NCJ Number
95264
Date Published
1983
Length
135 pages
Annotation
This report discusses problems in evaluating organized crime control programs and proposes an evaluation design predicated on a harm-based measure of organized crime rather than an activity-based one.
Abstract
The report first examines why most prior efforts to assess organized crime control programs have not been noteworthy. It also describes measures used by the U.S. General Accounting Office to evaluate the Justice Department's Strike Force Program. Reasons why a standard program evaluation design cannot be applied to an organized crime program are discussed, including the impossibility of using an experimental or control group, difficulties in specifying the impact variable, and administrative and legal constraints. An alternative design is described, based on the characteristics of the Strike Force Program, in which impact is assessed by looking at the overall harm caused by organized crime in a jurisdiction and whether the Strike Force has targeted all these activities. The plan then asks how the Strike Force achieves its goals once targets are selected and if its actions affect the overall harm caused by organized crime. Examples of different harms produced by representative organized crime activities are supplied. Finally, the report details a three-phase plan to develop, test, and apply this evaluation design to organized crime control efforts. Charts, footnotes, questionnaires, and approximately 60 references are supplied.