SAFE STREETS ACT - SEVEN YEARS LATER

• NCJ Number: 62841
• Journal: Intergovernmental Perspective Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (WINTER 1976) Pages: 6-11
• Author(s): C W STENBERG
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: U.S. Advisory Cmssn on Intergovernmental Relations
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE SAFE STREETS ACT, A FEDERAL GRANT-IN-AID PROGRAM TO ASSIST STATES AND LOCALITIES IN REDUCING CRIME, IS EVALUATED IN THIS COMMISSION REPORT, ON 7 YEARS OF THE PROGRAM'S OPERATION.

Abstract

THE OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968 AUTHORIZED APPROXIMATELY $4 BILLION TO STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES FOR A WIDE RANGE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACTIVITIES. THE ACT GAVE THE STATES SIGNIFICANT DISCRETION IN IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS, DESIGNING PROGRAMS, AND ALLOCATING RESOURCES, WHILE ENCOURAGING LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION IN DECISIONMAKING. THE ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS EXAMINED THE PROGRAM OVER AN 8-MONTH PERIOD USING NATIONAL SURVEYS, LEAA'S GRANT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, AND FIRST-HAND OBSERVATIONS OF SAFE STREETS OPERATIONS IN 10 STATES. ALTHOUGH A MIXED RECORD EMERGED, POSITIVE RESULTS WERE FOUND IN THE INCREASED CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE CRIME PROBLEM'S COMPLEXITY AND THE NEEDS OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. THE ACT HAS PROVIDED AN INCENTIVE FOR THE COORDINATION OF EFFORTS TO REDUCE CRIME AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION AND HAS SUPPORTED LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACTIVITIES THAT MIGHT HAVE OTHERWISE REMAINED UNFUNDED. THE DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL FUNDS APPEARS TO HAVE EVOLVED INTO A WELL-BALANCED PROGRAM, PROPORTIONATE TO THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL STATES, AND STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE ASSUMED THE COSTS OF A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF SAFE STREETS ACTIVITIES. HOWEVER, FRAGMENTED RELATIONSHIPS AMONG LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE BODIES HAVE HAMPERED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROGRAM. MOREOVER, GOVERNORS' AND STATE LEGISLATURES' PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN LACKING. COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING FEDERAL AND STATE ACTION FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENTS IN COOPERATION AMONG GOVERNERS, LEGISLATURES, AND STATE PLANNING AGENCIES, AS WELL AS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES. GRAPHS ARE INCLUDED. (WJR)