NCJ Number
80281
Date Published
1978
Length
133 pages
Annotation
Findings and recommendations are presented from an evaluation of the second year of the Illinois Urban High Crime Reduction Program (UHCR).
Abstract
The Illinois UHCR program, funded by the State Law Enforcement Commission since early 1974, tests the thesis that local governments can plan, implement, and evaluate action projects designed to reduce levels of targeted crimes. Each city participating in the program established a crime reduction council consisting of key local criminal justice administrators, supported by a staff. Major objectives specified for the local programs were (1) to reduce burglary and stranger-to-stranger crime through rational analysis and systematic goal-oriented planning, development, and implementation; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches undertaken by the program for possible replication elsewhere in the State; and (3) to increase coordination among police, courts, and corrections officials in policy development and local decisionmaking. Major objectives of the second year evaluation were to follow the progress of the UHCR programs and the overall administration of the program and to present preliminary and tentative findings on target-crime impact. The evaluation found that East St. Louis' participation in the program was terminated, largely due to this city's inability to convene its crime reduction council and although the other three cities have remained in the program, only one has captured the essence of the program design. The evaluation concluded that further analysis is needed to determine if target crime has declined significantly since the implementation of action projects. All three cities are faced with the question of what form, if any, the UHCR program should take when State funding terminates. Three recommendations are offered. Graphs, tables, and footnotes are included. Appended are a list of the materials examined and data on the incidence of target crimes by month for 1972-1976.