NCJ Number
69605
Date Published
1980
Length
226 pages
Annotation
Evaluation results are reported for a program designed to counter target crimes in three high-crime Illinois cities.
Abstract
The program was designed to provide rational planning for the allocation of federal criminal justice funds by requiring that participating cities (Joliet, Peoria, and Champaign) target crimes and base resource allocations decisions on the analysis of data on target crime occurrence, victim and offender characteristics, and the response of the criminal justice system and the community. Evaluation began in September 1976, just over 2 years after the first program grants were awarded. The evaluation developed criteria for the assessment of 'rationality' in the planning process, analyzed target crime trends, and used local evaluations of action projects to help interpret statistical connections between rational planning and crime. The evaluation also assessed the program's impact on several facets of the criminal justice system and the communities' fear of crime and attitudes toward the local criminal justice system. Monthly statistics from the Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting System and results from victimization surveys showed a significant shift in target crime levels only with burglary in Joliet. The extent to which this crime rate shift in Joliet was attributable to the program could not be determined. The local crime reduction councils provided a meaningful forum where system officials and private citizens could exchange ideas on target crime reduction, thus laying the groundwork for a structure of crime control over the long term. Greater technical assistance and state-level direction was needed to facilitate local planning. Overall, the evaluation report provides insights to the kinds of problems criminal justice planning and line agencies face in their mission to control or reduce crime. Tabular and graphic data are provided.