Creating a New Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance

Creating a New Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century:

Findings and Results From State and Local Program Evaluations

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Monograph

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531

Janet Reno Attorney General Daniel Marcus Acting Associate Attorney General Mary Lou Leary Acting Assistant Attorney General

Nancy E. Gist Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Office of Justice Programs World Wide Web Home Page

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Bureau of Justice Assistance World Wide Web Home Page

ojp.BJA For grant and funding information contact U.S. Department of Justice Response Center

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This document was prepared by Justice Research and Statistics Association, under grant number 95?DD?BX?K011, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Creating a New Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century:

Findings and Results From State and Local Program Evaluations

Effective Programs Monograph No. 2

April 2000

Monograph

NCJ 178936

Creating a New Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century

Foreword

Improving the nation's criminal justice system is the central mission of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Building safer, less violent communities is a major challenge all states and local communities are facing. Real progress can be achieved only if we demonstrate and confirm "what works," so we can all profit from the impact of more than 10 years of federal funding through the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program. In the year 2000, our knowledge of effective programs will continue to be critical as we solve one of the nation's toughest problems.

Underlying our ability to gain reliable knowledge and disseminate information on effective programs and activities is our commitment to evaluating and publicizing those programs and activities as we implement our plans and strategies. Evaluation done right permits program managers to find out what is and is not working, and why. BJA carries the responsibility of building the capacity of state and local governments to design and conduct their own assessments and evaluations of criminal justice programs. BJA's handbooks and technical assistance help to provide a systematic, disciplined framework that focuses on performance and results, both quantitative and qualitative, to be measured and evaluated. This initiative also represents an area of close participation with the National Institute of Justice to build federal, state, and local evaluation systems over the past decade.

BJA is pleased to present this monograph, Creating a New Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century: Findings and Results From State and Local Program Evaluations. It is the second in a series of reports to highlight and document approaches and results of evaluations funded at state and local levels. The first report, Improving the Nation's Criminal Justice System: Findings and Results From State and Local Program Evaluations, Effective Programs Monograph No. 1, was published in December 1997. Six demonstration projects affecting many components of the criminal justice system were the focal point of the evaluations presented in the previous monograph. Having been identified as effective, these programs have become models for other states and localities to replicate.

This monograph has been produced to make proven state and local programs more accessible to planners and practitioners alike. The document is divided into two parts. Part One provides descriptions and evaluations of programs in seven states: Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire, Oregon, Illinois, Utah, and Oklahoma. Part Two is a summary of evaluations of state and local multijurisdictional task forces funded by BJA.

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Bureau of Justice Assistance Future reports in the series will continue to communicate the results of strong federal, state, and local partnerships that are enhancing the role of evaluation, building excellent evaluation systems, and reporting on the impact of efforts to combat crime in America. BJA is proud of its work of identifying effective drug abuse and violent crime prevention programs and communicating lessons learned at state and local levels that can be shared nationally to ensure that the most promising approaches have a broad impact. Nancy E. Gist Director

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