Evaluation of the Urban Crime Prevention Program - Final Report

• NCJ Number: 92779
• Author(s): J A Roehl; R F Cook
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 221 pages
• Corporate Author: Institute for Social Analysis
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report describes and evaluates the Urban Crime Prevention Program (UCPP), which awarded grants to 85 innovative neighborhood-based crime prevention projects across 9 cities for an 18-month period beginning in late 1980. The 2-year evaluation focused on property crime prevention, victim/witness services, arson prevention, and dispute settlement projects.

Abstract

The UCPP differed from past national programs in that it provided very modest amounts of funds to neighborhood organizations located in low and moderate-income areas and relied heavily on volunteerism, citizen participation, and developing coalitions with other groups and city agencies. Information sources for the evaluation included site visits to each city; structured interviews with grantees, project directors, and outside agency officials; and grantees' monthly reports and records. New York and Cincinnati served as intensive study sites. Property crime and arson prevention projects were the most successful, primarily because they were based on the straightforward organizing of citizens into block watches and tenant groups. These projects were also successful in obtaining support and assistance from police departments, fire departments, and housing agencies. More complex and tangible activities revolving around insurance unavailability and arson research did not attract much citizen involvement. Most victim/witness assistance and dispute settlement projects maintained high activity levels regarding community education, outreach, and development of referral sources, but encountered problems in involving citizens and building productive relationships with the criminal justice system. The evaluation recommends that community crime prevention programs emphasize organizing citizens as the basic strategy, that strong working relationships be established between such groups and relevant criminal justice agencies, and that the neighborhood projects receive substantial training and technical assistance. The appendixes contain a description of the evaluation methodology, program descriptions for each city and program ratings, and a survey of full-time volunteers who worked on the projects.