NCJ Number
160956
Date Published
1994
Length
89 pages
Annotation
This report provides a process description and preliminary evaluation of the Weed and Seed initiative in Springfield, Ill.; the initiative involved local, State, and Federal law enforcement in addition to other governmental, human service, civic, and business organizations in the community.
Abstract
The initiative involved State and local resources and the redirecting of Federal resources. Initiated in May 1992, the project included two multiagency task forces with 8-10 members each. The project aimed to reduce cocaine distribution and related crime and to promote neighborhood revitalization through the coordination of various public and private-sector resources in the target area. The task force investigations resulted in 212 Federal and State indictments during the first 16 months of the initiative, as well as 94 Federal and 42 State convictions. Fifty-six crack cocaine distributors received Federal prison sentences, and an additional 37 distributors are in Federal custody pending a trial or a sentence hearing. Twenty-six of the 36 proposed seeding projects were fully implemented, and three were partially implemented. Twenty-two projects were continued, five were discontinued, and two were pending. Tables, appended list of programs, project descriptions, and related information