located in Caldwell, Guilford, Halifax, Robeson, Vance, and Wilson counties, which served as pilot sites. The project was funded jointly by The Duke Endowment and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. The purpose of the pilot project was to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a training protocol that improves the capacities of domestic violence shelter staff to screen, intervene, and refer child shelter residents experiencing distress related to their exposure to violence and other adverse events. Shelter staff was trained on the appropriate, reliable, and valid use of three screening tools to assess child and adolescent posttraumatic stress, psychological symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and child development milestones. Staff also received education in child traumatic stress, behavior management, and techniques to support effective parenting. As a first step, a needs assessment was conducted with shelter directors to identify current shelter practices related to children, facilitators of and barriers to providing mental health services for child residents, and to inform the development of the training curricula. The quality of the training sessions, level of engagement and response to training were evaluated using staff and facilitator process evaluation questionnaires, conference call notes, and through focus groups conducted with shelter staff at each site after training. Project impact in the form of changes in: (1) staff knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about domestic violence and its effects on children; (2) staff use of behavioral management strategies to help parents and children; and (3) staff self-efficacy and ability to assess, score, and make appropriate referrals to community agencies was evaluated using pre and posttest questionnaires and an instrument developed to monitor the implementation of the screening measures. Key findings from the project were: It is feasible to train staff working in domestic violence shelters to systematically evaluate children entering shelter using standardized screening tools addressing broad psychosocial functioning, developmental status, and traumatic stress symptoms. During the pilot, 40% (range 18%-71%) of eligible children were assessed using at least one of three screening measures. However, the fact that the majority of children were not screened highlights the difficulty of obtaining consistent implementation of such a procedures. Through the use of standardized screening tools, shelter staff was able to identify mental health concerns among sheltered children, as well as concerns related to developmental status. Consistent with expectations, the assessments revealed significant levels of psychological distress, functional impairment, and developmental risk among a substantial number of child shelter residents. Almost half (45%) of children who received the screening scored in the clinically significant or at-risk range on at least one of the three screening measures. Staff viewed the screening tools as a positive strategy for engaging, educating, and supporting parents. Staff was able to identify both risk and resiliency factors in children and apply newly learned skills in behavioral management when teaching parents and interacting with children. Details: Durham, NC: Center for Child & Family Health; Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, 2008. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at http://www.childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/pdfs/pubpres/EvalServ_Final_Report_DVS_071608.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu/pdfs/pubpres/EvalServ_Final_Report_DVS_071608.pdf Shelf Number: 123864 Keywords: Crisis SheltersDomestic Violence (North Carolina)Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Victims |
Author: Carnegie, Jon A. Title: Driver's License Suspensions, Impacts and Fairness Study Final Report Summary: In New Jersey, as is the case in many other jurisdictions, the reasons for driver’s license suspension are diverse, complex and sometimes interrelated. License suspension in New Jersey (NJ) is no longer only used to punish habitual bad driving. It is widely used as a punishment or deterrent for things completely unrelated to driving and as a means to compel appearance in court and/or payment of various fines, fees, and other financial obligations. Suspension patterns indicate that certain segments of the licensed driver population are more likely to be suspended than others. For all reasons, except suspensions for driving under the influence (DUI) and accumulation of motor vehicle points, drivers residing in urban and lower income zip codes are overrepresented. Suspension rates among male drivers residing in lower income areas are consistently the highest. The obvious and most direct impact of license suspension is loss of personal mobility. However, suspension may also have collateral and/or unintended consequences such as job loss, difficulty in finding employment, and reduced income. Consequences can also include other financial impacts, such as increased insurance premiums and other costs associated with suspension; as well as psychological and social impacts such as loss of freedom, increased stress, and family strain. Despite a limited menu of options to address the unintended or collateral impacts of suspension, there appear to be areas of possible reform in New Jersey. These include: reexamining the purpose and need for the NJ insurance surcharge program; assessing the fairness of the Parking Offenses Adjudication Act; addressing issues that contribute to license suspensions for failing to maintain proper insurance; and considering the creation of a restricted-use license program for at least certain suspended drivers under limited circumstances. Details: New Brunswick, NJ: Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2007. 139p. Source: FHWA-NJ-2007-020: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at http://policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/reports/REPORTS/MVC%20DL%20Susp%20Final%20Report%20-%20Vol2.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/reports/REPORTS/MVC%20DL%20Susp%20Final%20Report%20-%20Vol2.pdf Shelf Number: 123869 Keywords: Evaluative Studies |
Author: Carnegie, Jon A. Title: Study of Recidivism Rates among Drivers Administratively Sanctioned by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Summary: The purpose of this study was to examine the current state of practice related to driver improvement countermeasures used in the United States and to assess the effectiveness of New Jersey’s negligent driver interventions. As part of the study, the research team conducted a national literature review and a survey of motor vehicle agency policies in other states to document the current state of practice related to driver improvement programs and the current state of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of specific countermeasures. In addition, the research team obtained and analyzed an extensive longitudinal database of driver history records to examine the effectiveness of various countermeasures used in New Jersey to address negligent driver behavior relative to violation and crash recidivism. This study provides important evidence that New Jersey’s program of negligent driver countermeasures is effective at reducing violation and crash recidivism among most negligent driver subgroups in the two-year period after Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) intervention. Of the countermeasures used in New Jersey, the combination of license suspension with one-year probation resulted in the greatest overall reduction in both mean violation and crash rates. New Jersey’s driver re-education classes, which are accompanied by a three-point credit against accumulated demerit points and one-year probation, resulted in the lowest mean violation rate reduction. Point advisory notices, which for experienced drivers are accompanied by a concurrent assessment of negligent driver fees (MVC “insurance surcharges”), appear to be an effective early intervention, producing substantial reductions in both violation and crash recidivism among all driver subgroups except teen drivers who are not assessed negligent driver fees at the time of notice issuance. Several policy recommendations can be derived from this research. First, with regard to teen drivers, consideration should be given to whether or not a “zero-tolerance” policy for motor vehicle violations and at-fault crashes should be applied to teen drivers. It may be appropriate to impose license suspension as an earlier intervention if the reforms already enacted do not result in meaningful change in teen driver safety outcomes. Second, MVC should consider streamlining the suspension program to make it more straightforward and easier to administer. Thirdly, consideration should be given to reviewing and reforming New Jersey’s driver monitoring system and/or plea bargaining practices to ensure that repeat traffic offenders are not able to use zero-point plea bargaining to avoid corrective actions that improve safety outcomes. Details: New Brunswick, NJ: Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2009. 66p. Source: FHWA-2009-019: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 123870 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesNew JerseyRecidivismTraffic Offenses |
Author: Carnegie, Jon A. Title: Study of the Effects of Plea Bargaining Motor Vehicle Offenses Summary: The objectives of this study were to examine the impact of plea bargaining point-carrying moving violations to zero-point offenses on roadway safety in New Jersey and to assess the impact of plea bargaining on New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) programs and revenues. For this study the research team conducted a national literature review and a scan of current practices used in other states; reviewed New Jersey laws and program guidance related to driver monitoring and control and plea bargaining motor vehicle offenses; conducted a series of interviews with personnel from the MVC and Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC); analyzed data from the AOC Automated Traffic System (ATS) and the MVC driver history database; and, assessed how the practice of plea bargaining may be affecting MVC programs and revenues. The study finds clear evidence that the practice of plea bargaining point-carrying moving violations to zero-point offenses has increased significantly in New Jersey since July 2000. However, the effect of this increase on highway safety is not as clear. The overall number of moving violation convictions has not changed significantly since 2000, nor has the nature of the violations being committed changed significantly. The study also finds evidence that a small minority of habitual offenders appear to be using the system to their advantage and that the number of drivers subjected to MVC negligent driver countermeasures has declined by 36 percent since 1999. This diversion of negligent drivers out of MVC driver monitoring and control programs appears to be particularly problematic in light of research findings from a recently completed study on recidivism among drivers sanctioned by MVC. That study found the countermeasures used by MVC to address negligent driving behavior are effective at reducing violation and crash recidivism among most negligent driver subgroups. The findings of this study combined with the findings and conclusions of the MVC recidivism study suggest a number of policy reforms should be considered to ensure that repeat traffic offenders are not able to circumvent driver monitoring and control programs through plea bargaining. First, MVC should work with the AOC, the Attorney General’s office and other key stakeholders to develop more explicit guidelines regarding the use of plea bargaining to reduce point-carrying moving violations to zero-point offenses. Second, MVC should examine the efficacy of transitioning from a point-based system of driver monitoring and control to an event-based system that relies on the accumulation of “countable” offenses to trigger negligent driver countermeasures. Thirdly, policy makers should consider amending the “unsafe operation” statute to limit the use of plea bargaining by any driver to two times. Details: New Brunswick, NJ: Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2009. 56p. Source: FHWA-NJ-2009-018: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 29, 2012 at http://www.nj.gov/transportation/refdata/research/reports/FHWA-NJ-2009-018.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.nj.gov/transportation/refdata/research/reports/FHWA-NJ-2009-018.pdf Shelf Number: 123871 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesMotor Vehicle OffensesPlea Bargaining |
Author: Berry-James, RaJade M. Title: Summit County Juvenile Court: Disproportionate minority contact assessment report Summary: This DMC assessment report was prepared on behalf of Summit County Juvenile Court for the purpose of examining the extent to which disproportionate minority contact (DMC) exists in the juvenile justice system Summit County, Ohio. Details: Ohio Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at Year: 0 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 123883 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactEvaluative StudiesJuvenile Offenders |
Author: Silverii, Louis Scott Title: Policy Alternatives for Reducing Recidivism in Lafourche Parish Summary: The current correctional philosophy of intense sentencing, incarceration and supervision has failed to produce successful reentry programs that reduce recidivism and calm the public’s fears of victimization. Therefore, the issue of prisoner reentry, theprocess of leaving prison and returning to society was addressed by this project. This project presented a comprehensive evaluation of the correctional system’s philosophy of prisoner reentry and its effect on recidivism. The goal of this project wasto assist Lafourche Parish governing authorities reduce the average rate of recidivismamong those prisoners sentenced to incarceration within the Lafourche ParishCorrectional System (LPCS), identified as the Lafourche Parish Detention Center,Lafourche Parish Work Release Center and the Lafourche Drug Court.The research question was formulated to focus the attention of the research and tomore directly arrive at a conclusion relative to initiatives that have a positive effect onreducing Lafourche Parish recidivism. The research project asks, “Will prisoner reentry programs reduce recidivism among inmates incarcerated in the Lafourche Parish Correctional System?” Details: Unpublished, 2006. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at http://www.scribd.com/Silver2/d/7621805-Policy-Alternatives-for-Reducing-Recidivism-in-Lafourche-Parish Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.scribd.com/Silver2/d/7621805-Policy-Alternatives-for-Reducing-Recidivism-in-Lafourche-Parish Shelf Number: 123916 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesPrisoner ReentryPublic SafetyRecidivism (Louisiana) |
Author: Phillips, Mary T. Title: Effect of Release Type on Failure to Appear - Final Report Summary: Prior research on bail making by the New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA) has documented the prevalence of commercial bonds in the City, described the costs and benefits of posting a commercial bond as opposed to cash bail, and identified case and defendant characteristics associated with each form of bail making (Phillips 2010a, 2010b, 2011a, 2011b). In the decades prior to this research New York City had nearly eliminated bail bonds from city jails, but the industry's huge nationwide growth since the early 1990s suggested that it was time to take another look. This research comes in the midst of an aggressive national campaign mounted by the bail bond industry, aimed at influencing public opinion and legislators around the country. At stake in many states is legislation that would protect the bail bond industry at the expense of pretrial agencies, which are viewed as competitors. Bondsmen argue that they are more successful than pretrial recidivism. This study addresses a part of that claim by comparing failure to appear (FTA) rates for defendants released on commercial bonds versus other types of release. This is the only contemporary research on the topic using New York City arrests, and the only study that controls for key factors that also affect FTA. Details: New York, NY: CJA New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc., 2011. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at http://www.cjareports.org/reports/releasetype&fta.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.cjareports.org/reports/releasetype&fta.pdf Shelf Number: 123270 Keywords: Commercial Bail Bonds (New York City)Early ReleaseEvaluative StudiesFailure to Appear |
Author: Orr, Skellington Kate Title: Summary Justice Reform: Victims, Witnesses and Public Perceptions Evaluation Summary: There was mixed awareness and understanding of the summary justice reforms. While professionals had some awareness, members of the public and victims and lay witnesses knew little of the reforms or the Scottish summary criminal system overall. When explained, most of the reforms were viewed positively by professionals and members of the public alike, and there was general agreement that the changes were a move in the right direction. There remained some scepticism about whether some of the specific reforms would meet the desired outcomes over time. Though not the aim of the summary justice reforms, better communication about what is required of victims and witnesses involved in the system may be needed and, for victims, overall experiences seem to be heavily determined by having case progress and case outcome information. For members of the public, confidence in the system is driven by proportionate sentencing and fair treatment of victims and witnesses. Details: Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Government Social Research, 2012. 85p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 3, 2012 at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0038/00386764.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0038/00386764.pdf Shelf Number: 123954 Keywords: Criminal Justice Reform (Scotland)Evaluative StudiesPublic OpinionsVictims of CrimeWitnesses |
Author: Parveen, Rakhshinda Title: Gender-Based Violence in Pakistan: A Scoping Study Summary: The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, with a Gender-related Development Index ranking of 125th out of 169 countries, and a Gender Empowerment Measure rank of 99 out of 109 countries. The Gender Equity Program, funded by USAID and implemented in Pakistan by The Asia Foundation and the Aurat Foundation, has undertaken this scoping study on gender-based violence in Pakistan to identify issues, needs and priorities in this particular context, besides highlighting gaps in research and interventions, and clearly mapping out past and present interventions to address gender-based violence by donors and international NGOs in Pakistan. Discussion of this complex area is contextualized in the disadvantages faced by ordinary Pakistani women, with the aim to analyze the problem through a gender-sensitive and responsive lens. A qualitative research methodology was adopted for this study, which uses both primary and secondary data collection and analysis. The respondents were selected from amongst donors, international and national NGOs, media networks, inventories available on the internet, and e-mail lists. The author approached 110 respondents from four identified groups: NGOs and international NGOs specializing in addressing gender-based violence in Pakistan (40 respondents); gender experts and other key informants in the public sector, international NGOs, UN and the donor community (15 respondents), Pakistani print and electronic media professionals (25 respondents), and experts on gender, women, human rights, law and legal aid, media advocacy, research and management, etc. (30 respondents). The aim was to achieve responses from at least 25 ideal respondents in 18 days, with a pre-calculated risk of less than 50 percent responses. Details: Islamabad, Pakistan: Aurat Foundation, Gender Equality Program, 2011. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2012 at http://www.af.org.pk/gep/deskStudies/GENDER%20BASED%20VIOLENCE%20-%20R%20PARVEEN%20(2).pdf Year: 2011 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.af.org.pk/gep/deskStudies/GENDER%20BASED%20VIOLENCE%20-%20R%20PARVEEN%20(2).pdf Shelf Number: 123970 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesGender-Based Violence (Pakistan) |
Author: Ramirez, Victoria Title: The Effectiveness of Implementing Gang Injunction in Latino Communities Summary: Gang injunctions are restrictions that prohibit gang members from certain activities intended to break a gang’s common routines in a neighborhood. There have been studies on both sides of the spectrum, those allegedly against gang injunctions and those in favor of placing them. This study measures the effectiveness of gang injunctions through the use of surveys and interviews where I compare the responses of the residents living outside the gang injunction area to those living within the gang injunction area in the city of Compton, California. This study evaluates the way a gang injunction is introduced, implemented, and what results from it from a Latino resident’s point of view focusing on neighborhood safety, police involvement in the community, and community involvement by residents. Furthermore, this study shows that reduction in crime is in no way linked to the implementation of a gang injunction, as the relationships between residents and the police have decreased. According to the responses, residents are reluctant to call the police, not due to fear but because they do not provide the safety they are looking for; therefore, the removal of gang injunctions will eliminate the invisible barrier they create between residents and law enforcement. Details: Unpublished. University of California, Irvine, 2010. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2012 at http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=%22the%20effectiveness%20of%20implementing%20gang%20injunctions%20in%20latino%20communities%22&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicanolatinostudies.uci.edu%2Ffiles%2Fchicanolatinostudies%2Fdocs%2F2011%2FAwards%2FJeff%2520Garcilazo%2520Awards%2F2009-10Winners%2F2ndPlace-EffectivenessOfImplementingGangInjunctions.doc&ei=u64tT7bJLujk0QG0oZXiCg&usg=AFQjCNGwMG5TtZWw7LNReVp-7Bx3ZeryyA Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=%22the%20effectiveness%20of%20implementing%20gang%20injunctions%20in%20latino%20communities%22&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicanolatinostudies.uci.edu%2Ffil Shelf Number: 123975 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesGang InjunctionsGangsLatinos |
Author: Sherman, Lawrence W. Title: Restorative justice: the evidence Summary: This is a non-governmental assessment of the evidence on restorative justice in the UK and internationally, carried out by the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania for the Smith Institute in London, with funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The purpose of this review is to examine what constitutes good-quality restorative justice practice, and to reach conclusions on its effectiveness, with particular reference to reoffending. The review employs a broad definition of restorative justice (RJ), including victim-offender mediation, indirect communication through third parties, and restitution or reparation payments ordered by courts or referral panels. Much of the available and reasonably unbiased evidence of RJ effects on repeat offending comes from tests of face-to-face conferences of victims, offenders and others affected by a crime, most of them organised and led by a police officer; other tests cited involve court-ordered restitution and direct or indirect mediation. Details: London: The Smith Institute, 2007. 96p. Source: Jerry Lee Program of Randomized Trials in Restorative Justice: Internet Resource: Accessed February 12, 2012 at http://www.smith-institute.org.uk/file/RestorativeJusticeTheEvidenceFullreport.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.smith-institute.org.uk/file/RestorativeJusticeTheEvidenceFullreport.pdf Shelf Number: 124094 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesRecidivismRepeat OffendersRestorative Justice (U.K.) |
Author: Ferrante, Anna Title: The Disqualified Driver Study: A Study of Factors Relevant to the Use of License Disqualification as an Effective Legal Sanction in Western Australia Summary: The purpose of this study is to investigate key factors that determine the degree to which licence disqualification is an effective sanction against traffic offences and nonpayment of fines. In particular, the study aims to: describe trends in the use of licence disqualification and the frequency of the offence of driving while disqualified; identify the main characteristics of disqualified drivers and the subset of those who drive while disqualified; understand the social and situational circumstances of disqualified drivers and those who drive while disqualified; and assess the knowledge of, and attitudes to, enforcement and justice procedures by disqualified drivers and those who drive while disqualified. Details: Australia: Crime Research Centre, University of Western Australia, 2003. 99p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 17, 2012 at http://www.law.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/118543/The_Disqualified_Driver_Study.pdf Year: 2003 Country: Australia URL: http://www.law.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/118543/The_Disqualified_Driver_Study.pdf Shelf Number: 124155 Keywords: Driver's License Suspension (Australia)Evaluative Studies |
Author: Clark, Belinda Title: Disqualified Drivers in Victoria: Literature Review and In-Depth Focus Group Study Summary: This report outlines a two phase project into disqualified drivers in Victoria. The first phase of the project comprised a review of the literature related to license disqualification and explored the feasability of conducting an in-depth study of disqualified drivers in Victoria. The second phase of the project, which resulted from the feasability study, involved conducting an in-depth investigation into the behaviors and attitudes of disqualified drivers, including contributing family and social influences. Forty disqualified drivers participated in seven focus group discussions and 13 partners/parents of disqualified drivers participated in three separate focus group discussions. The results showed the approximate 60% of the driver participants continued to drive during disqualification. The following factors were found to have a key influence on the decision to drive during disqualification: negative attitudes towards sanction; denial of the risk of one's own driving behaviours; very low perceptions of the risk of detection; personal and vicarious experiences of punishment avoidance; and negative attitudes towards alternatives. The most common reason provided for the decision to continue driving was to maintain one's employment, although driving for family and social reasons was also commonly reported. Most participants described personal hardships caused by the sanction, with this impact being greatest for those who adhered to the sanction and stopped driving. The majority of partners/parents also reported being negatively affected, as the sanction resulted in extra burdens for them and often created relationship tensions. Many partners/parents expressed concern about their partners'/children's dangerous driving behaviours and the ineffectiveness of the sanctions in deterring illegal driving behaviours. The findings of the present study were consistent with previous research. Recommendations were made for further research into Victorian Registration and Licensing data and Victorian crash data to quantify the number of disqualified drivers and the extent of the risk they pose on the road. Recommendations were also made for publicity campaigns to raise the perceived risk of detection, improvements in enforcement (e.g., increased checking of licenses at RBT sites, possible extension of compulsory carriage of license legislation), and the design and implementation of best practice rehabilitation programs. Details: Victoria, Australia: Accident Research Centre, Monash University, 2008. 141p. Source: Report No. 274: Internet Resource: Accessed February 17, 2012 at http://www.monash.edu.au/miri/research/reports/muarc274.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Australia URL: http://www.monash.edu.au/miri/research/reports/muarc274.pdf Shelf Number: 124156 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesRisk Assessment |
Author: Watson, Barry Title: The Road Safety Implications of Unlicensed Driving: A Survey of Unlicensed Drivers Summary: This report documents the findings of a survey of 309 unlicensed driving offenders interviewed at the Brisbane Central Magistrates Court. A wide range of offenders participated in the study including disqualified and suspended drivers, expired licence holders, drivers without a current or appropriate licence, and those who had never been licensed. The results indicate that unlicensed drivers should not be viewed as a homogenous group. Significant differences exist between offender types in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics, whether they were aware of being unlicensed or not, their behaviour while unlicensed, and the factors contributing to their behaviour. Among some offenders, unlicensed driving appears to be indicative of a more general pattern of non-conformity and illegal behaviour. While many offenders limited their driving while unlicensed, others continued to drive frequently. Moreover, almost one-third of the sample continued to drive unlicensed after being detected by the police. One of the strongest predictors of both the frequency of unlicensed driving and continued driving after detection was whether the offenders needed to drive for work purposes when unlicensed. While there was some evidence that offenders attempted to drive more cautiously while unlicensed, this was not always reflected in their reported drink driving or speeding behaviour. The results highlight the need to enhance current policies and procedures to counter unlicensed driving. In particular, there is a need to examine current enforcement practices since over one-third of the participants reported being pulled over by the Police while driving unlicensed but not aving their licence checked. Details: Queensland, Australia: Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety, Queensland University of Technology, 2003. 142p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 17, 2012 at http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2001/pdf/surv_unlic_3.pdf Year: 2003 Country: Australia URL: http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2001/pdf/surv_unlic_3.pdf Shelf Number: 124157 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesRisk Assessment |
Author: Lambie, Ian Title: An Outcome Evaluation of New Zealand Fire Service Fire Awareness and Intervention Programme Summary: The purpose of the current study was to assess the post intervention arson recidivism rates and other offending behaviours of a group of children and adolescents referred to the New Zealand (NZ) Fire Awareness and Intervention Programme (FAIP) over an approximate follow up period of 10 years. Based on the findings and in light of current literature the report aims to provide key recommendations for the FAIP. (This research was done in two-parts. Please see report # 97: ‘Sparking up an Old Flame: A Process Evaluation of the Fire Awareness and Intervention Programme (FAIP) in New Zealand’ for the other outcome on this piece of work.) Details: Auckland, New Zealand: New Zealand Fire Service Commission, 2009. 69p. Source: New Zealand Fire Service Commission Research Report Number 98: Internet Resource: Accessed February 18, 2012 at http://www.fire.org.nz/Research/Current-Round/Documents/An%20Outcome%20Evaluation%20of%20NZ%20Fire%20Service%20FAIP%20-%20recidivism%20rate%20part.pdf Year: 2009 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.fire.org.nz/Research/Current-Round/Documents/An%20Outcome%20Evaluation%20of%20NZ%20Fire%20Service%20FAIP%20-%20recidivism%20rate%20part.pdf Shelf Number: 124183 Keywords: Arson (New Zealand)Evaluative StudiesIntervention Programs |
Author: Isaacs, Caroline Title: Private Prisons: The Public's Problem - A Quality Assessment of Arizona's Private Prisons Summary: Arizona has enthusiastically embraced prison privatization, with 13% of the state prison population housed in private facilities (the 11th highest percentage in the nation). Motivated by a belief that private enterprise could build and manage prisons safely and at lower cost than the state, the legislature has mandated construction of thousands of private prison beds. Little was done over the years to test actual performance of private prisons or to determine their cost effectiveness. In the summer of 2010, three inmates escaped from the privately operated Kingman prison, killed two people, and shattered the myth that private prisons can keep us safe. Since that time, more evidence has come to light unmasking the truth about the private prison industry in Arizona: It is costly, plagued by security problems, and in some cases is violating state and federal law. State leaders have failed in their responsibility to protect the public, to provide adequate oversight of this industry, or to hold the corporations accountable for their failures. This report is the first of its kind in Arizona. To date, no independent analysis of the performance and quality of all private and public prisons has been undertaken. Such an analysis is long overdue, given that private prisons have operated in Arizona for decades, and the state has invested billions of taxpayer dollars into this industry. The people of Arizona have had little or no evidence that these prisons are safe, cost effective, or competent at fulfilling the job taxpayers pay them to do. When AFSC learned that the state had not properly monitored and reported on private prison operations since state law mandated it in 1987, AFSC undertook its own investigation into the private prison industry in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) later announced that it would complete the statutorily-required biennial comparison review, which was released on December 21, 2011. The ADC study contains very little methodological information or supporting data, suffers from inconsistent data collection procedures, and overlooks important measures of prison safety. By contrast, AFSC’s report incorporates data that was omitted or deemed to be outside the scope of the ADC review, including security audits of private prisons before and after the Kingman escapes and data on six prisons operated by Corrections Corporation of America that are located in Arizona but do not contract with the state, putting them outside state oversight. In addition, AFSC’s analysis incorporates additional performance measures which have emerged as important aspects of the debate over prison privatization: recidivism, accountability, and transparency. The most common measurement of the effectiveness of a prison is its ability to reduce recidivism. Yet private prison corporations flatly refuse to measure their recidivism rates. The issues of accountability and transparency made headlines in 2010 when it was revealed that lobbyists for Corrections Corporation of America may have had a hand in drafting SB 1070, Arizona’s controversial anti-immigrant bill, which potentially represented millions of dollars in revenue for the corporation through lucrative immigrant detention contracts. Since then, more and more evidence has surfaced revealing the various prison corporations’ efforts to buy influence with state and federal governments, particularly through the involvement of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group whose members consist of elected officials and corporate lobbyists. ALEC holds conferences at exclusive resorts where legislators and corporate representatives draft model legislation that members introduce in their various home states. Yet this activity is not considered lobbying under many states’ law, and the reimbursements ALEC provides to legislators (and their spouses) for travel and lodging at these conferences are not reported as political contributions. Most importantly, AFSC’s analysis found patterns of serious safety lapses in all the private prisons for which data was available. Together, this data demonstrates a set of problems endemic to the industry that could lead to future tragedies like the Kingman escapes. Malfunctioning security systems go unrepaired for months, leading staff to ignore safety protocols. Under-trained guards combined with poor state oversight leads to assaults, disturbances, and riots. For-profit prison staff members are too often unprepared, or unwilling, to intervene in these events, and risk losing control of the facilities. Insufficient rehabilitation programs, educational opportunities, or jobs for the prisoners provide idle time for conflicts to brew. The result is facilities that are unsafe for the people living and working inside them, as well as the surrounding community. Regardless of differing political views, most Arizonans want the same thing from their prisons: Increased public safety. Yet the state has deliberately obscured information that would cast private prisons in a negative light. It is critical that the people of Arizona and our elected representatives have solid, objective data on which to base important decisions about the future of our prisons. Billions of tax-payer dollars and the safety of our communities hang in the balance. ADC cancelled the Request for Proposals (RFP) for 5,000 private prison beds in December 2011, but issued a new RFP for 2,000 private prison beds in early February 2012. The taxpayers of Arizona deserve an honest accounting of what we stand to gain and lose if we continue to follow the “tough on crime” mantra. This report offers new insights and original data that reveals the truth about for-profit prisons in Arizona. Details: Tucson, AZ: American Friends Service Committee-Arizona, 2012. 105p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://afsc.org/sites/afsc.civicactions.net/files/documents/AFSC_Arizona_Prison_Report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://afsc.org/sites/afsc.civicactions.net/files/documents/AFSC_Arizona_Prison_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 124189 Keywords: Correctional Administration (Arizona)Evaluative StudiesPrivate PrisonsPrivatization |
Author: Kuzyk, Ivan Title: Recidivism among sex offenders in Connecticut Summary: Once sex offenders in Connecticut are released from prison, they are unlikely to be sent back for another sex crime, according to a report released Wednesday by the state Office of Policy and Management. Of 746 sex offenders released in Connecticut in 2005, five years later, less than 4 percent had been re-arrested and charged with a new sex crime. "What's really relevant here is that the population is really small," said Ivan Kuzyk, author of the report and director of the CT Statistical Analysis Center at OPM. "It's kind of remarkable to me. I hadn't expected the rates to be so low." After arrest, 2.7 percent of those 746 men were convicted of another sex offense; 1.7 percent went back to prison to serve time for that new sex crime. The data, Kuzyk writes, flies in the face of conventional wisdom that says all sex offenders are likely to re-commit a sex crime, and then head straight back to prison. "There hasn't been a rational and reasonable discussion about sex offenders," Kuzyk said. "But now we know that not every single one of them is going to reoffend. And we can get a better understanding of who these people are." Michael Lawlor, undersecretary for criminal justice at OPM, pointed to the potential for reaching this small, high-risk group through an existing criminal justice system and social services intervention. "As it turns out, there are things that can be done with this population with very significant results," he said, while previewing the report last week. With this kind of data, Lawlor said, the state might be able to single out those at highest risk of returning to prison for a sex specific crime, prioritize them and target them with special services. "The idea is you can actually do things to them while you've got them to reduce the chance of them getting re-arrested," he said. What those compiling data for the report weren't able to do, Kuzyk said, was pore through the detailed files of each of the offenders. "You can't go through more than 700 records -- that's just cost-prohibitive," Kuzyk said. But with this data, the state can now go back and determine whether the small population of reoffenders was, for example, under supervision by the state when they committed another sex crime. Or what specific type of sex crime they committed. "If you've got less than 20 guys, you can move forward and do a qualitative analysis of their commonalities," Kuzyk said. And that should make it easier to identify high-risk offenders. In treating and supervising sex offenders, the state's criminal justice system relies on the Department of Correction, a web of parol and probation officers, victim advocates and nonprofit service providers. According to the report, which pulled data from each of these groups, a specialized treatment plan is developed for each offender. But until three weeks ago, there was no place for released sex offenders to go. "There were no secure sex offender beds for high riskers getting out of prison," Lawlor said in his comments last week. "They were often just being dropped off by bus in Hartford or New Haven, ending up in homeless shelters. And that's the worst place for a sex offender to be." Then, a 2008 provision of Public Act 08-01 required the state to build a residential facility for sex offenders released from prison. Despite objections from the town of Montville, a 24-bed facility for sex offenders opened last month on the grounds of the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center. "Housing and supports are really important to keep them from re-committing," Lawlor said. A larger report analyzes the arrests, convictions and imprisonment of 14,398 men for five years after their release from prison in Connecticut in 2005. A majority -- 78.6 percent -- were re-arrested within five years. And 49.8 percent of those re-arrested were convicted and sent back to prison. The recidivism rate among the 746 sex offenders for non-sex crimes was slightly lower at 40.2 percent. The report's appendices go deeper, looking at five separate sex offender categories based on offenders' prior arrests, convictions, sentence histories and identification by the Department of Correction as sex offenders. Looking at histories, prior convictions and arrests is crucial, Kuzyk said. As the report notes, offenders often commit sex crimes but are able to avoid sex charge convictions through a plea bargain. There are also cases where victims are unwilling or unable to come forward with testimony. "Sometimes, these guys will end up pleading guilty to a related, nonsexual crime. But who's a greater risk to public safety? Someone who was just convicted, or someone who was able to avoid conviction but remains high risk?" Among the 1,712 men identified in at least one of the five subgroups, arrest on a prior sex charge was the best predictor for being sent back to prison for a new sex crime. "This is all about trying to assess future risk based on who you were in the system," Kuzyk said. Recidivism rates don't change much year to year, Kuzyk said. So he's hoping to move the department to looking at smaller subgroups, like this one, on a yearly basis. Lawlor called the report the first of its kind in Connecticut. "And as I understand it, this may have been a virtually unique analysis in the country," he said. Details: Hartford, CT: Criminal Justice Policy & Planning Division, Office of Policy and Management, State of Connecticut, 2012. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/cjppd/cjresearch/recidivismstudy/sex_offender_recidivism_2012_final.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/cjppd/cjresearch/recidivismstudy/sex_offender_recidivism_2012_final.pdf Shelf Number: 124190 Keywords: ConnecticutEvaluative StudiesRecidivismSex Offenders |
Author: Speir, John C. Title: Analysis of Georgia's 90-Day Short-Term Program for Juvenile Offenders Summary: The Children and Youth Coordinating Council (CYCC) commissioned Applied Research Services (ARS) to conduct a preliminary investigation into the re-offending patterns of juveniles ordered to spend time in Georgia’s 90-day Short-Term Program (STP). The central question is whether youths placed in STP exhibit improved re-offense rates compared to similarly situated youths placed on probation. The research focused on two main questions: 1. Is there an observable difference between Georgia youths placed in STP compared to those placed on probation (demographics, referral type, offense type, prior history)? 2. Is there a measurable reduction in re-offending among youths placed in STP compared to similarly situated probationers at the end of a two-year follow-up period? In Georgia, juvenile case management and local probationary services are organized into independent and non-independent court systems. The independent courts, such as Fulton and Cobb Counties, depend on the Juvenile Case Activity Tracking (JCAT) System as the primary case management system. Information on youth referrals, charges, and dispositions in the independent juvenile courts was retrieved from JCAT. The remaining courts, also referred to as DJJ served courts, rely on the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Juvenile Tracking System (JTS). This state operated case management system contains referrals, charges, disposition, and facility admissions for all youths committed to the custody of DJJ (including the independent courts), as well as youths placed on probation in the DJJ served juvenile court systems. Information for the DJJ served court system cases was retrieved from JTS. The study examines a variety of outcome measures associated with juvenile reoffending. Unfortunately, there is no single, accepted measure of re-offending used nationwide or recommended by the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention (OJJDP) to evaluate juvenile justice programs, such as the Short-Term Program. Each measure has inherent advantages and disadvantages which must be taken into consideration, and each is impacted by the way researchers select the study cohort and define their follow-up period. These reasons usually explain why agencies often produce disparate re-offending rates over time. Recognizing these problems, this study investigates over a dozen distinct measures of re-offending. This study also includes a comparison group in order to assess the effectiveness of STP in comparison to another DJJ program – probation. For example, if the reoffense rate for STP was 50%, one might incorrectly conclude that STP is ineffective. However, if the similarly situated youths placed on probation exhibited a 75% re-offense rate, the STP findings now take on an entirely new interpretation. While policy-makers may conclude that both re-offense rates are unacceptable and inconsistent with the agency mission, the lower, hypothetical STP rate suggests that the program is resulting in improved outcomes over probation. To provide such a benchmark, this study includes juvenile probationers as an appropriate comparison group. Details: Atlanta, GA: Applied Research Services, Inc., 2004. 11p. Source: Submitted to Pete Colbenson, Executive Director Children and Youth Coordinating Council: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://ars-corp.com/_view/PDF_Files/AnalysisofGeorgias90DayShortTermProgramforJuvenileOffenders2004.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://ars-corp.com/_view/PDF_Files/AnalysisofGeorgias90DayShortTermProgramforJuvenileOffenders2004.pdf Shelf Number: 124197 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Offenders (Georgia)ProbationRe-Offending |
Author: Senior, Kate Title: Moving Beyond the Restrictions: The Evaluation of the Alice Springs ALcohol Management Plan Summary: As part of the Northern Territory Government's Alcohol Framework, an Alcohol Management Plan (AMP) was developed in 2006 for the regional outback town of Alice Springs. The Plan had the three key strategies of reducing supply, reducing harm, and reducing demand. In 2008 the Menzies School of Health Research was commissioned to evaluate what strategies had been implemented in Alice Springs, and whether these were effective. This is the report of the evaluation, and features sections on: The Alice Springs context; Best Practice in addressing alcohol related problems; Recommendations from previous evaluations in Alice Springs; Implementation; Alcohol services and their coordination; Measuring impact; Community perspectives and responses; Community readiness; Liquor industry responses; Developing community involvement; and Developing evaluation framework and a minimum data set. The authors note that like previous evaluations from the 1970s onwards, any strategies require an investment in community change, for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of the community, with a fundamentally different way to address alcohol issues and extensive community consultation. Details: Casuarina, N.T.: Menzies School of Health Research, 2009?. 197. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2012 at http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/licenreg/documents/liquor/reports/MSHR%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20Alice%20Springs%20Alcohol%20Restrictions.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Australia URL: http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/licenreg/documents/liquor/reports/MSHR%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20Alice%20Springs%20Alcohol%20Restrictions.pdf Shelf Number: 124226 Keywords: Alcohol Abuse (Australia)Alcohol Treatment ProgramsEvaluative StudiesIndigenous Peoples |
Author: Texas. Legislative Budget Board. Title: Windham School District Evaluation Report Summary: The Windham School District (WSD) evaluated the post-release employment impact of Career and Technology Education (CTE) vocational training provided to ex-offenders during their incarceration. The study included those ex-offenders released from prisons and state jails from April 01, 2005 through March 31, 2006. This report examines the relationship between vocational training, employment, and earnings for nearly 40,000 exoffenders. The study indicates: Ex-offenders who completed vocational training while incarcerated were more likely to be employed than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training; For all age groups and all levels of academic achievement, vocationally-trained ex-offenders exhibited higher employment rates than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training; Vocationally-trained ex-offenders exhibited a higher average salary difference (from first quarter earnings to fourth quarter earnings) and higher average annual earnings than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training; Overall, two out of three vocationally-trained ex-offenders who were employed earned income working in one or more occupations related to their vocational training; Vocationally-trained ex-offenders who worked in occupations related to their vocational training had a higher average salary difference (from first quarter earnings to fourth quarter earnings) than those working in unrelated fields; Vocationally-trained ex-offenders exhibited better job retention than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training. In general, for all age groups studied, a higher percentage of vocationally-trained ex-offenders retained employment for three consecutive quarters compared to those who did not receive vocational training; Overall, ex-offenders who had attained a GED or high school diploma retained employment longer than those who had not; In the Prison/State Jail study group, ex-offenders with college degrees who completed vocational training gained employment at a higher rate than those with college degrees who did not receive vocational training; Industry certification and working in an occupation related to training appear to enhance job retention. Details: Texas: Legislative Budget Board, 2008. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2012 at http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/PubSafety_CrimJustice/3_Reports/Windham_School_0208.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/PubSafety_CrimJustice/3_Reports/Windham_School_0208.pdf Shelf Number: 124229 Keywords: Correctional EducationEmploymentEvaluative StudiesEx-Offenders (Texas)Vocational Education and Training |
Author: Scottish Centre for Social Research Title: Summary Justice Reform: Evaluation of Reforms to Fines Enforcement Summary: Reforms to fines enforcement, introduced under Summary Justice Reform (SJR) saw responsibility for the enforcement of criminal financial penalties in Scotland transfer to the Scottish Court Service, the creation of a new post dedicated to the recovery of unpaid fines – the Fines Enforcement Officer (FEO) – and the provision of enforcement powers to the FEO. This evaluation assessed the extent to which they met their policy objectives and contributed to the SJR overarching objective – a summary justice system that is fair, efficient, effective and quick and simple in delivery. Details: Scotland: Scottish Centre for Social Research, 2011. 4p. Source: Research Findings No. 35/2011: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2012 at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/363903/0123572.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/363903/0123572.pdf Shelf Number: 124231 Keywords: Court FinesCriminal Fines (Scotland)Evaluative StudiesLaw Enforcement |
Author: Australia. Office of Crime Statistics and Research Title: Common Performance Measures for the Evaluation of Specialist Court Programs - Discussion Paper Summary: This report was produced for the ABS Boards of Management of the Statistical Units for Courts, Crime and Corrective Services. Using Australian drug court programs as the primary example, the report identifies a common set of quantitative elements that could be used for the evaluation of diversionary/specialist courts nationally. The report also includes a summary of drug court and Indigenous court program elements within each jurisdiction and the measures used to assess their effectiveness. Details: Adelaide, South Australia: Office of Crime Statistics and Research; Policy, Planning and Legislation Division, 2010. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 28, 2012 at http://www.ocsar.sa.gov.au/docs/research_reports/CPM-Specialist_Court_Programs_Discussion_Paper.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ocsar.sa.gov.au/docs/research_reports/CPM-Specialist_Court_Programs_Discussion_Paper.pdf Shelf Number: 124304 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Courts (Australia)Evaluative StudiesRecidivism |
Author: Redcross, Cindy Title: More Than a Job: Final Results from the Evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Transitional Jobs Program Summary: This report presents the final results of the evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO). CEO is one of four sites in the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social and education policy research organization, is leading the evaluation, in collaboration with the Urban Institute and other partners. Based in New York City, CEO is a comprehensive employment program for former prisoners — a population confronting many obstacles to finding and maintaining work. CEO provides temporary, paid jobs and other services in an effort to improve participants’ labor market prospects and reduce the odds that they will return to prison. The study uses a rigorous random assignment design: it compares outcomes for individuals assigned to the program group, who were given access to CEO’s jobs and other services, with the outcomes for those assigned to the control group, who were offered basic job search assistance at CEO along with other services in the community. The three-year evaluation found that CEO substantially increased employment early in the follow-up period but that the effects faded over time. The initial increase in employment was due to the temporary jobs provided by the program. After the first year, employment and earnings were similar for both the program group and the control group. CEO significantly reduced recidivism, with the most promising impacts occurring among a subgroup of former prisoners who enrolled shortly after release from prison (the group that the program was designed to serve). Among the subgroup that enrolled within three months after release, program group members were less likely than their control group counterparts to be arrested, convicted of a new crime, and reincarcerated. The program’s impacts on these outcomes represent reductions in recidivism of 16 percent to 22 percent. In general, CEO’s impacts were stronger for those who were more disadvantaged or at higher risk of recidivism when they enrolled in the study. The evaluation includes a benefit-cost analysis, which shows that CEO’s financial benefits outweighed its costs under a wide range of assumptions. Financial benefits exceeded the costs for taxpayers, victims, and participants. The majority of CEO’s benefits were the result of reduced criminal justice system expenditures. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012. 166p. Source: OPRE Report 2011-18: Internet Resource: Accessed February 28, 2012 at http://www.mdrc.org/publications/616/full.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/616/full.pdf Shelf Number: 124308 Keywords: EmploymentEvaluative StudiesEx-OffendersRecidivism |
Author: Amnesty International Title: Amnesty International Australia Detention Facilities Visit 2012, Findings and recommendations Summary: The initial findings of Amnesty International’s recent detention centre visits, reiterate the organisation’s long held position that the indefinite and prolonged detention of asylum seekers in Australia is a failed policy that contravenes human rights standards. The most serious and damaging conditions faced by asylum seekers in immigration detention are the length of time and the indefinite nature of their imprisonment. Among the asylum seekers who had been in detention for extended periods, self harm and attempted suicides were talked about as a fact of life. The use of sleeping pills and other medication was also widespread. The Christmas Island Northwest Point Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) is overwhelmingly and unacceptably prison-like. The facility is too harsh to house people who have not committed a crime. Adding to the restrictive environment is the new behaviour management regime in the White compound. The Curtin IDC in Western Australia should be immediately closed for immigration detention purposes. The remote and isolated location of the centre, as well as the extremely hot and dusty physical conditions, exacerbates the existing problems with detaining asylum seekers. Findings documented from Perth IDC, Northern IDC, Wickham Point IDC, Phosphate Hill APOD and Darwin Airport Lodge APODs 1, 2 and 3, are all illustrative of a failed system. Given the human rights abuses inherent in indefnite detention, and the excessive costs of transporting basic infrastructure, supplies and staff to such extremely inaccessible locations, Amnesty International remains appalled that this policy has continued for so long. Details: Australia: Amnesty International, 2012. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 28, 2012 at http://www.amnesty.org.au/images/uploads/news/Amnesty-International-Australia-DetentionFacilitiesVisit-2012-FINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.amnesty.org.au/images/uploads/news/Amnesty-International-Australia-DetentionFacilitiesVisit-2012-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 124310 Keywords: AsylumDetention FacilitiesEvaluative StudiesImmigrants |
Author: Cross, Emma-Jane Title: Virtual Violence II: Progress and Challenges in the Fight against Cyberbullying Summary: This UK report finds that 28% of 11-to-16-year-olds have been deliberately targeted, threatened or humiliated by an individual or group through the use of mobile phones or the internet. The latest findings from Beatbullying reveal that 28% of 11-to-16-year-olds have been deliberately targeted, threatened or humiliated by an individual or group through the use of mobile phones or the internet. For over a quarter of these, this experience was ongoing, meaning that the individual was continuously targeted for bullying by the same person or group over a sustained period of time. This suggests that one-in-13 secondary-aged school children have experienced persistent and intentional cyberbullying. Given that there are approximately 4,377,780 secondary-aged children in the UK (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2011), these figures can be projected to suggest that 350,222 children may have suffered persistent and insidious bullying inflicted via technology. These findings closely mirror Beatbullying’s first Virtual Violence study delivered in November 2009 (Cross, Richardson, Douglas & von Kaenel-Flatt, 2009), and give us significant insight into the nature of this form of bullying in the UK. Of those young people who reported being persistently cyberbullied, just under a quarter (23%) said that it lasted for a year or more and two-in-five (40%) said that it lasted for months or weeks. Over a quarter (26%) said that the bullying happened more than 10 times, over a tenth (14%) between six and 10 times, and a third (29%) between three and five times. The findings also present an interesting insight into where the bullying originates. For those ‘persistently cyberbullied’, a quarter (26%) said that the bullying first happened online, but 44% said that it started offline (that is, the person was first targeted face-to-face and the bullying then continued online). While this indicates that ‘persistent cyberbullying’ still tends to originate offline and then follows the victim online, there is a notable decrease in how often this is occurring when compared to the original Virtual Violence study carried out in 2009 – which found two-thirds (62%) of those who were ‘persistently cyberbullied’ were first bullied offline. Indeed, within the total sample of those who had experienced cyberbullying, only two-in-five (20%) said that their experience was an extension of offline bullying, with a quarter (27%) saying that the bullying they had experienced had started online. Therefore, this would indicate that bullying is becoming an increasingly more common phenomenon that starts online, paving the way for more relentless attacks. Details: London: Beatbullying, 2012. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 28, 2012 at http://www2.beatbullying.org//pdfs/Virtual-Violence-II.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www2.beatbullying.org//pdfs/Virtual-Violence-II.pdf Shelf Number: 124313 Keywords: BullyingCyberbullying (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Victims |
Author: Hirschfield, Alex Title: National Evaluation of New Deal for Communities, Scoping Report: Review of Major Policy Developments and Evidence Base: Crime Domain Summary: The evidence base review for the Crime Domain examined some of the leading theories used to explain the manifestation of crime (i.e. what makes some neighbourhoods and places more vulnerable to crime than others), presented information on levels of reported and unreported crime and discussed current policy initiatives aimed at preventing and reducing crime. Particular attention was paid to developments relevant to Area Based Initiatives (ABIs). The extent of the evidence base on ‘what works’ in crime prevention was then examined. Variations in the quality and robustness of the evidence base was discussed and examples of best practice were identified drawing upon the Home Office’s ‘Toolkits’ for crime prevention and a comprehensive review of crime prevention evaluation studies carried out for the US National Institute of Justice. The latter identified crime prevention strategies that work, those that are promising and those that demonstrably do not work (Sherman et al 1998). Current and forthcoming evaluations of crime prevention initiatives that NDC Partnerships might draw lessons from were identified and efforts to build a comprehensive evidence base on effective crime prevention measures (the Campbell Collaboration – www.campbell.gse.upenn.edu) were outlined. Lessons were identified for the NDC evaluation teams in terms of known problems and pitfalls in conducting crime prevention evaluations and in obtaining consistent crime data. Lessons for partnerships were also defined, particularly, in relation to project management, maximising the positive impacts of crime prevention interventions and partnership working. Where feasible and appropriate, the review also sought to identify the extent to which local authority areas with NDC programmes had been successful in securing funds through the Home Office’s Crime Reduction Programme. Particular attention was paid to the Reducing Burglary Initiative, Targeted Policing and the CCTV programme. Details: Sheffield, UK: New Deal for Communities Evaluation, Sheffield Hallam University, 2001. 125p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 29, 2012 at http://extra.shu.ac.uk/ndc/downloads/reports/Crime%20Review%20of%20Evidence.pdf Year: 2001 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://extra.shu.ac.uk/ndc/downloads/reports/Crime%20Review%20of%20Evidence.pdf Shelf Number: 124324 Keywords: Crime PreventionCrime Reduction (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesEvidence-Based PracticesNeighborhoods and Crime |
Author: Uchida, Craig D. Title: Evaluating Problem Solving in Colorado Springs: The 1999 School-Based Partnership Program Summary: In 1998 and 1999 the COPS Office initiated major grant programs to deal with crime and disorder problems in schools. The idea behind the program was to assist police and schools in implementing Problem-Oriented Policing, a strategy first developed by Herman Goldstein in 1979. While police agencies had successfully used the problem-solving model for crime and disorder problems on city streets, in parks and recreational areas, and in public housing, rarely did they work with schools to deal with day-to-day problems. The School-Based Partnership program (SBP) was an attempt to encourage law enforcement to work with school administrators, students, faculty and parents using this model. Over 250 jurisdictions received funding in 1998 and 1999 at a cost of over $30 million. As part of the grant, the COPS Office required that law enforcement provide funds to evaluators to document and describe the implementation of the program. In 1999, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) received one of these grants to conduct problem-solving projects in five high schools. CSPD selected 21st Century Solutions, Inc. as its evaluator. During a two-year period, staff of 21st Century Solutions, Inc. made site visits, conducted in-person interviews, analyzed data from the schools and police, worked closely with the School Resource Officers, and observed a variety of activities. This document describes the implementation of the problem-solving model and discusses possible impacts of the project on the schools and police. The report is divided into eight sections. The first section provides background information about Colorado Springs, the police department, schools, and the problem-solving partnership grant. We also discuss our research methods, including research questions, data sources, and analysis. Section 2 examines the literature on school-based programs and problem oriented policing to provide a context for this study and the work of police officers in schools. Sections 3 through 7 report on the problem-solving activities at each of the five high schools. Section 8 concludes with a summary of our findings and recommendations. Details: Silver Spring, MD: 21st Century Solutions, Inc., 2001. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 29, 2012 at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/school_based/ColoradoSprings_CO.pdf Year: 2001 Country: United States URL: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/school_based/ColoradoSprings_CO.pdf Shelf Number: 118161 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesProblem SolvingSchool CrimeSchool Resource Officers |
Author: Gaanderse, Miranda Title: The Security Sector and Gender in West Africa: A Survey of Police, Defence, Justice and Penal Services in ECOWAS States Summary: This report, published in English and French, aims to systematically document the status of gender integration in the security sectors in 14 Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The report is designed to be a resource for people working in, or with, security sector institutions; for those interested in governance and development in West Africa; and for those involved in gender-related issues. It combines information gathered by in-country researchers, interviews, document analysis and desk research. Much of the data in this report has never before been published or compared across countries in the region. The survey is guided by the following two questions: Are security sector institutions providing adequate response to the different security and justice needs of men, women, boys and girls? What steps have been taken to create internally equitable, representative and non-discriminatory institutions? The report contains three main sections: an introduction, a summary and analysis of findings, and individual country profiles. The introduction provides background on the survey rationale, methodology and research challenges. The summary and analysis of findings offers a cross-country and cross-institution analysis of the survey findings, and includes a list of recommendations. The 14 extensive country profiles present easy-to-read yet detailed information structured by 101 indicators on national governance, police services, armed forces and gendarmerie, the justice system and penal services. The report can be downloaded as a single document in English and French, or in individual sections. Details: Geneva: DCAF (Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces), 2011. 267p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 23, 2019 at: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/141906/00_Complete_West%20Africa_gender_survey.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/141906/00_Complete_West%20Africa_gender_survey.pdf Shelf Number: 124352 Keywords: Administration of JusticeCorrectional InstitutionsEvaluative StudiesFemale Police OfficersGenderSecurity Sector (West Africa) |
Author: Great Britain. Comptroller and Auditor General Title: Mobile Technology in Policing Summary: A programme to equip frontline police officers with mobile devices, such as BlackBerrys and personal data assistants, has achieved a basic level of benefits. However, as the benefits for most forces do not extend beyond this basic level, then value for money has not yet been achieved from the £80 million of expenditure. According to the National Audit Office, while in many forces mobile devices enable officers to spend more time out of their stations, cash savings have been limited and only one in five forces have used the devices effectively to improve their business and operational processes. The business case for the Mobile Information Programme, funded by the Home Office and managed by the National Policing Improvement Agency under the direction of a programme board, focused upon the swift delivery of mobile devices and, by December 2010, around 41,000 had been rolled out, considerably ahead of schedule. Although, in reality, the Agency cannot mandate forces and has little control over each force's investment decision, not enough consideration was given to how forces would use the mobile technology, how much local spending was required or how realistic were the announced deadlines. The programme has not yet added the ability to check fingerprints to its mobile information devices. The programme has on average increased the visibility of police officers to the public and officers spend more time out of the station, an estimated 18 minutes a shift, although there is considerable variation. While the Mobile Information Programme did not explicitly set out to deliver cashable savings, these should have followed from objectives to reduce bureaucracy, increase efficiency and contribute to better policing. Of the 32 forces responding to an NAO survey, only ten claimed some form of cashable savings and these are relatively minor. However, some forces are predicting greater savings in the future, for example, by reducing control room costs. In some instances, process improvement aligned with the use of mobile technology is improving efficiency and reducing bureaucracy. Officers are using their devices to complete and submit crime and intelligence reports and less time is spent obtaining information from control rooms over their radios. However, 22 forces responding to the survey cited drawbacks with mobile technology projects. According to today's report, the experience of implementing mobile technology reinforces the challenge of achieving convergence of ICT across 43 police forces, each with bespoke systems supporting individual business processes. Details: London: The Stationary Office, 2012. 40p. Source: HC 1765 Session 2010-2012: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2012 at http://www.nao.org.uk//idoc.ashx?docId=851b1f0c-f88d-43b1-b743-41d1ef055892&version=-1 Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nao.org.uk//idoc.ashx?docId=851b1f0c-f88d-43b1-b743-41d1ef055892&version=-1 Shelf Number: 124366 Keywords: Cell PhonesEvaluative StudiesPolice Technology (U.K.) |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Tennessee's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, these goals are particularly important in cases in which the death penalty is sought. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy in the administration of the death penalty. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine several U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. In addition to the Tennessee assessment, the Project has released state assessments of Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Indiana. In the future, it plans to release reports in, at a minimum, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state-funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. All of these assessments of state law and practice use as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration: defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project added five new areas to be reviewed as part of the assessments: preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based assessment team. The teams are comprised of or have access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death-row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) law enforcement tools and techniques; (3) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (4) prosecutors; (5) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction and clemency proceedings; (6) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (7) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (8) clemency; (9) jury instructions; (10) judicial independence; (11) racial and ethnic minorities; and (12) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings of each team provide information on how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. This executive summary consists of a summary of the findings and proposals of the Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Team. The body of this report sets out these findings and proposals in more detail. The Project and the Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Team have attempted to describe as accurately as possible information relevant to the Tennessee death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2007. 422p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/tennessee/finalreport.authcheckdam.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/tennessee/finalreport.authcheckdam.pdf Shelf Number: 124374 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Tennessee)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Tennessee)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Georgia Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Georgia's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As our capital punishment system now stands, however, we fall short in protecting these bedrock principles. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that there is a crisis in our country’s death penalty system and that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine sixteen U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. The Project is conducting state assessments in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. These assessments examine the above-mentioned jurisdictions’ death penalty systems, using as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration, including defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project includes for review five new areas associated with death penalty administration, including the preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each state’s assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based Assessment Team, which is comprised of or has access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) evolution of the state death penalty statute; (3) law enforcement tools and techniques; (4) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (5) prosecutors; (6) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction proceedings; (7) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (8) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (9) clemency; (10) jury instructions; (11) judicial independence; (12) the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities; and (13) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings provide information about how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law of the land in each of the assessment states and because the ABA has no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. Moreover, the Project and the Assessment Team have attempted to note as accurately as possible information relevant to the Georgia death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Despite the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives among the members of the Georgia Death Penalty Assessment Team, and although some members disagree with particular recommendations contained in the assessment report, the team is unanimous in many of the conclusions. Even though not all team members support the call for a moratorium, they are unanimous in their belief that the body of recommendations as a whole would, if implemented, significantly enhance the accuracy and fairness of Georgia’s capital punishment system. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2006. 391p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/georgia/report.authcheckdam.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/georgia/report.authcheckdam.pdf Shelf Number: 124372 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Georgia)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Georgia)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Alabama Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Alabama's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As our capital punishment system now stands, however, we fall short in protecting these bedrock principles. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that there is a crisis in our country’s death penalty system and that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine sixteen U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. The Project has conducted or is conducting state assessments in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state-funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. This assessment of Alabama is the second in this series. These assessments examine the above-mentioned jurisdictions’ death penalty systems, using as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration, including defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project includes for review five new areas associated with death penalty administration, including the preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each state’s assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based Assessment Team, which is comprised of or has access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) evolution of the state death penalty statute; (3) law enforcement tools and techniques; (4) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (5) prosecutors; (6) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction proceedings; (7) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (8) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (9) clemency; (10) jury instructions; (11) judicial independence; (12) the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities; and (13) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings provide information about how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law of the land in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. Moreover, the Project and the Assessment Team have attempted to note as accurately as possible information relevant to the Alabama death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Despite the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives among the members of the Alabama Death Penalty Assessment Team, and although some members disagree with particular recommendations contained in the assessment report, the team is unanimous in many of the conclusions, including its belief that the body of recommendations as a whole would, if implemented, significantly enhance the accuracy and fairness of Alabama’s capital punishment system. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2006. 300p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/alabama/report.authcheckdam.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/alabama/report.authcheckdam.pdf Shelf Number: 124373 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Alabama)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Alabama)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Kentucky Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Kentucky's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, these goals are particularly important in cases in which the death penalty is sought. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy in the administration of the death penalty. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments, conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues, publishes periodic reports, encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions, convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty, and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project began in February 2003 to examine several U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and minimize the risk of executing the innocent. It undertook assessments examining the administration of the death penalty in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee and released reports on these states’ capital punishment systems from 2006 through 2007. A summary report was also published in 2007 in which the findings of the eight reports completed to date were compiled. Due in large part to the success of the state assessments produced in the eight jurisdictions described above, the Project began a second round of assessments in late 2009. In addition to this report on Kentucky, the Project also plans to release reports in, at a minimum, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state-funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. Past state assessment reports have been used as blueprints for state-based study commissions on the death penalty, served as the basis for new legislative and court rule changes on the administration of the death penalty, and generally informed decision-makers’ and the public’s understanding of the problems affecting the fairness and accuracy of their state’s death penalty system. All of these assessments of state law and practice use as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration: defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project added five new areas to be reviewed as part of the assessments in 2006: preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based assessment team. The teams are comprised of or have access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death-row demographics, (2) DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence, (3) law enforcement tools and techniques, (4) crime laboratories and medical examiner offices, (5) prosecutors, (6) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction and clemency proceedings; (7) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process, (8) state post-conviction relief proceedings, (9) clemency, (10) jury instructions, (11) judicial independence, (12) racial and ethnic minorities, and (13) mental retardation and mental illness. The findings of each assessment team provide information on how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations, impose reforms, or in some cases, impose moratoria. Because capital punishment is the law in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. This executive summary consists of a summary of the findings and proposals of the Kentucky Death Penalty Assessment Team. The body of this Report sets out these findings and proposals in more detail, followed by an Appendix. The Project and the Kentucky Death Penalty Assessment Team have attempted to describe as accurately as possible information relevant to the Kentucky death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any factual errors or omissions in this Report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2011. 520p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.abanow.org/wordpress/wp-content/files_flutter/1323199256kydeathpenaltyreport_120711.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.abanow.org/wordpress/wp-content/files_flutter/1323199256kydeathpenaltyreport_120711.pdf Shelf Number: 124371 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Kentucky)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Kentucky)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Missouri Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Missouri's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized, these goals are particularly important in cases in which the death penalty is sought. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it offers a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy in the administration of the death penalty. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide suspension of executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the fall of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project began in February 2003 to examine several U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. In its first round of assessments, the Project examined the administration of the death penalty in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee and released reports on these states’ capital punishment systems from 2006 to 2007. A summary report was also published in 2007 in which the findings of the eight reports were compiled. Due in large part to the success of the state assessments produced in the eight jurisdictions described above, the Project began a second round of assessments in late 2009. In addition to this Report on Missouri, the Project released its report on Kentucky in December 2011. The Project also plans to release reports in Texas and Virginia. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state-funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. Past state assessment reports have been used as blueprints for state-based study commissions on the death penalty, served as the basis for legislative and court rule changes, and generally informed decision-makers’ and the public’s understanding of the problems affecting the fairness and accuracy of their state’s death penalty system. All of these assessments of state law and practice use as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration: defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project added five new areas to be reviewed as part of the assessments in 2006: preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each assessment is conducted by a state-based assessment team. Team members typically include current and former judges, state legislators, current and former prosecutors, current and former defense attorneys, state bar association leaders, and law professors. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. They are also not required to support the Protocols, but they have agreed to follow them for the purposes of this assessment. The state assessment teams are responsible for analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. The findings of each assessment team illuminate how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and identify areas of strength and areas in need of reform. Because capital punishment is the law in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. This executive summary consists of a synopsis of the findings and proposals of the Missouri Death Penalty Assessment Team. The body of this Report sets out these findings and proposals in more detail, followed by an Appendix. Citations in the Report conform to rules set forth by the Supreme Court of Missouri, and thus deviate from The Bluebook citation rules where appropriate. The Project and the Missouri Death Penalty Assessment Team have attempted to describe as accurately as possible information relevant to the Missouri death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any factual errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in future reprints. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2012. 488p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/death_penalty_moratorium/final_missouri_assessment_report.authcheckdam.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/death_penalty_moratorium/final_missouri_assessment_report.authcheckdam.pdf Shelf Number: 124370 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Missouri)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Missouri)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Ohio's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, these goals are particularly important in cases in which the death penalty is sought. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy in the administration of the death penalty. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine several U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. In addition to the Ohio assessment, the Project has released state assessments of Alabama, Arizona, Florida Georgia, Indiana, and Tennessee. In the future, it plans to release an additional report in Pennsylvania. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive statefunded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. All of these assessments of state law and practice use as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration: defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project added five new areas to be reviewed as part of the assessments: preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based assessment team. The teams are comprised or have access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death-row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) law enforcement tools and techniques; (3) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (4) prosecutors; (5) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction and clemency proceedings; (6) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (7) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (8) clemency; (9) jury instructions; (10) judicial independence; (11) racial and ethnic minorities; and (12) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings of each team provide information on how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. This executive summary consists of a summary of the findings and proposals of the Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team. The body of this report sets out these findings and proposals in more detail. The Project and the Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team have attempted to describe as accurately as possible information relevant to the Ohio death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Despite the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives among the members of the Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team, and although some members disagree with particular recommendations contained in the assessment report, the team believes that the body of recommendations as a whole would, if implemented, significantly improve Ohio’s capital punishment system. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2007. 495p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 108608 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Ohio)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Ohio)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Pennsylvania Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Pennsylvania's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, these goals are particularly important in cases in which the death penalty is sought. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy in the administration of the death penalty. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine several U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. In addition to the Pennsylvania assessment, the Project has released state assessments in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state-funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. All of these assessments of state law and practice use as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration: defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project added five new areas to be reviewed as part of the assessments: preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based assessment team. The teams are comprised of or have access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death-row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) law enforcement tools and techniques; (3) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (4) prosecutors; (5) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction and clemency proceedings; (6) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (7) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (8) clemency; (9) jury instructions; (10) judicial independence; (11) racial and ethnic minorities; and (12) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings of each team provide information on how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focus exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and do not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. This executive summary consists of a summary of the findings and proposals of the Pennsylvania Death Penalty Assessment Team. The body of this report sets out these findings and proposals in more detail. The Project and the Pennsylvania Death Penalty Assessment Team have attempted to describe as accurately as possible information relevant to the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2007. 324p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/pennsylvania/finalreport.authcheckdam.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/pennsylvania/finalreport.authcheckdam.pdf Shelf Number: 107717 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Pennsylvania)Court ProcedureDeath Penalty (Pennsylvania)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Indiana Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Indiana's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, these goals are particularly important in cases in which the death penalty is sought. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy in the administration of the death penalty. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine several U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. In addition to the Indiana assessment, the Project has released state assessments of Alabama, Arizona, Florida and Georgia. In the future, it plans to release reports in, at a minimum, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive statefunded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. All of these assessments of state law and practice use as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration: defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project added five new areas to be reviewed as part of the assessments: preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based assessment team. The teams are comprised of or have access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death-row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) law enforcement tools and techniques; (3) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (4) prosecutors; (5) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction and clemency proceedings; (6) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (7) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (8) clemency; (9) jury instructions; (10) judicial independence; (11) racial and ethnic minorities; and (12) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings of each team provide information on how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. This executive summary consists of a summary of the findings and proposals of the Indiana Death Penalty Assessment Team. The body of this report sets out these findings and proposals in more detail. The Project and the Indiana Death Penalty Assessment Team have attempted to describe as accurately as possible information relevant to the Indiana death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2007. 398p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/DeathPenalty/IndianaDPRept0207.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/DeathPenalty/IndianaDPRept0207.pdf Shelf Number: 104794 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Indiana)Court ProcedureDeath Penalty (Indiana)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Florida Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Florida's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, these goals are particularly important in cases in which the death penalty is sought. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy in the administration of the death penalty. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine several U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. In addition to the Florida assessment, the Project has released state assessments of Alabama, Arizona, and Georgia. In the future, it plans to release reports in, at a minimum, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state-funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. All of these assessments of state law and practice use as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ 2001 publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration: defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project added five new areas to be reviewed as part of the assessments: preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based assessment team. The teams are comprised of or have access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors, current or former defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death-row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) law enforcement tools and techniques; (3) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (4) prosecutors; (5) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction and clemency proceedings; (6) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (7) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (8) clemency; (9) jury instructions; (10) judicial independence; (11) racial and ethnic minorities; and (12) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings of each team provide information on how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. This executive summary consists of a summary of the findings and proposals of the Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team. The body of this report sets out these findings and proposals in more detail. The Project and the Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team have attempted to describe as accurately as possible information relevant to the Florida death penalty. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in any future reprints. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2006. 426p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/florida/report.authcheckdam.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/moratorium/assessmentproject/florida/report.authcheckdam.pdf Shelf Number: 103440 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Florida)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Florida)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: American Bar Association Title: Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Arizona Death Penalty Assessment Report - An Analysis of Arizona's Death Penalty Laws, Procedures, and Practices Summary: Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system. As our capital punishment system now stands, however, we fall short in protecting these bedrock principles in all cases. Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty. Over the course of the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that there is a crisis in our country’s death penalty system and that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy. In response to this concern, on February 3, 1997, the ABA called for a nationwide moratorium on executions until serious flaws in the system are identified and eliminated. The ABA urges capital jurisdictions to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process, and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed. In the autumn of 2001, the ABA, through the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, created the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project (the Project). The Project collects and monitors data on domestic and international death penalty developments; conducts analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues; publishes periodic reports; encourages lawyers and bar associations to press for moratoriums and reforms in their jurisdictions; convenes conferences to discuss issues relevant to the death penalty; and encourages state government leaders to establish moratoriums, undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes, and implement reforms. To assist the majority of capital jurisdictions that have not yet conducted comprehensive examinations of their death penalty systems, the Project decided in February 2003 to examine a number of U.S. jurisdictions’ death penalty systems and preliminarily determine the extent to which they achieve fairness and provide due process. In addition to the Arizona assessment, the Project has released state assessments of Alabama and Georgia and is conducting state assessments and releasing reports in, at a minimum, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. The assessments are not designed to replace the comprehensive state-funded studies necessary in capital jurisdictions, but instead are intended to highlight individual state systems’ successes and inadequacies. These assessments examine the above-mentioned jurisdictions’ death penalty systems, using as a benchmark the protocols set out in the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ publication, Death without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States (the Protocols). While the Protocols are not intended to cover exhaustively all aspects of the death penalty, they do cover seven key aspects of death penalty administration, including defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus, clemency proceedings, jury instructions, an independent judiciary, the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities, and mental retardation and mental illness. Additionally, the Project includes for review five new areas associated with the administration of the death penalty, including the preservation and testing of DNA evidence, identification and interrogation procedures, crime laboratories and medical examiners, prosecutors, and the direct appeal process. Each state’s assessment has been or is being conducted by a state-based assessment team, which is comprised of or has access to current or former judges, state legislators, current or former prosecutors and defense attorneys, active state bar association leaders, law school professors, and anyone else whom the Project felt was necessary. Team members are not required to support or oppose the death penalty or a moratorium on executions. The state assessment teams are responsible for collecting and analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of the death penalty. In an effort to guide the teams’ research, the Project created an Assessment Guide that detailed the data to be collected. The Assessment Guide includes sections on the following: (1) death-row demographics, DNA testing, and the location, testing, and preservation of biological evidence; (2) evolution of the state death penalty statute; (3) law enforcement tools and techniques; (4) crime laboratories and medical examiners; (5) prosecutors; (6) defense services during trial, appeal, and state post-conviction proceedings; (7) direct appeal and the unitary appeal process; (8) state post-conviction relief proceedings; (9) clemency; (10) jury instructions; (11) judicial independence; (12) the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities; and (13) mental retardation and mental illness. The assessment findings provide information about how state death penalty systems are functioning in design and practice and are intended to serve as the bases from which states can launch comprehensive self-examinations. Because capital punishment is the law of the land in each of the assessment states and because the ABA takes no position on the death penalty per se, the assessment teams focused exclusively on capital punishment laws and processes and did not consider whether states, as a matter of morality, philosophy, or penological theory, should have the death penalty. Moreover, the Project and the Assessment Team have attempted to note as accurately as possible information relevant to the death penalty in Arizona. The Project would appreciate notification of any errors or omissions in this report so that they may be corrected in future reprints. Despite the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives among the members of the Arizona Death Penalty Assessment Team, and although some members disagree with particular recommendations contained in the assessment report, the team believes that the body of recommendations as a whole would, if implemented, significantly improve Arizona’s capital punishment system. Details: Washington, DC: American Bar Association, 2006. 354p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 103267 Keywords: Capital Punishment (Arizona)Court ProceduresDeath Penalty (Arizona)Due ProcessEvaluative Studies |
Author: Birdsey, Emma M. Title: The Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model: A follow-up study Summary: The primary aim of the current study is to examine whether domestic violence police and court outcomes have hanged since the commencement of the Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model (DVICM). Logistic and Poisson regression models were used to determine whether the DVICM resulted in the following: an increase in the proportion of persons of interest charged with a domestic violence offence; an increase in the proportion of domestic violence matters finalised on a plea of guilty; a decrease in the proportion of matters finalised on a dismissal; an increase in the proportion of penalties of bonds with supervision; an increase in the proportion of penalties of imprisonment; a decrease in the time from first court appearance to finalisation in court; an increase in the proportion of matters finalised with a plea of guilty within three weeks of first court appearance; and an increase in the proportion of matters finalised within 12 weeks of the police event date. The test sites were Campbelltown, Macquarie Fields, and Wagga Wagga Local Area Commands. The rest of NSW was used as the control group. The DVICM increased the proportion of persons of interest charged in Macquarie Fields but not in Campbelltown or Wagga Wagga Local Area Commands. It reduced the time taken to finalise domestic violence matters in Campbelltown and Wagga Wagga Local Courts. The DVICM did not affect the proportion of matters finalised on a plea of guilty; the proportion of matters finalised on a dismissal; the proportion of penalties of bonds with supervision; nor the proportion of penalties of imprisonment. The DVICM was successful in achieving some but not all of its aims. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2012. 16p. Source: Crime and Justice Bulletin, Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice No. 155: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2012 at http://www.sheriff.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/Corporate/ll_corporate.nsf/vwFiles/060312_BOCSAR_CJB155.pdf/$file/060312_BOCSAR_CJB155.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.sheriff.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/Corporate/ll_corporate.nsf/vwFiles/060312_BOCSAR_CJB155.pdf/$file/060312_BOCSAR_CJB155.pdf Shelf Number: 124398 Keywords: Domestic Abuse (Australia)Domestic Violence (Australia)Evaluative StudiesFamily ViolenceIntervention ProgramsSpousal Abuse (Australia) |
Author: Trimboli, Lily Title: NSW Court Referral of Eligible Defendants into Treatment (CREDIT) pilot program: An evaluation Summary: Aims: To describe CREDIT’s (Court Referral of Eligible Defendants into Treatment) key operating characteristics and satisfaction of participants and key stakeholders. Methods: Descriptive analyses were conducted on data held in the CREDIT database, and interviews were conducted with 122 program participants and 54 stakeholders. Results: Over the two-year pilot period, CREDIT received 719 referrals, conducted 637 assessments and had 451 participants. Most defendants referred for treatment had their referral accepted. Almost all participants interviewed were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with both the support they received from CREDIT staff and with their own progress on the program; 95.9% reported that their life had changed for the better by being on the program. Stakeholders’ opinions of the pilot program were positive. Their recommendations included an extension of the program, an enhancement of relevant services, programs and transport options in the catchment areas and clarification of the relationship between CREDIT and other court-based programs. Conclusion: The CREDIT program is strongly supported by stakeholders and participants. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2012. 24p. Source: Crime and Justice Bulletin, Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice No. 159: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2012 at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/CJB159.pdf/$file/CJB159.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/CJB159.pdf/$file/CJB159.pdf Shelf Number: 124399 Keywords: Community Courts (Australia)Evaluative StudiesOffender Treatment (Australia)Re-Offending (Australia) |
Author: Donnelly, Neil Title: Evaluation of the Local Court Process Reforms (LCPR) Summary: Aim: To assess whether the Local Court Process Reforms (LCPR) are associated with: (i) shorter police time preparing Briefs of Evidence; (ii) longer hearing times for defended cases, (iii) more court adjournments and; (iv) longer court delay/ finalisation times. Method: A quasi-experiment where Manly Local Court returned to the non-LCPR arrangements in relation to Briefs of Evidence (BOE). These offenders were compared with a baseline group of offenders from Manly Local Court under the LCPR arrangements. Mt Druitt Local Court was used as the control group whereby they remained under the LCPR system. Results: Changing to the non-LCPR system in Manly Court did not result in an increase in the percentage of Table 1 (T1) offenders who had briefs prepared. Table 2 (T2) and non-specified summary offenders had a lower mean number of police statements in their briefs during the LCPR period compared with the non-LCPR period. There was no change in the mean hearing time for defended cases in Manly Court during the non-LCPR period, nor in the mean number of adjournments. In Manly Local Court the average finalisation time for all offenders was shorter during the LCPR period compared with the non-LCPR period. In the control Mt Druitt Local Court, there was no change in finalisation times for the baseline and intervention LCPR groups of offenders. Conclusion: The LCPR arrangements resulted in shorter briefs for T2 and non-specified summary offenders with fewer police statements. However, the non-LCPR requirement of briefs for all T1 offenders in Manly Local Court did not occur. Rather than resulting in longer finalisation times, the LCPR system had shorter finalisation times in Manly Local Court. The LCPR system did not have more local court adjournments compared with the non-LCPR system, nor longer defended hearings. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2012. 20p. Source: Crime and Justice Bulletin, Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice No. 156: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2012 at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/CJB156.pdf/$file/CJB156.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/CJB156.pdf/$file/CJB156.pdf Shelf Number: 124400 Keywords: Court Delays (Australia)Court Procedures (Australia)Courts (Australia)Due ProcessEvaluative StudiesJudicial Reforms |
Author: McCracken, Katie Title: Evaluation of Alcohol Arrest Referral Pilot Schemes (Phase 2) Summary: Occasional Paper 102 presents findings from an evaluation of the second phase Alcohol Arrest Referral pilots which operated between 2008 and 2010 in eight police forces. Brief interventions to tackle alcohol-related offending were offered to adults, arrested and deemed to be under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is frequently involved in violent offences; victims believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in 44 per cent of all violent incidents (Chaplin et al., 2011) and it is estimated that alcohol-related crime costs the economy of England and Wales between £8 billion and £13 billion per year (Home Office, 2010). Research has consistently shown links between crime and disorder, ‘binge’ drinking and the night-time economy (Allen et al., 2003; Hobbs et al., 2003; Matthews and Richardson, 2005). Alcohol Arrest Referral (AAR) pilots were first introduced by the Home Office in 2007 in four police forces in England as a means of tackling the link between alcohol and offending, in particular in the night-time economy. A second phase of pilots started in in eight new police force areas in November 2008 and was funded until September 2010. The pilots built upon positive evidence from healthcare settings, which found that brief interventions helped to reduce alcohol consumption. The aim was to see whether this benefit could extend to a criminal justice setting and specifically, be used to also reduce re-offending. AAR involves offering a brief intervention to individuals arrested and deemed by a police officer to be under the influence of alcohol. An AAR intervention typically involves one brief intervention session with an AAR worker, but, in some cases ‘follow-up’ sessions are offered. The majority of interventions were delivered on a voluntary basis, with first sessions tending to be held in custody settings. This report presents findings from an evaluation of the second phase of AAR schemes. The evaluation took place between March 2009 and June 2010, and includes a six month follow-up of clients (until December 2010). The main aims of the evaluation were: to analyse the profile of those engaged by the schemes; to establish whether alcohol interventions had an effect on re-offending rates; to provide evidence on the cost effectiveness of the schemes; to seek evidence of any change in alcohol consumption and wellbeing indicators for those receiving alcohol interventions; to identify implementation and delivery lessons that can be applied to any future AAR schemes. Details: London: Home Office, 2012. 74p. Source: Occasional Paper 102: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2012 at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/occ102?view=Binary Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/occ102?view=Binary Shelf Number: 124405 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesIntervention Programs (U.K.)Re-Offending (U.K.) |
Author: Blakeborough, Laura Title: Summary of findings from two evaluations of Home Office Alcohol Arrest Referral pilot schemes Summary: Alcohol Arrest Referral (AAR) pilot schemes were set up to test whether providing brief alcohol interventions in a criminal justice setting could impact on re-offending. Two phases of Home Office-funded AAR pilots were set up across 12 police forces in total over the period October 2007 to September 2010. Both phases were evaluated separately using similar methodological approaches. This report provides a summary of the key findings from the two evaluations, focusing mainly on the combined results for schemes within each of the two phases of pilots. Stand-alone, more detailed reports for each phase are available on the Home Office website (phase one: http:// www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-researchstatistics/ research-statistics/crime-research/occ101, phase two: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/scienceresearch- statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/ occ102) and they include further breakdowns of analyses by scheme and other variables. Details: London: Home Office, 2012. 13p. Source: Research Report 60: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2012 at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/horr60?view=Binary Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/horr60?view=Binary Shelf Number: 124406 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesIntervention Programs (U.K.)Re-Offending (U.K.) |
Author: Ham, Julie Title: What's the Cost of a Rumour? A guide to sorting out the myths and the facts about sporting events and trafficking Summary: There has been a lot published on the supposed link between sporting events and trafficking, but how much of it is true and how much of it is useful? In this guide, we review the literature from past sporting events, and find that they do not cause increases in trafficking for prostitution. The guide takes a closer look at why this unsubstantiated idea still captures the imagination of politicians and some media, and offers stakeholders a more constructive approach to address trafficking beyond short-term events. We hope this guide will help stakeholders quickly correct misinformation about trafficking, develop evidence-based anti-trafficking responses, and learn what worked and what didn't in past host cities. Details: Bangkok: Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW), 2011. 75p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2012 at http://www.gaatw.org/publications/What's_the_Cost_of_a_Rumour-GAATW2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.gaatw.org/publications/What's_the_Cost_of_a_Rumour-GAATW2011.pdf Shelf Number: 124408 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesHuman TraffickingProstitutionSex TraffickingSex WorkersSporting Events |
Author: Barbour, Bruce: NSW Ombudsman Title: Keep Them Safe? A Special Report to Parliament under s31 of the Ombudsman Act 1974 Summary: The statutory child protection system in NSW has long struggled to cope with demand. For close to a decade, the system has undergone extensive reform aimed at improving the capacity to respond to children1 for whom serious safety concerns exist. Throughout this period, and in line with this office’s statutory role to oversight the child protection system, we have monitored the extent to which these reforms have improved the safety of vulnerable children. Stemming from recommendations made by the 2008 Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW (the Wood Inquiry), the former government’s reform program - Keep Them Safe: A shared approach to child wellbeing - represents a significant shift in the way that child protection and early support services are delivered in this state.2 Keep Them Safe aims to make child protection a shared responsibility across government and between government and non-government agencies, and to limit the statutory role of Community Services to children ‘at risk of significant harm’. Keep Them Safe also comprises a strong investment in universal and early intervention services, with the expectation that, over time, this will lead to a reduction in the number of children requiring statutory protection and out-of-home care services. In addition, the Wood Inquiry and Keep Them Safe recognise the need for the non-government sector to become a more significant partner in the delivery of child protection services, including a commitment to transfer responsibility for delivering most out-of-home care services from the government to the non-government sector. In keeping with the strong focus of the Wood Inquiry on improving service delivery to Aboriginal children and their families, Keep Them Safe also contains specific actions to enhance the capacity of service delivery to Aboriginal people, including responses to Aboriginal families in contact with the child protection system. It is now over 18 months since Keep Them Safe commenced. It is timely to document and discuss the progress that has been made, and some of the challenges currently facing the service sector. An important starting point for this work is analysing data from Community Services about the agency’s current operating environment. That data illustrates that significantly fewer child protection reports are coming into the statutory child protection system as a result of changes implemented under Keep Them Safe. However, the data - which relates to the first 12 months of operation of the new system - does not appear to reflect a corresponding increase in the recorded capacity of Community Services staff to undertake more face-to-face work with families. Given that a key objective of Keep Them Safe was to limit the number of child protection reports being made to Community Services so it could focus on those children most at risk of serious harm, we questioned whether this objective is being met. For this reason, we initiated an inquiry under section 11 of the Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 to examine whether Community Services’ capacity to adequately respond to children assessed as being at risk of significant harm has improved as a result of changes to the child protection system introduced through Keep Them Safe. This report examines this, and related issues, and makes a range of findings and recommendations. Details: Sydney: NSW Ombudsman, 2011. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 11, 2012 at http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/PDF/specialreport/SR%20to%20Parliament%20-%20keep%20them%20safe.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/publication/PDF/specialreport/SR%20to%20Parliament%20-%20keep%20them%20safe.pdf Shelf Number: 124444 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Protection (Australia)Evaluative Studies |
Author: Henry, Astley Title: Peace Brokers - Understanding Good Practice in Violence Prevention and Reduction in Jamaica: Situating Violence and Peace Building in Jamaica Summary: This Issue Brief draws attention to the vital but underreported success stories of organizations working to reduce and prevent violence in Jamaica. It will examine individual-level, group-based and community initiatives. In doing so, it unpacks their operational processes, philosophical underpinnings and uncovers six essential pillars that account for their success. The primary source of the findings of this brief is qualitative interviews conducted in September 2011 with the leadership of the organizations reviewed. Where available, use was also made of prior special reports, annual reports and evaluations. This research was produced within the Geneva Declaration process. Details: Kingston, Jamaica: Violence Prevention Alliance, 2011. 12p. Source: Issue Brief Number 1: Internet Resource: Accessed March 11, 2012 at http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Issue-Brief/PMIVPA_IssueBriefoct2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Issue-Brief/PMIVPA_IssueBriefoct2011.pdf Shelf Number: 124453 Keywords: Crime Reduction (Jamaica)Evaluative StudiesViolence Prevention (Jamaica) |
Author: Kennedy, Alistair Title: Evaluation of Alcohol Arrest Referral Pilot Schemes (Phase 1) Summary: Brief interventions have been used with some success in the health sector and the National Alcohol Strategy identified arrest referral as another means of reaching harmful and hazardous drinkers. Brief interventions are not homogenous but are typically characterised by their length. They are a means of helping people identify harmful and hazardous drinking patterns and they establish ways of reducing alcohol intake through techniques such as motivational interviewing. The Home Office commissioned four Drug and Alcohol Action Teams (DAATs), in areas suffering high levels of alcohol-related crime and disorder, to run pilot alcohol arrest referral (AAR) schemes using brief interventions for 12 months from October 2007 to October 2008. The pilots aimed to reduce harmful and hazardous drinking and reduce re-offending by targeting individuals arrested for alcohol-related offences. Clients were identified within custody suites and referred to alcohol workers for a brief alcohol intervention. Three of the schemes delivered the interventions in the custody suite, although two of these had originally planned to deliver interventions in the community – the change in approach being necessary to increase the number of referrals. The fourth scheme relied heavily on Conditional Bail to encourage attendance and was more successful in delivering interventions away from the custody suite. The evaluation sought to test the aims of the pilots as well as learning lessons about the delivery and implementation of AAR and the cost-effectiveness of the schemes. This report presents the evaluation findings based on: interviews with people involved in delivering the interventions and a cross-section of clients; observing the delivery of interventions and comparing this against best practice in motivational interviewing; analysing data collected by the schemes on Alcohol Intervention Records1 (AIRs) about clients. Follow-up AIRs were also used to determine the impact of the interventions on alcohol consumption; assessing the impact on re-offending by comparing the change in the arrest rate for clients receiving the intervention to a retrospective matched comparison group from within the same police area; and analysing the cost of delivering the interventions and using this to conduct a break even analysis. Details: London: Home Office, 2012. 67p. Source: Occasional Paper 101: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/occ101?view=Binary Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/occ101?view=Binary Shelf Number: 124551 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesIntervention Programs (U.K.)Re-Offending (U.K.) |
Author: Stemen, Don Title: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Kansas Senate Bill 123, Final Report Summary: The number of individuals arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for drug possession in the United States has grown substantially over the last thirty years, with drug possessors accounting for an increasing share of criminal justice resources. Approximately 1.4 million arrests for drug possession were reported in 2008, representing roughly 10 percent of all arrests in the United States and a 210 percent increase in drug possession arrests since 1982 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1983, 2009). By 2004, 161,000 persons were convicted annually of felony drug possession in state courts, up from 58,000 persons in 1986 (Durose & Langan, 2007; Langan, 1989). These increases in arrests and convictions have fueled a significant increase in the number of prison admissions for drug possession, with persons convicted of drug possession now representing roughly 15 percent of all commitments to state prisons, up from just 1.3 percent in 1983 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1986, 2006). Like other intermediate sanctions focused on prison diversion, Arizona‘s Proposition 200 (Arizona Revised Statutes §13-901.01), California‘s Proposition 36 (California Penal Code §1210), and Kansas‘ Senate Bill 123 (Kansas Statutes Annotated §21-4729) were largely motivated by a system level goal of reducing overall prison populations (see, e.g. Petersilia & Turner, 1990a, 1993; for goals of specific legislation, see Drug Medicalization, Prevention and Control Act of 1996; Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee, 2003; Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000). At the same time, the reforms elevated the primacy of treatment and emphasized the need to achieve an individual level goal of reducing the recidivism rates and substance abuse problems of program participants. These goals are complementary. The system level goal of reducing prison populations is generally achieved by both diverting individuals from prison at sentencing and reducing returns to prison following revocation or reconviction (the product of achieving individual level goals and, at the least, changes in organizational responses to technical violations). To address some of these and other limitations of the research on state-wide drug treatment initiatives and to provide a more comprehensive policy focus on their context, processes, and impacts, we undertook a NIJ-sponsored evaluation of Kansas‘ Senate Bill 123 (SB 123). Enacted in 2003, SB 123 created mandatory community-based supervision and drug treatment for nonviolent offenders convicted of a first or second offense of simple drug possession (Kansas Statutes Annotated §21-4729). Unlike Proposition 36, SB 123 clearly defined eligible offenders in terms of offense of conviction and prior criminal history, created a mandatory sentence requiring judges to impose a community-based sentence with treatment and requiring offenders to accept that sentence and treatment, and articulated clear rules limiting the use of revocation for violations of the SB 123 sentence. These factors had the potential to overcome many of the deficiencies that undermined the impact of previous state-wide intermediate sanction efforts – ensuring diversion at the sentencing, reducing recidivism rates for targeted offenders, and, as a result, reducing overall prison populations. This study examines SB 123‘s combined impact on diversion, recidivism rates, and overall prison populations. It then explores the impact of SB 123 on the work routines of criminal justice system actors and the process of implementing SB 123. The goal is to provide an assessment of the functioning and impact of SB 123 in Kansas and a set of recommendations for the effective implementation of similar mandatory diversion/treatment programs in other states. Details: Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, 2012. 264p. Source: NCJ 238012: Internet Resource: Accessed March 20, 2012 at Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 124586 Keywords: Drug Offenders (Kansas)Evaluative StudiesSentencing (Kansas) |
Author: Holmes, Lucy Title: Missing People Information Sharing Protocol Westminster Pilot: Evaluation Report Summary: This report presents findings from a six month pilot of an information exchange protocol to improve the joined up response to missing vulnerable adults in the City of Westminster. The protocol allows the charity Missing People and partner organisations to share information to try to locate missing adults and to identify unidentified service users, where there are concerns for their mental wellbeing. The protocol functions by allowing information to be shared in two directions: 1. Requests to Trace vulnerable missing adults may be made by Missing People to one or more of the partners to the protocol where there are reasonable grounds to believe the person may have made contact and where there are concerns for their mental wellbeing. 2. Requests to Identify may be made by protocol partners to Missing people to assist identify or find vulnerable adults, where there are specific concerns about their mental health. The Prime Minister‟s Missing Persons Taskforce, convened in 2009, recommended that “Department of Health (DH) will work with partners to develop an approach to managing risks related to adults with mental illness, learning disability or dementia who go missing” (Home Office, 2010: 16). Whilst this project pre-dated the Missing Persons Taskforce, the development of this protocol marks an important step towards meeting this recommendation. Details: London: Missing People, 2011. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 24, 2012 at https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,131/gid,31/task,doc_download/ Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,131/gid,31/task,doc_download/ Shelf Number: 124734 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesMental Health (U.K.)Missing Persons (U.K.)Victim Services (U.K.) |
Author: Virginia. The Virginia Commission on Youth Title: Study of Juvenile Offender Reentry in the Commonwealth Summary: The majority of juveniles entering Virginia’s juvenile justice system have complex needs, including mental health and substance abuse. These juveniles may have already been receiving services from multiple systems, such as child welfare, special education, mental health and juvenile justice. In Fiscal Year 2009, the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) received 85,578 intake complaints, 16,626 new probation cases and 17,202 pre-dispositional placements. During this 12-month period, 819 juveniles were committed to DJJ. Virginia spends over $120,000 per year to confine a youth in a juvenile correctional center. According to DJJ, the majority of juvenile offenders placed in confinement will eventually be released into the community; the percentage of juveniles who return to their communities is close to 100 percent. Thus, it is important to establish approaches that enhance successful community reintegration for juvenile offenders. The fundamental goal of successful community reintegration is that juveniles not reoffend as they begin building a foundation for a successful and productive future. In keeping with that goal, the Commission on Youth conducted a one-year study to examine challenges confronting the juvenile as he or she returns to the community, to identify barriers to successful reentry, and to recommend system improvements. Details: Richmond, VA: The Virginia Commission on Youth, 2011. 76p. Source: Final Report: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2012 at http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/fc86c2b17a1cf388852570f9006f1299/2aa3342132c11b2f85257903005a63f6/$FILE/RD179.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/fc86c2b17a1cf388852570f9006f1299/2aa3342132c11b2f85257903005a63f6/$FILE/RD179.pdf Shelf Number: 124976 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Offenders (Virginia)Juvenile Reentry (Virginia) |
Author: London Criminal Justice Partnership Title: An evaluation of the Diamond Initiative: year two findings Summary: This report presents the findings of a two-year evaluation of the London Diamond Initiative (DI). It presents insights into both the implementation and the impact of the DI - a multi-agency offender management approach aimed at reducing reoffending among key groups of offenders in some of London’s most challenging areas. The report sets out to capture the learning generated over the course of the scheme and to contribute to the evidence-base available for policy makers and practitioners to develop and deliver effective offender management within London and beyond. Details: London: London Criminal Justice Partnership, 2011. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 17, 2012 at http://www.londoncjp.gov.uk/publications/diamond_year2_FINAL_050511.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.londoncjp.gov.uk/publications/diamond_year2_FINAL_050511.pdf Shelf Number: 125014 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesOffender Management (U.K.)Re-Offending (U.K.)Recidivism (U.K.) |
Author: Jain, Saranga Title: New Insights on Preventing Child Marriage: A Global Analysis of Factors and Programs Summary: The international community and U.S. government are increasingly concerned about the prevalence of child marriage and its toll on girls in developing countries (UNICEF 2005; Save the Children 2004; Mathur, Greene and Malhotra 2003). One in seven girls in the developing world marries before 15 (Population Council 2006). Nearly half of the 331 million girls in developing countries are expected to marry by their 20th birthday. At this rate, 100 million more girls—or 25,000 more girls every day—will become child brides in the next decade (Bruce and Clark 2004). Current literature on child marriage has primarily examined the prevalence, consequences and reported reasons for early marriage. Much less has been analyzed about the risk and protective factors that may be associated with child marriage. Also, little is known about the range of existing programs addressing child marriage, and what does and does not work in preventing early marriage. The work presented here investigates two key questions: What factors are associated with risk of or protection against child marriage, and ultimately could be the focus of prevention efforts?; What are the current programmatic approaches to prevent child marriage in developing countries, and are these programs effective? This report is for policy-makers and development practitioners working on or planning a future program to prevent child marriage. New insights on risk and protective factors will help program designers find points of intervention to prevent child marriage. The program scan offers a better understanding of what programs currently exist and how to expand efforts. Details: Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women, 2007. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2012 at http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/New-Insights-on-Preventing-Child-Marriage.pdf Year: 2007 Country: International URL: http://www.icrw.org/files/publications/New-Insights-on-Preventing-Child-Marriage.pdf Shelf Number: 125044 Keywords: Child MarriageCrime PreventionEvaluative StudiesIntervention Programs |
Author: Hanson, Thomas Title: A Randomized Experimental Evaluation of the Tribes Learning Communities Prevention Program Summary: School-based violence prevention programs are often designed to reduce aggressive, violent or otherwise disruptive behavior in school, and to ameliorate risk factors for later violence or promote protective factors enhancing resiliency. Tribes is an intensive universal prevention strategy implemented in the class for the entire academic year, with children organized into smaller learning groups (i.e., ―tribes‖) and teachers trained to facilitate positive classroom climate, respect for others, teamwork, building of relationships, and accountability. The Tribes program has been listed as a promising prevention program by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and by a number of other ―best practice lists.‖ Almost no rigorous, experimental research has been conducted on the impact of Tribes on risk or protective factors or on longer-term child and classroom outcomes. To respond to this need, WestEd conducted a randomized trial to evaluate the impact of Tribes on 1st-4th grade classrooms and students. We examined program impacts on the classroom environment and teacher practices, student protective factors against violence, and disruptive and disorderly behavior. Impacts on student outcomes were assessed immediately after one academic year of exposure to Tribes and six months after students left their Tribes’ classrooms. The results provided little evidence that Tribes impacted teacher reports about the classroom environment or instructional practices. None of the estimated impacts on teacher survey measures were statistically or substantively significant. For the outcomes based on classroom observations, however, the analyses indicated that Tribes classrooms manifested more opportunities for small-group work, student collaboration, and student reflection; and students in Tribes classrooms appeared to be more engaged and exhibited more sharing behavior. The impact evaluation provided a mixed picture of the effects of Tribes on student outcomes, with beneficial effects observed for some outcomes and students, and detrimental effects observed for others. Little evidence was provided that Tribes had sustained impacts on student outcomes six months after leaving a Tribes classroom. In the short-term, however, Tribes appeared to have more beneficial impacts for boys and more detrimental impacts for girls. Boys in Tribes classrooms exhibited higher scores than those on control classrooms on teacher reports of intrapersonal and affective strengths and parent reports of intrapersonal strengths. Boys also had lower scores on parent reports of rule-breaking behavior. Few significant impacts of Tribes were detected for girls, with the exception that deleterious effects on student test scores were found. Details: San Francisco, CA: WestEd, 2011. 163p. Source: Final Report: Internet Resource: Accessed April 24, 2012 at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237958.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237958.pdf Shelf Number: 125058 Keywords: Crime Prevention ProgramsEvaluative StudiesSchool Violence |
Author: Porter, Rachel Title: What Makes a Court Problem-Solving? Universal Performance Indicators for Problem-Solving Justice Summary: This report identifies a set of universal performance indicators for specialized “problem-solving courts” and related experiments in problem-solving justice. Traditional performance indicators related to caseload and processing efficiency can assist court managers in monitoring case flow, assigning cases to judges, and adhering to budgetary and statutory due process guidelines. Yet, these indicators are ultimately limited in scope. Faced with the recent explosion of problemsolving courts and other experiments seeking to address the underlying problems of litigants, victims, and communities, there is an urgent need to complement traditional court performance indicators with ones of a problem-solving nature. With funding from the State Justice Institute (SJI), the Center for Court Innovation conducted an investigation designed to achieve three purposes. The first was to establish a set of universal performance indicators against which to judge the effectiveness of specialized problem-solving courts, of which there are currently more than 3,000 nationwide. The second purpose was to develop performance indicators specific to each of the four major problem-solving court models: drug, mental health, domestic violence, and community courts. The third purpose was to assist traditional court managers by establishing a more limited set of indicators, designed to capture problem-solving activity throughout the courthouse, not only within a specialized court context. Details: New York: Center for Court Innovation; Sacramento: Judicial Council of California, 2010. 75p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2012 at http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/What_Makes_A_Court_P_S.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/What_Makes_A_Court_P_S.pdf Shelf Number: 125093 Keywords: CourtsEvaluative StudiesProblem Solving Courts |
Author: Beuhring, Trisha Title: Ramsey County All Children Excel (ACE) Promoting Resiliency in Children At Risk for Serious and Violent Delinquency. Preliminary Outcome Evaluation Study Summary: The latest research on juvenile delinquency has major implications for policy makers. Up to 70% of all serious and violent juvenile crimes are committed by a small group of chronic offenders—only 8% of the adolescents in a typical community. Each chronic, serious and violent juvenile delinquent (SVJ) costs the community $1.7 to $3.4 million dollars over the course of his or her lifetime. The best predictor of who will become a chronic SVJ is early onset delinquency. On average, chronic SVJ start their criminal careers at age seven. Early onset offenders are committing increasingly serious crimes, raising concerns about rising rates of out-of-home placement and serious crime in the future. Only a handful of programs exist worldwide for early onset offenders. All Children Excel (ACE) is one of those programs. ACE offers a comprehensive, long term intervention that incorporates research-based strategies, supports the integration of services across government units, and promotes collaboration among police, schools, and community nonprofit organizations toward a common goal—preventing delinquency, substance abuse, and school dropout by promoting healthy development. This report focuses on evidence of the program’s effectiveness in identifying children who are on the path to becoming chronic SVJ, and early findings regarding its success at deflecting them from this path. Details: Ramsey County, MN: Department of Public Health, 2002. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 13, 2012 at http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/NR/rdonlyres/82A097AE-978C-4F63-9C68-30B6829A7A2F/1753/ACE_Evaluation.pdf Year: 2002 Country: United States URL: http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/NR/rdonlyres/82A097AE-978C-4F63-9C68-30B6829A7A2F/1753/ACE_Evaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 125250 Keywords: Chronic OffendersEarly Intervention Program (Minnesota)Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Delinquency (Minnesota) |
Author: Lee, Stephanie Title: Return on investment: Evidence-Based Options to Improve Statewide Outcomes Summary: The 2009 Washington Legislature directed the Institute to “calculate the return on investment to taxpayers from evidence-based prevention and intervention programs and policies.” The Legislature instructed the Institute to produce “a comprehensive list of programs and policies that improve . . . outcomes for children and adults in Washington and result in more cost-efficient use of public resources.” This report summarizes our findings as of April 2012. Readers can download the technical appendix for details about our methods. Details: Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 2012. 152p. Source: Document No. 12-04-1201: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2012 at http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/12-04-1201.pdf AND http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/12-04-1201B.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/12-04-1201.pdf AND http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/12-04-1201B.pdf Shelf Number: 125321 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesEvidence-Based Policies (Washington) |
Author: Oregon. Department of Corrections, Research & Evaluation Title: Department of Corrections (DOC) Revocation from Post-Prison Supervision Summary: Oregonians sentenced for felony convictions and released from jail or prison in 2005 and 2006 were evaluated for revocation risk. Those released from jail, from prison, and those served through interstate compact were considered in the analysis. The revocation rate is lowest for the interstate compact population and highest for the jail population; overall, 24% were revoked in the two years after release. Revocation risk is influenced by numerous static and demographic variables. Independent variables common with the three populations include recidivism risk, number of arrests while on parole or post-prison supervision (PPS), number of prior felony convictions, age, and being a veteran. Comparing the jail and prison populations, both age and number of prior felony convictions have similar effects for both populations. The number of arrests while on parole/PPS has more of an effect with the jail population than those released from prison. The factors that are important for the prison population yet are not important risk factors for the jail population include being male, being African American, incarcerated for a violent offense, incarcerated for a public order offense, and considered high risk at release; all of these factors increase risk for the prison population yet are not important risk considerations for those released from jail. The factors that have different effects in each population (i.e. associated with increased risk in one population and decreased risk in the second population) include veteran status, prior imprisonment, and incarceration for a property crime. There are some demographic and static factors that influence revocation risk among the three populations. Despite numerous similarities, differences do exist. The predictive accuracy of the models suggests that individuals prone to revocations can be identified with some accuracy. Details: Salem, OR: Department of Corrections, Research & Evaluation, 2011. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2012 at: http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/RESRCH/docs/revocation_final_draft.pdf?ga=t Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/RESRCH/docs/revocation_final_draft.pdf?ga=t Shelf Number: 125322 Keywords: Demographic TrendsEvaluative StudiesParole Revocation (Oregon)Recidivism |
Author: Kim, KiDeuk Title: Pre-Trial Detention of Dangerous and Violent Defendants Following Passage of the Omnibus Public Safety Justice Amendment Act of 2009 Summary: One of the policy changes introduced by the Omnibus Public Safety and Justice Amendment Act of 2009 made it easier to detain pretrial defendants charged with certain offenses in the District of Columbia, mostly dangerous or violent crimes. This report examines whether detention of these defendants increased following passage of the Act. Trends in the pretrial detention of violent and dangerous defendants indicate that detention was on the rise before the Act and continued to rise after its passage. Results suggest that pretrial detention for dangerous and violent defendants without weapons charges rose after passage of the Act, but those with associated weapons charges show no change. Details: Washington, DC: District of Columbia Crime Policy Institute, Urban Institute, 2012. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2012 at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412570-Omnibus-2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412570-Omnibus-2012.pdf Shelf Number: 125356 Keywords: Dangerous Offenders (Washington, DC)Evaluative StudiesPretrial Detention (Washington, DC) |
Author: Barbour, Bruce: NSW Ombudsman Title: Managing the use of force in prisons: the need for better policy and practice Summary: This report concerns how using force on inmates in correctional centres in NSW is managed. Correctional officers are authorised to use force against inmates in certain circumstances. Over the last three years this office has done considerable work about how uses of force are managed by CSNSW (Corrective Services NSW). We recognise correctional officers work in difficult circumstances and can be required to deal with challenging and potentially dangerous situations. Using force can put officers as well as inmates at risk of physical harm and, as such, it is essential officers have the skills and knowledge to deescalate situations (so force is used only as a last resort) and are trained in how to use force safely when there are no other alternatives. Between July 2009 and April 2010 we did a major investigation into how CSNSW monitored and scrutinised uses of force, including how it dealt with and investigated complaints about uses of force. We examined policies and procedures, reviewed training, interviewed departmental staff and audited a sample of use of force reports. Our investigation identified deficiencies in how CSNSW manages uses of force across the system. We made a number of recommendations for change which were accepted by CSNSW. Essentially, the matters which need addressing are about the good order and security of the correctional system: Correctional officers who use force on inmates need to be trained in the lawful and proper use of force, instruments of restraint, recording and reporting of uses of force; General Managers need effective tools to ensure trained staff are acting lawfully and appropriately in their management of inmates; and CSNSW needs functioning systems of accountability to satisfy the community that inmates are being managed lawfully and humanely and that CSNSW are ensuring a safe workplace for their staff. Details: Sydney, Australia: NSW (New South Wales) Ombudsman, 2012. 36p. Source: Special Report: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2012 at http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/5971/SR_CustodialServices_Use_of_force_web_Jul12.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/5971/SR_CustodialServices_Use_of_force_web_Jul12.pdf Shelf Number: 125831 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesPrison Guards, Use of Force (Australia) |
Author: Cameron, Ian Title: The enforcement of fines: A follow-up review of inspection recommendations Summary: In March 2010 Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) published a report on the enforcement of fines in Northern Ireland. The report found that fine enforcement was a significant part of the justice system and that public confidence in the system depended on whether people believed justice was being done and that it was fair and effective. Whilst compliance in Northern Ireland was relatively high the report went on to say that the current system was an inappropriate and expensive use of police and prison resources. It also noted that there was a need for substantial change to the enforcement process and a stricter regime for the payment of fines to maximise compliance and minimise recourse to police enforcement and prison. The report made 10 recommendations for improvement, directed across the criminal justice system, aimed at maintaining the current levels of compliance while responding to the need for change. The purpose of this follow-up review was to assess progress in implementing those recommendations. Of the 10 recommendations made in the original report, three have been achieved, five partially achieved and two not achieved. Inspectors accept the complexity of the issues surrounding the enforcement of fines, and acknowledge that much work has been undertaken, in particular the work of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) which has made a significant reduction in the number of warrants issued to the police. In addition, the Fine Enforcement Project Group has also been established to take forward fine enforcement in the criminal justice agencies. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has a strategy with a view to introducing collection powers and a revised enforcement regime in the forthcoming Justice Bill. In addition, the introduction of Supervised Activity Orders (SAOs) have the potential to make a positive impact as they are rolled-out across Northern Ireland. Despite this work, overall progress in reducing the number of people sent to prison solely for fine default has been slow. Indeed since the last inspection the numbers have actually increased from 1,247 in 2009 to 2,179 in 2011. This places tremendous pressures on the prison service at a time when it is undergoing a significant change programme. It places undue pressures on women prisoners and leaves the enforcement system open to abuse as people discharge their fines with minimal effort. As the Justice Minister has stated it is not sustainable to continue to send people to prison for fine default for a short period. This would indicate that there have not been the substantive changes required to the enforcement process nor has there been a stricter regime introduced to maximise compliance and minimise police enforcement and the use of imprisonment. Only when this has been completed – as outlined in the original inspection report - will the social and financial cost of short-term sentences for fine default and the operational impact on the courts, police and prisons be addressed. Details: Belfast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, 2012. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed Sugust 1, 2012 at http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/4c/4c885d6d-9ffe-4791-83b4-26d374631f45.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Ireland URL: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/4c/4c885d6d-9ffe-4791-83b4-26d374631f45.pdf Shelf Number: 125832 Keywords: Court Fines (Northern Ireland)Criminal Fines (Northern Ireland)Evaluative Studies |
Author: Great Britain. Home Office Title: Assessing young people in police custody: An examination of the operation of Triage schemes Summary: Occasional Paper 106 examines the operation of Triage schemes. Triage schemes are based in police stations and aim to identify the needs of young people as they enter the youth justice system. A key objective of the schemes is to address offending behaviour by diverting young people who have committed less serious crimes away from the formal youth justice system and into restorative interventions and other services. The report highlights a number of lessons that can be learnt about the design, implementation and delivery of Triage schemes from the experiences of the seven local areas where the study was carried out. There was insufficient data available from the areas to establish the effectiveness of Triage schemes. This report sets out the findings of an evaluation of Triage schemes. The project was set up to assess the impact of Triage schemes on the numbers of young people entering the youth justice system and rates of re-offending, alongside a process evaluation of the operation of the schemes in different areas. However, there were insufficient data available from the areas to establish the effectiveness of Triage schemes. So, this report examines the operation of Triage in different areas, drawing out good practice Triage schemes were set up to assess young people as they enter the youth justice system, and to ensure that their needs are identified. Triage schemes are based in police stations and a key aim is to divert young people who have committed less serious crimes away from formal sanctions and towards restorative justice interventions and other services. A key worker, usually from the youth offending team, works in partnership with police officers from the custody suite to identify and engage young people who have been arrested. Details: London: Home Office, 2012. 39p. Source: Occasional Paper 106: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2012 at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/occ106?view=Binary Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/occ106?view=Binary Shelf Number: 125835 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Justice System (U.K.)Juvenile Offenders (U.K.)Risk/Needs Assessment (U.K.) |
Author: Powis, Beverly Title: Exploring the Treatment Integrity of Custodial Addiction Therapeutic Communities Summary: The aims of the study were to explore current delivery in four prison addiction therapeutic communities (TCs) in England, to show that they are operating as they should and are conforming to the TC treatment model. TCs are an intense form of treatment where participants live together in a drug-free environment and the community itself is the key agent of change. The communities are hierarchical with treatment stages that reflect increasing levels of personal and social responsibility. While there is good international evidence that addiction TCs are effective in facilitating positive change in drug using offenders, there is limited evidence of their effectiveness in the UK. Concerns have also been raised over the difficulties of maintaining treatment integrity in such regimes. It is therefore important to establish whether communities are functioning as intended and adhering to their model of change. Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2012. 57p. Source: Ministry of Justice Research Series 9/12: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2012 at http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis/moj-research/treatment-integrity-custodial-addiction.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis/moj-research/treatment-integrity-custodial-addiction.pdf Shelf Number: 125838 Keywords: Drug Treatment, Communities (U.K.)Evaluative Studies |
Author: Davis, Robert C. Title: Selected International Best Practices in Police Performance Measurement Summary: Historically, police agencies have measured their performance against a very restricted set of crime-focused indicators, such as crime rates, arrests, and response times. However, modern police officers must be prepared to take on a wide variety of roles, from problem-solver to counselor and provider of first aid, among many others. Therefore, performance measures should be multidimensional to capture the complexity inherent in modern policing. In this era of tight budgets and deep cuts in municipal services, local officials have prioritized police performance improvement and the collection of measurable evidence to justify budget requests. Police departments also benefit from measuring performance; the results can help officials monitor department operations, promote adherence to policies and strategic plans, and detect patterns of bias or misconduct. By defining what is measured, executives send a signal to their command about what activities are valued and what results are considered important. Performance measures can also help track the progress of individual officers, the efficient use of funds, and many other indicators of organizational health. This report describes some of the key considerations involved in designing measures to evaluate law enforcement agencies. It also includes a framework for measuring performance and a detailed review of some international best practices. Details: Santa Monica, CA: Center on Quality Policing, RAND, 2012. Source: Technical Report: Internet Resource: Accessed August 13, 2012 at http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2012/RAND_TR1153.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2012/RAND_TR1153.pdf Shelf Number: 126023 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesPolice PerformancePolice Policies and PracticesPolicing |
Author: Yahner, Jennifer Title: Which Components of Transitional Jobs Programs Work Best? Analysis of Programs for Former Prisoners in the Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration Summary: Different components of transitional jobs (TJ) programs may improve employment and recidivism outcomes among former prisoners. Using data from the Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration evaluation, we found that former prisoners who spent 30 workdays or more in a TJ were 14 percent more likely to obtain an unsubsidized job in the subsequent six months (45% vs. 31%). No other TJ program components (e.g., job development, case management, retention bonuses) individually affected employment or recidivism. Although non-experimental, analyses incorporated regression-based adjustments for selection bias. Future research evaluating different components of TJ programs via random assignment design is recommended. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2012. 17p. Source: Research Brief: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2012 at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412571-TJRD_Special_Report_May-2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412571-TJRD_Special_Report_May-2012.pdf Shelf Number: 126028 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesEx-Offenders, EmploymentEx-Offenders, ReintegrationPrisoner Reentry |
Author: McCormick, Joel G. Title: National Evaluation of Crime Prevention Strategies in Urban Parks: Using Rational Choice Theory to Understand Decisions of Park Directors and Professors Summary: Crime and fear of crime is increasing in recreational settings Chavez, Tynon, & Knap, 2004, Manning et al., 2001； Pendleton, 2000； Shore, 1994). However, research on the effectiveness of crime prevention programs in urban parks, rural parks, or national forest/park lands is scarce. This dissertation utilized a three paper format to gain a more complete understanding of how Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design CPTED) principles observation, access control, territoriality and maintenance) are taught and applied in urban parks. Paper one evaluates crime prevention strategies currently being employed by public park managers in the United States. Paper two applies a combination of descriptive statistics and qualitative methods to investigate Rational Choice Theory as a decision making tool for implementing CPTED) strategies to reduce crime and fear of crime in urban parks. The third paper examines whether and how CPTED is being taught at the college level. This paper also uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate college professors decisions to teach CPTED using a Rational Choice framework. In papers one and two, a web based survey link was e-mailed to the directors of municipal recreation and park agencies in the 250 largest cities in the United States. A total of 129 agencies responded 52%). In paper three, a different web based survey link was e-mailed to 100 college professors across the United States. A total of 72 professors responded. The results indicate that 45% of park directors in the United States have received training in crime prevention strategies. A belief that the occurrence of crime was not a problem in parks was reported by 66% of park directors. However, when presented with the statement, “reducing fear of crime in the park that I manage is a priority” 55% of park directors agreed. Over two-thirds of the professors agreed that crime in parks was a problem； even more agreed that fear of crime in parks was a problem, but only one-third stated that they would make it a priority to do something about it. Only 24% of professors in this study included CPTED strategies in their classes. The main reason given for not including these strategies was “lack of knowledge” of CPTED. There appears to be a need to bring awareness about fear of crime and strategies to the forefront of the field. Park directors should increase their efforts to reduce crime opportunities in their parks and most academicians need to increase their awareness and teaching of CPTED strategies to address problems that have real world applications. Further research in park safety for visitors is needed. Details: Florida: University of Florida, 2011. 125p. Source: Dissertation: Internet Resource: Accessed August 21, 2012 at http://www.socscience.com/social-sciences/17825.html Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.socscience.com/social-sciences/17825.html Shelf Number: 126073 Keywords: Crime PreventionEvaluative StudiesParks, UrbanRational Choice Theory |
Author: Fischman, Allison Title: Reconciling Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and Walkability Factors for Safe, Active Trips to School: The Role of School Site Size, Placement and Design Summary: Obesity is a growing threat to child health, and active transportation through walking and biking to school is one way to reduce its prevalence. As school districts and local governments begin to coordinate planning for the location of new schools, the ability of children to walk and bike to school is receiving greater attention. With increased media focus on school shootings and terrorist attacks, child safety at and around schools is also receiving greater attention than ever before. More and more school districts and local governments are employing the theory of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) in development regulations and school facilities plans. This research analyzes the largely unexplored effects of the implementation of CPTED mechanisms on public health, specifically its effects on walkability and the potential for children's active transport to school. In this study, a methodology set forth by Steiner et al. (2008) is used to determine the potential for children to walk and bicycle to school in a sample of sixteen elementary schools in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Results from the walkability analysis are then compared to the results of a CPTED survey to identify and explore any relationship(s) between walkability and the presence of CPTED-related elements. The study has three research components: (1) analysis of the potential for children to walk to school based on a variety of measures for a sample of elementary schools; (2) analysis of the presence and location of CPTED-related elements at and around the sample school sites; and (3) comparison of the potential for walkability to the presence of CPTED-related elements and identifying any relationship(s) or interaction. There is considerable variation, but results generally do not support a clear answer to the question of how CPTED and walkability interact at school sites and in surrounding neighborhoods, this study presents an initial methodology for exploring the issue. A more refined methodology may help researchers and practitioners better understand facilitators and impediments to active transportation among children. With this information, planners will be more knowledgeable about the effects of CPTED on walkability and will be able to make informed recommendations to improve CTPED-influenced policies. Also, school facilities planners and officials will be better informed about these effects and can use the information to help maximize the potential for safe, active trips to school. Details: Gainesville, FL: Department of Urban and Regional Planning; College of Design, Construction, and Planning; University of Florida, 2009. 115p. Source: Dissertation: Library Resource, Available at Don M. Gottfredson Library of Criminal Justice, Acc. # 126075. Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 126075 Keywords: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTDesign Against CrimeEvaluative StudiesSchool Safety |
Author: Ipsos MORI Title: Evaluation of the London Youth Reducing Reoffending Programme (Daedalus) - Emerging Findings Summary: The London Youth Reducing Reoffending Programme (Daedalus) (LYRRP (Daedalus)) aims to support young people due to be released from custody by moving them into sustainable education, training or employment and to ensure that they have suitable accommodation upon release. Offering such support is expected to lead to better re-integration into their communities and access to mainstream and specialist support services; and consequently a reduction in youth re-offending rates and serious youth violence in London. The London Criminal Justice Partnership (London CJP) has commissioned Ipsos MORI to evaluate the LYRRP (Daedalus). The research aims to identify the means to which the enhanced resettlement programme which commences within the Heron Unit, at Feltham YOI, and offers continued support in the community by the Resettlement Brokers, contributes to a reduction in re-offending and addresses the risk factors associated with offending behaviour. This report covers some of the emerging findings from the evaluation, with a specific focus on the experiences of young people. The interim evaluation report due in late 2010 will cover in detail the process of the programme (set up and delivery) as well as building on the findings around the experiences of – and outcomes for – the young people. The final report is due in March 2012, and will include a reconviction study and a cost benefit analysis. Details: London: Ipsos MORI, 2010. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 21, 2012 at http://www.londoncjp.gov.uk/publications/2010_06_02_LYRRPEmergingFindingsRpt.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.londoncjp.gov.uk/publications/2010_06_02_LYRRPEmergingFindingsRpt.pdf Shelf Number: 126081 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Offenders (U.K.)Recidivism (U.K.)Reoffending (U.K.) |
Author: Great Britain. Positive Futures Team, Home Office Title: Positive Futures: impact report: End of season review Summary: Positive Futures is a national sports-based social inclusion programme, managed up to the end of March 2006 from within the Home Office Drug Strategy Directorate. It is currently delivered through 115 local partnership projects located throughout England and Wales. This is the third impact report produced by Positive Futures. It provides details of the programme’s progress in the final year of its three-year strategy, and looks at what the future holds as Positive Futures moves into its next phase of development. This report looks at Positive Futures’ success in meeting the commitments set out in the strategy document before addressing the delivery of programmes and associated achievements of the young people involved. Following this, it outlines the wider work undertaken to build an infrastructure for the ongoing delivery of sportsbased social inclusion work. Finally, as the third phase of the programme’s development comes to a close, the report looks at the new opportunities presented as Positive Futures moves into its next phase of development. Details: London: Treatment and Young People Drugs Unit, Positive Futures Team, Home Office, 2006. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2012 at http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/6207/1/pf-impact-report%3Fview%3DBinary Year: 2006 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/6207/1/pf-impact-report%3Fview%3DBinary Shelf Number: 126088 Keywords: Antisocial Behavior, Juveniles (U.K.)At-Risk Youth (U.K.)Delinquency Prevention (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesSports |
Author: Mahaffy, Kimberly A. Title: Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas Adult Drug Court: Outcome Evaluation January 4, 2005 - June 30, 2006 Summary: After the first year of operation, the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas (LCCCP) Adult Drug Court enrolled fifty-six participants. Of the 56, two participants were discharged unsuccessfully and no one had graduated. For a more complete look at the program’s outcomes, this report covers the Adult Drug Court’s first 18 months of operation. This study examines outcomes for Drug Court participants within the LCCCP Adult Drug Court program. In other words, data post graduation or discharge have not been collected. Future LCCCP Adult Drug Court evaluations will track these groups and compare their outcomes with a matched sample from Adult Probation and Parole Services. To determine whether the Adult Drug Court is more effective than the traditional probation/parole system, a larger Drug Court sample will be necessary. With the current samples, I found that Drug Court participants were less likely to commit a new crime, more likely to receive drug treatment, and spent less time in jail compared with probationer/parolees. However, Drug Court participants relapsed and committed crimes in a shorter period of time than members of the probation sample. Drug Court participants were also more likely to test positive for drug use and less likely to be employed. It should be noted; however, that Drug Court participants are supervised and drug tested more intensively than the probation/parole sample. The greater frequency of testing increases the Drug Court participants’ chance of testing positive. Further, phase one Drug Court participants are discouraged from working until they establish themselves in treatment and are active in recovery. I was unable to study fines, costs, and restitution payments because of the data were incomplete. Details: Lancaster County, PA: Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, 2006. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2012 at http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/courts/lib/courts/LCCCP_Drug_court_outcome_eval0506.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/courts/lib/courts/LCCCP_Drug_court_outcome_eval0506.pdf Shelf Number: 126090 Keywords: Drug Courts (Pennsylvania)Evaluative StudiesEx-Offenders, Employment (Pennsylvania)Recidivism (Pennsylvania) |
Author: Mejia, Daniel Title: The War on Illegal Drug Production and Trafficking: An Economic Evaluation of Plan Colombia Summary: This paper provides a thorough economic evaluation of the anti-drug policies implemented in Colombia between 2000 and 2006 under the so-called Plan Colombia. The paper develops a game theory model of the war against illegal drugs in producer countries. We explicitly model illegal drug markets, which allows us to account for the feedback effects between policies and market outcomes that are potentially important when evaluating large scale policy interventions such as Plan Colombia. We use available data for the war on cocaine production and trafficking as well as outcomes from the cocaine markets to calibrate the parameters of the model. Using the results from the calibration we estimate important measures of the costs, effectiveness, and efficiency of the war on drugs in Colombia. Finally we carry out simulations in order to assess the impact of increases in the U.S. budget allocated to Plan Colombia, and find that a three-fold increase in the U.S. budget allocated to the war on drugs in Colombia would decrease the amount of cocaine that successfully reaches consumer countries by about 17%. Details: Brighton, UK: Households in Conflict Network, The Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, 2008. 57p. Source: HiCN Working Paper 53: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2012 at http://www.hicn.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/wp53.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.hicn.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/wp53.pdf Shelf Number: 126125 Keywords: Armed Conflict (Colombia)Cocaine (Colombia)Costs of CrimeDrug Trafficking (Colombia)Drugs and Crime (Colombia)Evaluative StudiesWar on Drugs (Colombia) |
Author: Nag, Diya Title: Police Complaints Authorities Reform Resisted Summary: The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has monitored and reported on Police Complaints Authorities in India, following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Prakash Singh case that ordered their creation in 2006. In 2009, CHRI published its first national-level report on the Authorities, providing information on the legal framework, the number of functioning Authorities, a brief description of inquiry procedures adopted by them, and pointed to gaps in both legislation and practice. CHRI observed that there were functional Authorities in only seven states – Assam, Chandigarh, Goa, Haryana, Kerala, Tripura and Uttarakhand; while fifteen other states had constituted Authorities only on paper, either as provisions within a new state Police Act or in a Government Order. The 2009 report found that the functioning Authorities seriously failed their mandates and suggested numerous recommendations aimed towards strengthening them. The current report is the second national-level report, and focuses on Police Complaints Authorities in India during 2010. It provides a national picture of the functioning of these Authorities and assesses how they fared in their operations, with a strong focus on the handling of complaints. Going a step further from the previous report, this report highlights the accessibility and responsiveness of select Authorities, from the perspective of the complainants. CHRI conducted interviews with complainants in two states where Authorities are well established – Goa and Uttarakhand. The findings and analysis presented here are largely based on the personal experiences of complainants through all the stages of an Authority’s inquiry. This report subsequently examines in depth, the pattern of police misconduct that emerges from an analysis of the complaints received. Details: New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2011. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2012 at http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/police/PoliceComplaintsAuthorities_ReformResisted.pdf Year: 2011 Country: India URL: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/police/PoliceComplaintsAuthorities_ReformResisted.pdf Shelf Number: 126160 Keywords: Complaints Against the Police (India)Evaluative StudiesPolice Misconduct (India)Policing (India) |
Author: Sport England Title: Positive Futures: A Review of Impact and Good Practice - Individual Project Reports Summary: In September 2001 Leisure Futures was commissioned by Sport England to carry out a “Review of impact and good practice” on a range of revenue funded schemes included in two of its main ‘branded’ programmes - Active Communities and Positive Futures. The aim of the research was to: Carry out a ‘short and sharp’ review of the sporting and broader social impacts of the Active Communities and Positive Futures projects that will provide evidence of what has been achieved to date, identify good practice, and inform and help to shape future investment decisions in these and related programmes. The more specific objectives of the research were: To provide a report of achievement for each project against its stated objectives relating these as far as possible to Sport England’s evaluation framework and key indicators; Based on the evidence available, identify good practice and make practical recommendations on how this can be extended more widely to both existing and future projects; To provide a summary report that identifies achievements across the programmes generally using a thematic issues based approach; and To learn lessons and make recommendations that will help to shape Sport England’s longer-term approaches to evaluation and impact assessment. Details: London: Sport England, 2002. 69p. Source: Library Resource: Available at Don M. Gottfredson Library of Criminal Justice. Year: 2002 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 126169 Keywords: Antisocial Behavior, Juveniles (U.K.)At-Risk Youth (U.K.)Delinquency Prevention (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesSports |
Author: Sigona, Nando Title: Being children and undocumented in the UK: A background paper Summary: This background paper offers a critical review of key terms, concepts and evidence which will inform our ongoing qualitative study on the situation of undocumented migrant minors in the UK. The paper first addresses issues related to the definition of the target group, considering in particular the dichotomy legal/illegal immigration and showing how it fails to acknowledge two important aspects: the layered nature of legal status and entitlements, and the mobility between different statuses over time. It then introduces the debate on children in migration and illustrates some of the tensions that the migration of children produces, both discursively and in policy terms. It goes on to consider the legal and policy context in which children and families without legal status are embedded in Britain. It discusses the complex and contradictory position of this group as revealed in policy documents and existing immigration and child-related legislation. It focuses in particular on issues such as access to health and education services, and employment of undocumented migrants under 18. Finally the paper outlines the main trends in the migration of children, providing a preliminary mapping of the numbers and locations of undocumented children in Britain. Details: Oxford: Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford, 2010. 46p. Source: ESRC Centre on Migration, Policy and Society Working Paper No. 78: Internet Resource: Accessed August 30, 2012 at http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/files/Publications/working_papers/WP_2010/WP1078%20Nando%20Sigona%20A.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/files/Publications/working_papers/WP_2010/WP1078%20Nando%20Sigona%20A.pdf Shelf Number: 126170 Keywords: Child Trafficking (U.K.)Evaluative StudiesIllegal Aliens, Children (U.K.)Illegal Immigrants, Children (U.K.)Undocumented Children |
Author: Maynard, Brandy R. Title: Indicated Truancy Interventions: Effects on School Attendance among Chronic Truant Students Summary: Truancy is a significant problem in the U.S. and in other countries around the world. Truancy has been linked to serious immediate and far-reaching consequences for youth, families, and schools and communities, leading researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to try to understand and to address the problem. Although numerous and significant steps have been taken at the local, state, and national levels to reduce truancy, the rates of truancy have at best remained stable or at worst been on the rise, depending on the indicator utilized to assess truancy rates. The costs and impact of chronic truancy are significant, with both short- and long-term implications for the truant youth as well as for the family, school, and community. Although several narrative reviews and one meta-analysis of attendance and truancy interventions have attempted to summarize the extant research, there are a number of limitations to these reviews. It is imperative that we systematically synthesize and examine the evidence base to provide a comprehensive picture of interventions that are being utilized to intervene with chronic truants, to identify interventions that are effective and ineffective, and to identify gaps and areas in which more research needs to be conducted to better inform practice and policy. Details: Oslo: The Campbell Collaboration, 2012. 84p. Source: Campbell Systematic Reviews 2012:10: Internet Resource: Accessed September 4, 2012 at http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/2136/ Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/2136/ Shelf Number: 126250 Keywords: At-risk YouthCrime PreventionDelinquency PreventionEvaluative StudiesJuvenile OffendersTruancy |
Author: Geoff Berry Associates Title: Evaluation of WMTTS Mediation Project in Birmingham Summary: The West Midlands Mediation and Transformation Service (WMMTS) was established in late 2004 and emerged from dialogue between police and community regarding the escalation of gun related violence. The scheme is now an integral part of an overall strategy designed to address gang violence across Birmingham. The aims of the scheme seek to both facilitate a cessation of gang related shootings and provide a pathway for those who wish to exit the gun and gang culture to do so. Operating with a team of six mediators, all trained and accredited, the scheme has three broad strands, namely; Proactive intervention: to facilitate negotiation between factions; Post-event intervention: To mediate and prevent retaliation and escalation; and, Facilitate delivery of support: to encourage those who wish to exit the gun and gang culture to do so. A critical identified weakness of the West Midlands Mediation and Transformation Services mediation project is the lack of any formal evaluation of the project or any processes for monitoring progress on an ongoing basis. This places the project at a particular disadvantage when trying to provide evidence of its impact and in discussions with prospective funders. This report outlines the findings from a comprehensive evaluation of the project and builds on the initial “quick and dirty” review carried out late in 2005. Formal monitoring processes have now been established for the project which will enable progress to be checked on a rolling basis. It will also inform future evaluations. Details: Stafford, UK: Geoff Berry Associates, 2006. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 4, 2012 at https://wmmts-secure.com/images/uploads/WMMTS%20Evaluation.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://wmmts-secure.com/images/uploads/WMMTS%20Evaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 126255 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesGang Violence (U.K.)Gun Violence (U.K.)Intervention Programs (U.K.)Violence Prevention (U.K.) |
Author: The Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research Title: New York State Evaluation of Leandra's Law Expansion of Ignition Interlock: Telephone Survey of County Monitors Summary: In 2009, of the 1,060 fatal crashes that occurred on New York’s roadways, 31% were alcohol-related, a rate that is among the lowest in the nation. However, since it represents an increase over the rate of 24% in 2004, New York continues to enhance and implement innovative legislation, enforcement efforts, and public information campaigns that target the problem of impaired driving. One of the most recent significant innovative strategies designed to reduce impaired driving occurred late in 2009 with the passage of Chapter 496 of the Laws of 2009, commonly known as Leandra’s Law. Leandra’s Law has two major components: 1) effective December 18, 2009, the criminal sanctions surrounding driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs with children under the age of 16 in the car were increased, and 2) effective August 15, 2010, the law expands the use of ignition interlock devices, making them applicable to any person who is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI for a minimum period of six months. The implementation of the ignition interlock section of the law, in particular, has been the focus of a number of agencies, including the New York State Governor’s Office, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC), the Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the state’s Task Force on Impaired Driving. To determine the effectiveness of Leandra’s Law in reducing impaired driving, the GTSC has funded the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR) to conduct a study of the law. Designed to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the provisions of Leandra’s Law, the study has three major components: 1) Increased penalties for impaired driving with children under age 16 in the car. To determine the effectiveness of this provision of the law, the study involves analyses of the tickets issued for this violation during the first year (2010) and their adjudication by the courts. Analyses will also be conducted of the crashes attributed to impaired driving where children are present in the vehicle. 2) Expansion of the ignition interlock sanction: Administrative Evaluation. This component of the law provides that the state’s Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives (OPCA) be responsible for establishing the appropriate regulations to govern the expansion of the use of ignition interlocks and overseeing their implementation. Each of the state’s 62 counties are required to submit a plan to the OPCA that describes how it will implement and monitor the use of the ignition interlocks that are imposed on convicted impaired drivers in their county. Under this component of the study, ITSMR will examine the implementation of the ignition interlock requirement which has been delegated to the counties. The objective of this administrative evaluation will be to determine whether and to what extent the law is being implemented as intended, isolate any issues affecting the implementation, and identify common practices. 3) Expansion of the ignition interlock sanction: Impact Evaluation. This component of the study will focus on the impact of the expansion of the ignition interlock sanction on impaired driving arrests, recidivism and crashes. This part of the study involves the analyses of ticket and disposition data, as well as analyses of crash data. While all three parts of the study are underway, this report focuses on the second component of the study described above with respect to a telephone survey of the persons responsible for monitoring the drivers sentenced to ignition interlock in the state’s 62 counties. Details: Albany, NY: The Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research, University at Albany, State University of New York, 2011. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at http://www.safeny.ny.gov/10data/MonitorSurveyFull.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.safeny.ny.gov/10data/MonitorSurveyFull.pdf Shelf Number: 126266 Keywords: Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices (New York)Driving Under the Influence (New York)Drunk Driving (New York)Evaluative Studies |
Author: The Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research Title: New York State Evaluation of Leandra's Law: ADWI with Child Under Age 16 in the Vehicle Summary: The Child Passenger Protection Act (Chapter 496 of the Laws of 2009), commonly known as Leandra’s Law, is one of the most recent in a long line of significant legislation passed in New York State to address the serious issue of impaired driving. The law was named for an 11-year-old girl who was killed while riding in a vehicle driven by the intoxicated mother of one of her friends. The driver received misdemeanor charges prompting calls for stronger legislation and stricter penalties for driving impaired with young passengers in the vehicle. Leandra’s Law created a new crime of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child under Age 16 in the Vehicle (Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1192.2ab). Effective December 18, 2009, drivers who violate the ADWI/Child in Vehicle law are charged with a Class E felony and face up to four years in prison and/or a fine of $1,000-$5,000. The second major component of Leandra’s Law expands the use of ignition interlock devices as a sanction in alcohol impaired driving cases. Any driver convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI is now required to install an ignition interlock device for a minimum of six months on any vehicle they drive. Drivers convicted of ADWI/Child in Vehicle were subject to the new sanction on the effective date of the new law (December 18, 2009), while the sanction for other DWI convictions (VTL 1192.2, 1192.2aa and 1192.3) took effect on August 15, 2010. This report focuses on the implementation of the new violation of ADWI/Child in Vehicle (VTL 1192.2ab). The study was designed to identify the number and characteristics of drivers who had been arrested for violating VTL 1192.2ab between December 18, 2009 and June 30, 2011 and determine whether they were adjudicated and sanctioned in accordance with Leandra’s law. Using ticket data extracted from the TSLED (Traffic Safety Law Enforcement and Disposition) system on July 15, 2011, the first set of analyses focused on drivers ticketed for 1192.2ab violations and the adjudication outcome of these tickets. TSLED includes all tickets issued for impaired driving offenses in New York State with the exception of New York City and five western towns in Suffolk County on Long Island. The Driver License file, which contains information on all drivers in the state convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI, was the source for further analyses on the drivers convicted of these violations. These analyses included the penalties and sanctions received, involvement in a crash in association with the violation, and the extent to which these drivers had prior alcohol-related convictions on their driving records. The Driver License file data used in the analyses were extracted on August 31, 2011. The results of the analyses are presented within. Details: Albany, NY: The Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research, University at Albany, State University of New York, 2011. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at http://www.safeny.ny.gov/10data/ADWIwithChildFull.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.safeny.ny.gov/10data/ADWIwithChildFull.pdf Shelf Number: 126270 Keywords: Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices (New York)Child Victims (New York)Driving Under the Influence (New York)Drunk Driving (New York)Evaluative StudiesPassenger Safety (New York) |
Author: Fontaine, Jocelyn Title: Supportive Housing for Returning Prisoners: Outcomes and Impacts of the Returning Home-Ohio Pilot Project Summary: This evaluation of a supportive housing reentry pilot project, "Returning Home-Ohio", yielded positive outcomes for program participants. The pilot project, developed jointly by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, was designed for disabled prisoners returning from state prison to five Ohio cities. A process, impact, and cost evaluation employing a quasi-experimental design with multiple data sources found that RHO participants were significantly less likely to be rearrested or reincarcerated within one year of release and significantly more likely to be delivered substance abuse and mental health services, relative to a comparison group. Details: Washington, DC; Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute, 2012. 62p. Source: Research Report: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412632-Supportive-Housing-for-Returning-Prisoners.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412632-Supportive-Housing-for-Returning-Prisoners.pdf Shelf Number: 126276 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesHousing, Ex-Offenders (Ohio)Reentry Program (Ohio)Supportive Housing (Ohio) |
Author: Uzzell, Donna Title: AMBER Alert Best Practices Summary: The AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert Program began following the 1996 abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, TX. In response to this tragedy, representatives from law enforcement and the local media joined forces to develop and implement a groundbreaking series of protocols to be followed in the event of a child abduction. The program has since expanded to include 133 state, local, regional, tribal, and territorial plans in the United States and Canada. As of March 2012, AMBER Alerts helped directly in the safe recovery of 572 children in the United States. The AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership involving law enforcement, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry. It is designed to disseminate timely, accurate information about abducted children, the suspected abductor(s), and the vehicle(s) used in the commission of the crime. During an AMBER Alert, an urgent news bulletin is broadcast over the airwaves and via text messages as well as on highway alert signs to enlist the aid of the public in finding an abducted child and stopping the perpetrator. Participants and subject-matter experts attending a federally sponsored national AMBER Alert conference identified emerging practices that have enhanced the ability of law enforcement, other stakeholders, and partners to safely recover missing and abducted children. This report provides a “what works” approach based on what was garnered during the conference as well as the experience and knowledge gained since the inception of the first AMBER Alert plan. It offers the field additional information about effective and promising practices and is designed for interpretation at the state and local levels in a manner that allows teams to consider their resource limitations and diverse demographic and geographic needs. In addition, because the AMBER Alert Program is a collaborative effort involving multiple agencies, the public, and the media, the report provides a general overview of each discipline’s responsibilities along with suggested practices to improve the approach to responding to cases of missing or abducted children. Significant progress has been made since 1996; however, as with any major multiagency initiative, all program partners and stakeholders must remain vigilant and work collaboratively to improve their understanding of the roles and responsibilities of every agency and organization involved in the program. Partners must be openminded when communicating with each other and always strive to meet the ultimate goal—keeping our children safe. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 2012. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/232271.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/232271.pdf Shelf Number: 126277 Keywords: AMBER AlertChild AbductionChild ProtectionEvaluative StudiesKidnappingLaw EnforcementMissing Children |
Author: Papazian, John Title: Program Evaluation of the Denver Police HALO Camera Surveillance System: A Geospatial Statistical Analysis of Crime Summary: The Denver Police Department has recently implemented a new high-tech surveillance program to prevent crime throughout the city. The High Activity Location Observation (HALO) cameras are an improvement over traditional closed-circuit television cameras because they have full pivot and zoom capabilities that can transmit video to police headquarters in real time. The department has installed more than 100 HALO cameras at various high crime areas in Denver as of 2012. This investigation attempts a program evaluation of the surveillance system through a geospatial statistical analysis of crime. Although cameras have been installed across the city, this investigation focuses on cameras installed in Police District #6, which encompasses the central business district. This investigation establishes a statistically significant relationship between the installation of the HALO cameras and a reduction of thefts from motor vehicles in the viewshed of the cameras in Denver Police District #6. The difference-in-difference econometric approach is rigorous enough to infer causality in the relationship. Other categories of crime also may have been reduced due to the HALO cameras, but the statistical evidence is not strong enough to make a causal claim. Based upon the empirical results, I recommend three strategies: (1) collaborating with local BIDs to expand new HALO video cameras into other areas experiencing high levels of theft from motor vehicles, (2) upgrading the information system to cross-reference NIBRS crime incident data to actual arrests and convictions, and (3) implementing a randomized controlled experiment in the next phase of the HALO program. Details: Durham, NC: Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, 2012. 38p. Source: Sanford School Master of Public Policy (MPP) Program Master’s Projects: Internet Resource: Accessed September 13, 2012 at http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/5146/MPP_MP_John_Papazian.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/5146/MPP_MP_John_Papazian.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 126339 Keywords: Crime PreventionEvaluative StudiesSurveillance Cameras (Colorado)Thefts from AutomobilesVideo Surveillance |
Author: Taylor, Bruce Title: Shifting Boundaries: Final Report on an Experimental Evaluation of a Youth Dating Violence Prevention Program in New York City Middle Schools Summary: The purpose of this multi‐level experiment was to provide high‐quality scientific evidence concerning the effectiveness of targeting a young, universal primary prevention audience with classroom‐based curricula and school‐level interventions. We randomly assigned a schoolbased intervention to 30 public middle schools in New York City, and within these schools we identified 117 sixth‐ and seventh‐grade classes (over 2,500 students) to randomly receive our interventions called Shifting Boundaries. The classroom intervention was delivered through a six‐session curriculum that emphasized the consequences for perpetrators of DV/H, state laws and penalties for DV/H, the construction of gender roles, and healthy relationships. The building‐based intervention included the use of temporary school‐based restraining orders, higher levels of faculty and security presence in areas identified through student mapping of safe/unsafe “hot spots,” and the use of posters to increase awareness and reporting of DV/H to school personnel. Our study included quantitative and qualitative data. Our quantitative surveys were implemented at baseline, immediately after the intervention and six months post‐intervention and included the following measures: Knowledge, attitudes, behavioral intentions, intentions to intervene as a bystander, peer and dating partner physical and sexual violence (experienced as a victim and/or perpetrator), sexual harassment (experienced as a victim and/or perpetrator), and other background items. Our qualitative focus groups were conducted with interventionists and students to provide rich contextual to assess intervention implementation and student change associated with the interventions. Participating students ranged in age from 10 to 15, with 53% female. Our sample was 34% Hispanic, 31% African American, 16% Asian, 13% white and 6% “other.” About 40% of our sample had prior experience with a violence prevention educational program. About half reported being in at least one dating relationship. About 20% of our sample reported having been the victim of dating violence and 66% victims of peer violence. Overall, the “building only” intervention and the “both” interventions were effective at reducing DV/H. The success of the “building only” intervention is particularly important because it can be implemented with very few extra costs to schools. However, classroom sessions alone were not effective. Finally, our focus groups confirmed that the interventions were implemented as planned and straightforward to implement, teachers liked and were supportive of the interventions, and the positive survey results related to the interventions effectiveness were confirmed. Details: Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, 2011. 322p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2012 at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/236175.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/236175.pdf Shelf Number: 126377 Keywords: Crime Prevention ProgramsDating ViolenceEvaluative StudiesExperimental MethodsJuvenile Victims |
Author: Feldman, Lisa B. Title: Evaluation Findings: The Detention Diversion Advocacy Program Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Summary: General issues and trends in juvenile adjudication across the country are presented to illustrate the challenges facing juvenile correctional systems. One of the most pressing issues is the overrepresentation of minority youth in juvenile correctional facilities. During the early 1990’s, Federal grant guidelines required that States assess levels of minority youth incarceration and work toward reducing the overrepresentation of minority youth incarceration rates. After highlighting some of the outcomes of these Federal guidelines, the authors focus on juvenile detention challenges in Philadelphia. A historical context for juvenile justice in Philadelphia is presented, and spans the years 1970 through the 1990’s. In 2000, the DDAP program was designed to reduce overcrowding in Philadelphia’s juvenile correctional facilities, to reduce the disproportionate confinement of minority youth, to improve the quality of services, and to demonstrate that community-based services can serve as an effective alternative to juvenile detention. The evaluation of the DDAP program focused on the state of juvenile detention in Philadelphia and the social and political issues it had been dealing with, such as overcrowding. The evaluation also examined whether the DDAP program effectively monitored high-risk juveniles in the community and whether the DDAP community corrections program was an effective alternative to youth detention. Data were collected from 97 youth who participated in DDAP from December 2000 through December 2001. Demographic information, offense information, case information, and outcome information were all examined. The evaluation revealed that the DDAP program staff should have a greater presence in the courtroom to coordinate with judges about program referrals. Also, the goal of providing quality, treatment oriented services has not been fully met; the authors recommend that DDAP place a greater emphasis on connecting clients with other support services. Finally, the authors recommend that DDAP develop and implement an electronic case management and recording system to track clients. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Excellence in Municipal Management, The George Washington University, 2002. 19p. Source: CEMM Research: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2012 at http://www.cjcj.org/files/ddap_philly.pdf Year: 2002 Country: United States URL: http://www.cjcj.org/files/ddap_philly.pdf Shelf Number: 126380 Keywords: Alternatives to Incarceration (Pennsylvania)Evaluative StudiesJuvenile Detention (Pennsylvania)Juvenile Diversion (Pennsylvania) |
Author: Kurtz, Ellen Title: Philadelphia's Gun Court: Process and Outcome Evaluation Executive Summary Summary: Philadelphia’s gun court opened its doors on January 10, 2005. This report describes the results of the process and outcome evaluation conducted over the past 18 months. The evaluation of Philadelphia’s gun court focuses on two distinct pieces: the court itself and the probation department’s intensive supervision program. The evaluation of the court addresses questions about case processing. The evaluation of the probation program examines the impact of gun court supervision on VUFA offenders. Details: Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Courts, 2007. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2012 at http://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf/criminal-reports/Gun-Court-Evaluation-report-executive-summary.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf/criminal-reports/Gun-Court-Evaluation-report-executive-summary.pdf Shelf Number: 126385 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesGun Courts (Philadelphia)GunsProblem-Solving Courts |
Author: California Council on Science and Technology Title: The Efficacy of Managed Access Systems to Intercept Calls from Contraband Cell Phones in California Prisons Summary: This report is in response to a July 7, 2011 letter of request to the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) from four California State Senators (Senators Elaine Alquist, Loni Hancock, Christine Kehoe and Alex Padilla). As detailed in the front of this report, the senators asked CCST to provide input on the best way to prevent cell phones from getting into the hands of inmates and, if they do, how best to prevent calls from being completed without impairing the ability of prison authorities to make and receive official business cell phone calls. In addition, they asked CCST to undertake a study on the feasibility of Managed Access Systems (MAS) technology as an effective strategy to curtail the use of contraband cell phones in the California State Prisons. In their letter the senators indicated that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) had issued an Invitation for Bid (IFB), for replacement of the Inmate and Wards Telephone System (IWTS) including a requirement and specifications for the installation and operation of a MAS at each of the 33 State Prison sites to combat the problem of contraband cell phones in the California State Prison system. In exchange for the MAS system, the successful bidder/vendor would receive the right to operate and collect revenues from the IWTS landline phone system. Across all of the California prison facilities this IWTS use is estimated to be approximately 99 million minutes of landline calls. The CDCR IFB defines in detail the required parameters for the IWTS and the MAS. Details: Sacramento, CA; California Council on Science and Technology, 2012. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2012 at http://www.ccst.us/publications/2012/2012cell.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.ccst.us/publications/2012/2012cell.pdf Shelf Number: 126411 Keywords: Cell Phones (California)Evaluative StudiesInmatesPrison Contraband (California)PrisonersPrisons (California) |
Author: Bandy, Tawana Title: What Works for Male Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions Summary: As young people transition through childhood to adolescence, they often face developmental challenges that can impede their quest to become flourishing, healthy adults. While both males and females experience difficulties, there are certain risk factors to which males are more susceptible. Compared with females, males tend to be more likely to drop out of school, engage in delinquency, use alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and act out. They are also less likely than females to go to college. While a number of evidence-based programs have been found to be effective at reducing risk factors for children and adolescents, many programs have differential impacts for females and males. Understanding what works for male children adolescent is critical to improving outcomes for youth. This Fact Sheet and its companion Fact Sheet, focused on female children and adolescents1, examine programs and strategies that work, as well as those that don’t work. This literature review synthesizes findings from 115 random assignment intent-to-treat evaluations of interventions that targeted male children and adolescents, or coed interventions that provide impact data specifically for male children and adolescents. Interventions were excluded from the review if they did not include at least 100 males in the evaluation sample. Overall, 57 of the 115 programs had a positive impact on at least one outcome reviewed, 27 had mixed findings, and 31 did not have any positive impacts for the males studied. While several themes emerged, we did not find any one program or practice that worked across all outcome areas. Details: Washington, DC: Child Trends, 2012. 28p. Source: Child Trends Fact Sheet #2012-22: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2012 at http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2012_08_20_WW_MaleChildrenAdol.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2012_08_20_WW_MaleChildrenAdol.pdf Shelf Number: 126505 Keywords: Adolescents, MalesCrime Prevention ProgramsEvaluative StudiesIntervention ProgramsJuvenile Offenders, Males |
Author: Bell, Kelly Title: What Works for Female Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions Summary: Girls face unique developmental challenges in childhood and adolescence. Compared to boys, girls tend to report more mental health problems, and they are susceptible to reproductive health risks, such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. While a number of evidence-based programs have been found to be effective at reducing risk factors for children and adolescents, many programs have differential impacts for girls and boys. Understanding what works for girls is critical to improving outcomes youth. This brief and its companion brief, focused on boys3, examine programs and strategies that work, as well as those that don’t for each gender. This research brief synthesizes findings from 106 random assignment intent-to-treat evaluations of social interventions that targeted female children, adolescents, and young adults, or co-ed interventions that provide separate data about impacts for the female subgroup. Interventions were excluded from the review if they did not include at least 100 girls in the evaluation sample. Overall, 51 of the 106 programs had a positive impact for girls on at least one of the outcomes reviewed, 27 had mixed findings, and 28 did not have a positive impact on any of the outcomes studied. While several themes emerged within each outcome area, there was no approach that worked across all outcome areas. Details: Washington, DC: Child Trends, 2012. 23p. Source: Child Trends Fact Sheet #2012-23: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2012 at http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2012_08_20_WW_FemaleChildrenAdol.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2012_08_20_WW_FemaleChildrenAdol.pdf Shelf Number: 126506 Keywords: Adolescents, FemalesCrime Prevention ProgramsEvaluative StudiesIntervention ProgramsJuvenile Offenders, Females |
Author: Romaniuk, Peter Title: From Input to Impact: Evaluating Terrorism Prevention Programs Summary: In the years following 9/11, threat assessments necessarily focused on the dangers posed by al-Qaida, its affiliates, and those inspired by its ideology. There are signs, however, that the threat today is more complex and diffuse, comprising extremists from all parts of the ideological spectrum who may act in small “self-starter” groups or, in some cases, as “lone wolves.” The paths to extremism are more varied than ever before, and as our understanding of contemporary patterns of radicalization has advanced, terrorism prevention initiatives have become more prevalent in the counterterrorism repertoire at the national and multilateral levels. As many states have elaborated terrorism prevention strategies in recent years, they have begun to confront similar challenges. Among these is the challenge of program evaluation. Is the turn toward prevention an effective response to the diverse extremist threats that states face today? How can the effectiveness of prevention policies be measured? What approaches have states advanced in evaluating the impact of terrorism prevention initiatives? In responding to this challenge, can lessons be gleaned from efforts to evaluate programs in related policy domains? This policy report provides an initial discussion of these questions. It draws on the discussions during a meeting entitled “Colloquium on Measuring Effectiveness in Counterterrorism Programming” and held in Ottawa on 9–10 February 2012, as well as discussions with experts, government officials, and an initial desktop literature review. Details: New York: Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, 2012. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2012 at http://www.globalct.org/images/content/pdf/reports/CGCC_EvaluatingTerrorismPrevention.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.globalct.org/images/content/pdf/reports/CGCC_EvaluatingTerrorismPrevention.pdf Shelf Number: 126571 Keywords: Crime PreventionCrime Prevention ProgramsEvaluative StudiesExtremist GroupsLone Wolves TerrorismTerrorismViolent Extremism |
Author: Dwyer, Allison M. Title: Data-Driven Decisionmaking for Strategic Justice Reinvestment Summary: This publication is one of three policy briefs designed to guide local policymakers in undertaking justice reinvestment, a data-driven strategy to identify the drivers of criminal justice system costs and make more efficient use of resources while maintaining public safety. This brief discusses the central role of strategic planning entities in the justice reinvestment process; outlines how these bodies are structured and operated; and provides guidance in establishing or expanding such a collaborative. A case study from one local justice reinvestment site is presented to highlight the recommended process. Additional resources and a "getting started" worksheet are included in an appendix. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center, 2012. 10p. Source: Justice Reinvestment at the Local Level, Brief 2: Internet Resource: Accessed October 10, 2012 at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412543-Data-Driven-Decisionmaking-for-Strategic-Justice-Reinvestment.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412543-Data-Driven-Decisionmaking-for-Strategic-Justice-Reinvestment.pdf Shelf Number: 126668 Keywords: Costs of CrimeCosts of Criminal JusticeCrime StatisticsEvaluative Studies |
Author: Cunningham, Sonia Title: Formative Evaluation of Neighbourhood Policing Teams in Counties Manukau District - Final Report Summary: The introduction of Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) in New Zealand was a result of a number of factors: the then Commissioner's vision for introducing the teams in New Zealand based on what he had seen in England and Wales; the Police Executive placing emphasis on a preventive policing approach; and, Counties Manukau District considering options for how to deploy an additional 300 staff to ensure a reduction in demand for policing services in their District: one of which was the implementation of NPTs in vulnerable communities. High-level outcomes expected from the implementation of NPTs in New Zealand are: a reduction in crime and crash, the community feeling safer, and an increase in levels of trust and confidence in, and satisfaction with the police. Whilst it is intended that NPTs tailor their approach to be appropriate for the communities they are working within, a number of key activities are expected: Be active and visible in communities; Engage with communities to understand what the crime and safety priorities are within the community; and, Solve these problems by working with the community and in partnership with other agencies. The evaluation of NPTs consists of two phases: formative, which focuses on the development and establishment of NPTs; and process-outcomes, which will focus on how the teams are operating and how effective they are. This report is a summary of findings from formative evaluation of NPTs in Counties Manukau District. Details: Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Police, 2011. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 13, 2012 at http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/resources/evaluation/formative-evaluation-neighbourhood-policing-teams-counties-manukau.pdf Year: 2011 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/resources/evaluation/formative-evaluation-neighbourhood-policing-teams-counties-manukau.pdf Shelf Number: 126685 Keywords: Community Policing (New Zealand)Crime Prevention (New Zealand)Evaluative StudiesPolice-Community Relations (New Zealand)Public Confidence (New Zealand) |
Author: Southern Pulse Title: Acapulco Criminal Environment - June 2012 Summary: In recent years, the Acapulco Metropolitan Zone (AMZ) has experienced some of the highest levels of criminal violence in Mexico. The AMZ presents an interesting case where two small criminal organizations have battled for territorial control of the city with the external support of much larger cartels operating at the national level. The AMZ also provides a snapshot of how the criminal environment evolves as organizations adapt, and ultimately present a public security challenge that neither the Mexican government nor many international businesses are prepared to confront. As a contribution to the ongoing conversation about the direction of public security in Mexico, Southern Pulse published in January 2012 its first ebook, Beyond 2012, which presented a chapter on public security in Mexico. This chapter concluded with a consideration of a future when “super-empowered” street gangs will eclipse groups such as Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Federation: As we theorized in 2005, the devolution of Los Zetas, of the Gulf Cartel, and the predictable dissolution of the Sinaloa Federation points to the formation of several criminal organizations, not a Mega Cartel. Whereas Mexico under the guise of six large, national-level criminal enterprises in 2006 could have been considered a sea of tranquility punctuated by islands of violence (less than 100 municipalities out of 2,000-plus with violence) the opposite may be proven true by early 2014, as the number of well-armed criminal groups jumps from the six significant groups we counted in 2006 - Sinaloa Federation, La Familia, Gulf Cartel, Beltra-Leyva Organization, Arellano-Felix Organization, Carrillo-Fuentes Organization - to over 10 in 2012 with a steady growth of new groups to bring the total number to possibly over 20 by the end of 2014. By the end of 2014, the men organized by El Chapo and his principal rival Heriberto Lazcano will no longer be the principal drivers of violence across Mexico. At the hyper-local level, super-powered street gangs, armed with Twitter, You Tube, the weapon of fear, and an enviable armory will man-handle local politicians and municipal police. We believe that while the above process continues forward beyond June 2012, there are certain cities in Mexico today that present an advanced case of how the criminal system in Mexico will evolve as street gangs become more powerful. Acapulco lists among the top four, which include Monterrey (See Monterrey Street Gangs Report), Guadalajara, and Juarez. A fifth city, Tijuana, will serve as a “control case,” where we see the historical dominance of one group to be a harbinger of less violence and little to no development of street gangs. Within this brief report, we would like to present our assessment of the criminal environment in Acapulco from both a strategic and tactical viewpoint to support an understanding of how the evolving criminal system in Acapulco could impact the daily lives of those who live there, as well as the business, particularly in the tourism industry, operating in the area. Just as we stated in our March 2012 city report on the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA), we would like to add that in the best interest of time and space, this report on criminal activity in the AMZ makes some general assumptions: The top-tier transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are the primary drivers behind violence in Mexico in 2012; The Mexican government will not significantly alter its current strategy in 2012 or beyond, into the next administration; TCOs in Mexico are in constant communication with leadership elements of street gangs; TCOs do not solely rely on drug trafficking as a source of illicit revenue; and, The line between TCOs and street gangs is so blurred that many in Mexico still consider the two to be one single unit of criminality. Details: Annapolis, MD: Southern Pulse, 2012. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2012 at http://www.southernpulse.com/e-books/acapulco-criminal-environment Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.southernpulse.com/e-books/acapulco-criminal-environment Shelf Number: 126694 Keywords: Evaluative StudiesGangs (Mexico)Organized Crime (Mexico)Transnational Crime |
Author: Flint, John Title: Evaluation Study of Reidvale Housing Association Community Policing Initiative Summary: It is important that the community policing initiative continues to be conceived as one part of a wider range of interventions to both prevent and manage anti-social behaviour, with clear roles here for the housing association, police, schools and local youth facilities and organizations. There is overwhelming support from residents, police and housing officers for extending the additional policing initiative. In part this recognises its successes and also the costs associated with ending the initiative. Continuing the initiative is now rated a top priority by a majority of local residents in the survey, although over 80 percent of them believe responsibility for tackling anti-social behaviour lies with the police. A strong argument may also be put forward for the cost-benefits of the initiative arising from falling levels of anti-social behaviour. It is important to note that these benefits will accrue to the police, other agencies and other residents as well as to Reidvale Housing Association and its tenants. Details: Glasgow, Scotland: Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, 2005. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2012 at http://www.reidvale.org.uk/file/policerep/ Year: 2005 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.reidvale.org.uk/file/policerep/ Shelf Number: 126698 Keywords: Anti-Social Behavior (Scotland)Community Policing (Scotland)Costs of Criminal Justice (Scotland)Evaluative StudiesPolice-Community Relations (Scotland) |
Author: Meyers, H. Title: Lamoille Community Justice Project Program Evaluation Summary: This is a report of evaluation activities conducted by the Vermont Research Partnership (VRP) at the University of Vermont’s James M. Jeffords Center for the Lamoille Valley Community Justice Project (CJP) during fall 2009 through summer 2010. Following a description of the CJP program is reporting of three components utilized in this mixed-method evaluation study: 1) a brief review of literature sources that inform practices for working with children of incarcerated parents; 2) interviews with CJP staff (three caseworkers) and leadership (CJP Co-Director and Manager); 3) interviews with school personnel who work with children served by CJP; and 4) quantitative analysis of outcomes for children in relation to school retention and avoidance of contact with the criminal justice system. Details: Burlington, VT: Vermont Research Partnership, University of Vermont, 2010. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2012 at http://www.uvm.edu/~jeffords/reports/pdfs/%20Lamoille%20CJP%20Evaluation%20Report.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.uvm.edu/~jeffords/reports/pdfs/%20Lamoille%20CJP%20Evaluation%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 126705 Keywords: Children of PrisonersCommunity Justice (Vermont)Community-Based ProgramsDelinquency PreventionEvaluative Studies |
Author: Furby, Brett Title: Evaluation of Community Offender Services Programs Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Relapse Prevention - Three Years Out Summary: Community Offender Services (COS), within Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) is responsible for the management of offenders serving community-based sentences across 60 NSW district offices. The Drug and Alcohol Addiction Program (DAAP) and Relapse Prevention Program (RPP) were designed to be delivered by Probation and Parole Officers (PPOs) who supervise the participating offenders. These programs formed part of a drug and alcohol intervention strategy aimed to enhance the range of options that PPOs may use to assist community-based offenders under supervision in breaking the cycle of drug dependency and crime. CSNSW received funding from the NSW Drug Summit Initiative to develop, implement and evaluate these programs. The first year of the programs has previously been reported. This report details findings from the second and third years of program delivery to end September, 2008. Trends are examined on program activity data, participant characteristics and re-offending rates since program inception. At three years out, program effects remain positive with offenders showing marked improvements in levels of drug dependency, stage of change in problem resolution and legal outcomes. Details: ydney: Corporate Research, Evaluation & Statistics, NSW Department of Corrective Services, 2011. 30p. Source: Research Bulletin No. 33: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2013 at http://143.119.253.176/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/447299/RB33-Evaluation-of-Community-Offender-Services-Programs-Drug-and-Alcohol-Addiction-and-Relapse-Prevention-Three-Years-Out.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 127279 Keywords: Alcohol AbuseCommunity-based CorrectionsDrug Abuse and AddictionEvaluative StudiesIntervention Programs |