Drugs and Public Housing: Toward an Effective Police Response; Draft Final Report

• NCJ Number: 139964
• Author(s): S Annan; W G Skogan
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 187 pages
• Grant Number(s): 89-DD-CX-0054
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This report describes and evaluates the police programs that established special units designed to address drug law offenses in public housing in Denver and New Orleans.

Abstract

Funded by grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the programs were oriented toward primary law enforcement and used traditional policing methods. However, the special units focused new energy and resources on a problem that otherwise was not receiving adequate attention. The evaluation focused on both process and outcome, using observations by evaluators, site visits, and quantitative data on the progress and consequences of the programs. Findings revealed that the special units adhered to their mandates and that the Federal funds were important to their effectiveness. In addition, organizational factors affected the results. Unfortunately, the local public housing authorities did not cooperate with the special units. Although the public housing authorities could undoubtedly do more to address crime and drug problems, many physical, financial, and organizational barriers hinder their efforts. Findings suggested the desirability of primary prevention rather than later intervention by the criminal justice system. Primary prevention would include a basic level of economic support for families, parenthood education programs targeted at families with poor child rearing skills, counseling to assist parents experiencing crises, and special schooling for large groups of high-risk youths. Although none of these approaches has been rigorously validated in terms of their impact on later criminal offending, their general social benefits seem clear enough that impediments to them are political rather than substantive. Figures, tables, and 34 references