Impact of Operation Safe Streets on Shootings in Wilmington

• NCJ Number: 179950
• Author(s): John P. O'Connell; Richard Harris; James Kane; Arthur Garrison
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 35 pages
• Corporate Author: Delaware Statistical Analysis Ctr; Delaware Criminal Justice Council
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Delaware Statistical Analysis Ctr
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Delaware created the Governor's Task Force on Violent Crime in May 1997 in response to a significant increase in shootings in Wilmington that started in 1996, and the first mission of the task force was a targeted effort known as Operation Safe Streets to reduce the violence in Wilmington.

Abstract

In 1996, 108 shooting incidents occurred in Wilmington in which the victim was either injured or killed, a 130 percent increase over the 47 shootings reported in 1995. Continued escalation in the number of shootings was observed in the first half of 1997, and Operation Safe Streets started in June 1997. The program represented a collaborative effort by the Wilmington Police Department, the State Department of Correction, and the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services to target adult and adult juvenile probationers designated as high risk to ensure they remained compliant with curfews and other probation conditions. The program resulted in over 800 arrests and the seizure of thousands of dollars in contraband and weapons. The analysis of program results ranged from cautious optimism to statistically significant positive results, based on the four different analysis methods used. Tables and figures