NCJ Number
151524
Date Published
1995
Length
71 pages
Annotation
This report is a technical appendix to The Social Impact of the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign. That document reported the findings of a study to evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of the National Citizens' Crime Prevention Media Campaign (NCCPMC) activities in producing and disseminating public service announcements (PSAs) focusing on McGruff the Crime Dog and using the Take a Bite Out of Crime theme.
Abstract
The original evaluation attempted to determine: (1) whether the NCCPMC is an effective method for preventing and/or controlling crime and drug use among its targeted audiences; (2) the advantages and disadvantages of the media component to those implementing the program; (3) what has been learned from the media component activities that will improve the program or will aid in developing other programs related to the prevention of crime and drug abuse; and (4) the costs of the program, its sources of support, what benefits have been derived from the program. The original report concluded that a substantial majority of the public, the media, and the law enforcement community had accepted McGruff, the Take a Bite Out of Crime PSAs, and the message themes tied to the NCCPMC as positive symbols of crime prevention. These symbols had also become associated with drug abuse prevention, although to a lesser extent. The findings revealed that the campaign apparently continued to gain in popularity and impact over the decade studied, and concluded that such a media campaign could be a productive approach for influencing public understanding and behavior in the prevention and control of crime and drug abuse. This companion document contains four chapters: (1) introduction; (2) complete description of the research methodology; (3) detailed content analysis of the campaign and procedures used; and (4) survey questionnaire item descriptions. Tables, bibliography