Peter W. Greenwood

Drug court or probation? : an experimental evaluation of Maricopa County's drug court

The nationwide drug court movement represents one of the most recent innovations aimed at decreasing the number of drug-involved offenders by providing drug treatment and intensive court supervision. Although the majority of drug courts are diversion programs, the Maricopa County (Arizona) Drug Court is a postadjudication program for probationers with a first-time felony conviction for drug possession. Probationers are required to participate in an outpatient comprehensive drug treatment program, and their progress is monitored by the judge. The drug court emphasizes individual accountability through a system of rewards and sanctions. A total of 630 offenders sentenced in 1992 or 1993 were randomly assigned to either the drug court or routine probation for RAND’s experimental evaluation and tracked for a period of twelve months. Results show that 40 percent of drug court participants successfully completed the treatment program within twelve months. Although there was no statistically significant differen...

Reducing Gun Violence: Results from an Intervention in East Los Angeles

To assess whether an initiative to reduce gun violence that had been successful in Boston could be adapted for use elsewhere, researchers selected an East Los Angeles area for a similar intervention that was to include both law enforcement and social service components. Although the latter component was not widely available when the intervention began, researchers found that the intervention helped reduce violent and gang crime in the targeted districts and that crime also decreased in surrounding communities.

A DECADE OF DRUG TREATMENT COURT RESEARCH

As drug treatment courts have multiplied over the past decade, so too have research evaluations conducted on their implementation and effectiveness. This article explores the decade of drug treatment court research conducted at RAND, starting with the experimental field evaluation of Maricopas drug testing and treatment options to the most current 14-site national evaluation of courts funded in 1995–96 by the Drug Court Program Office. The article presents summaries of findings, a brief description of a drug treatment court typology, and suggestion of where future research might focus.

Maricopa County’s Drug Court: An Innovative Program for First-time Drug Offenders on Probation

AbstractThe nationwide drug court movement represents one of the most recent innovations in our criminal justice system aimed at decreasing the number of druginvolved offenders by providing drug treatment and intensive court supervision. Although the majority of drug courts are diversion programs, the Maricopa County (Arizona) Drug Court is a postadjudication program for probationers with a first-time felony conviction for drug possession. Probationers are required to participate in an outpatient comprehensive drug treatment program, and their progress is monitored by the judge. The drug court emphasizes individual accountability through a system of rewards and sanctions. A total of 639 offenders sentenced in 1992 or 1993 were randomly assigned to the drug court or standard probation for RAND’s experimental evaluation. Preliminary results show that 40 percent of drug court participants successfully completed the treatment program within twelve months.

Alternative Placements for Juvenile Offenders: Results from the Evaluation of the Nokomis Challenge Program

The Nokomis Challenge Program, an innovative correctional program for low- and medium-risk delinquents, was implemented by the Michigan Department of Social Services (DSS) in 1989. The program combines three months of residence and outdoor challenge programming with nine months of intensive community-based aftercare. It was designed as an alternative to residential placements that average 14-16 months. An evaluation of the Nokomis Program conducted using a quasi-experimental study of 192 juvenile offenders showed significant cost savings, compared to traditional residential placement, over a 24-month period, but few differences in outcomes. Youths in both groups made positive gains in social adjustment during residential programs, which disappeared by the end of the follow-up period. Despite community aftercare, Nokomis youths failed more quickly upon release to the community. The results suggest that to derive benefit from short-term alternative placements, the intensive aftercare component must be strengthened to help prevent youth from relapsing.

An Evaluation of the Federal Government’s Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants

The 1994 Crime Act authorized

Private presentence reports for serious juvenile offenders : implementation issues and impacts

10 billion through fiscal year 2000 to help states expand prison space for violent offenders, provided states had truth-in-sentencing (TIS) laws. Few states enacted new TIS statutes to qualify for funding; only

An evaluation of the Nokomis Challenge Program in Michigan

2.7 million actually reached the states. By the end of fiscal year 1999, more than 50,000 new beds had been added using violent offender incarceration (VOI) and TIS funds, a capacity increase of around 4%. TIS did not increase incarcerations per violent crime committed. The percentage of sentence served by released violent offenders has increased since 1993 for both TIS and non-TIS states. By fiscal year 2002, VOI/TIS funding was discontinued.

The Criminal Investigation Process

A classic experimental design was used to determine the impact of a private agencys efforts to develop and present alternative sentencing recommendations for serious juvenile offenders whom the Los Angeles Probation Department had recommended for placement in California Youth Authority (CYA) institutions. Follow-up data showed that these efforts reduced the likelihood of CYA commitment by about half, and that many experimental subjects performed satisfactorily in less restrictive settings.

Criminal Careers of Habitual Felons

The Nokomis Challenge Program is an innovative correctional program, run by the Michigan Department of Social Services (DSS), which combines 3 months of residence and programming in a remote wilderness setting with 9 months of intensive community-based aftercare. RAND is evaluating the impact of the Nokomis program under grants from the National Institute of Justice and DSS. This article describes the various elements of the Nokomis program and presents data on the characteristics of youth in the experimental and comparison samples.