NCJ Number
133966
Date Published
1991
Length
60 pages
Annotation
This evaluation of Delaware's Eastside Substance Abuse Awareness Program focuses on the program's impact on drug-related activity.
Abstract
The program is a comprehensive, community-based effort to reduce illicit drug activity in Wilmington's Eastside neighborhood. By combining the resources of criminal justice agencies, existing community service providers, the education system, churches, and businesses, the program aims to reduce drug-related activity in the neighborhood by improving the relationship between residents and police; encouraging residents to become more involved in community-based efforts at reducing drug-related activity in the area; and increasing the availability of educational, social, and rehabilitative services. This evaluation measured the number of drug-related call-in's and the number of drug-related arrests before and after program initiation. Data on call-in's and arrests were collected for 18 months prior to the program start date. Data after the program started covered 1989 and 1990. Data were obtained from the computerized records of the Wilmington Police Department. Although the data do not indicate that the level of drug activity in the Eastside declined after the program began, there is evidence of stabilization, since call-in figures from the Eastside remained approximately the same in 1989 and 1990 while other neighborhoods with similar drug-related problems experienced substantial increases in drug-related call-in's during the same period. Extensive tabular data, figures, and maps