Final Report on the Evaluation of the First Offender Prostitution Program: Report Summary

• NCJ Number: 222451
• Author(s): Michael Shively Ph.D.; Sarah Kuck Jalbert; Ryan Kling; William Rhodes Ph.D.; Peter Finn; Chris Flygare; Laura Tierney; Dana Hunt Ph.D.; David Squires; Christina Dyous; Kristin Wheeler
• Date Published: March 2008
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2005-DD-BX-0037
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Award: Evaluations of Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention FY 2003 Discretionary Funds Projects

Annotation

This report presents results and recommendations of an evaluative study on the effectiveness, return on investment, and transferability of the First Offender Prostitution Program (FOPP) in California.

Abstract

Findings from the evaluation include: (1) the First Offender Prostitution Program (FOPP) is well conceived and has been implemented as intended; (2) the program is effective in producing positive shifts in attitudes and gains in knowledge, as well as the program was found to have reduced recidivism; (3) the FOPP was found to cost little and to be highly cost-effective; and (4) the FOPP model is replicable, adaptable, and sustainable, and has served as a model for at least 25 subsequent programs. Key findings from the evaluation are presented in three areas: (1) evaluating the First Offender Prostitution Program’s (FOPP) design and implementation; (2) evaluating the FOPP’s effects on knowledge, attitudes, and rearrest rates; (3) assessment program costs; and (4) assessing program transferability. Recommendations are presented for the FOPP, the program itself, for technical assistance, and for additional research. Highlights of these key recommendations include: (1) conduct more Web-based reverse stings; (2) add some form of program aftercare or referrals for community services, (3) consider expanding beyond first-time offenders and pretrial diversion; (4) initiate an ongoing data collection program supporting FOPP performance monitoring and future evaluation; (5) creating a vehicle for diversified, practitioner-led technical assistance; and (6) creating an infrastructure for circulating information about sex trafficking demand reduction. Future studies are recommended to answer the following questions: why was the FOPP effective; is the FOPP more or less effective than other john school models; and what is known about john school programs abroad? The FOPP is designed to reduce the demand for commercial sex and human trafficking in San Francisco by educating men arrested for soliciting prostitutes about the negative consequences of prostitution. The evaluation results described in this report address three priority issues: the effectiveness, return on investment, and transferability of the FOPP. Map and graphs