Criminal Justice Evaluation Training
In criminal justice, policy makers increasingly want to know what works in preventing crime and reducing recidivism among criminals. Training in evaluation techniques enables law enforcement authorities, corrections officials and other criminal justice professionals to systematically assess anti-crime efforts to identify effective policies and programs. Evaluation provides a means for finding the characteristics of effective criminal justice initiatives.
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Function
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Persistent violent crime and public perceptions of a failed justice system can lead many criminal justice professionals to adopt feelings of futility, a sense that nothing works to reduce criminal behavior. Training in criminal justice evaluation can provide professionals in law enforcement, corrections and other aspects of the justice system with the tools and methods needed to identify what works in crime prevention, policing and other criminal justice programs.
Benefits
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Evaluation provides valuable information to criminal justice agencies at a time when policy makers often expect agencies to accomplish more with the same or fewer resources. In addition, many federal and state grants to local criminal justice organizations include evaluation requirements. Training in evaluation enables authorities to use empirical evidence when gauging the effectiveness of anti-crime efforts. Knowing what works and what does not in criminal justice enables administrators and policy makers to design more effective policies and programs.
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Types
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In a 2001 paper funded by the National Institute for Justice, Rutgers University criminal justice scholar Michael G. Maxfield identified two key approaches to criminal justice evaluation--SARA and SCP. Maxfield called SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment) the most popular approach to evaluation research used by criminal justice authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom. SCP, or Situational Crime Prevention, emphasizes modifying situations to reduce or prevent criminal activity.
Features
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Evaluation training for criminal justice professionals generally includes training in the two main classes of evaluation research--formative and summative. Formative evaluation in criminal justice examines the design and implementation of initiatives for the purpose of improving the program. For example, a formative evaluation could identify possible improvements for an initiative to increase police patrols in a high-crime neighborhood. Summative evaluation, in contrast, strives to assess the efficacy of a program. For example, a summative evaluation would examine the extent to which crime rates fell in the neighborhoods targeted by a program of increased police patrols. Training also provides instruction in all evaluation activities. These include research design, data collection methods, developing measures of program performance and data analysis techniques.
Expert Insight
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In his report, Maxfield advises criminal justice professionals to include the following elements when conducting evaluations: state the goals and objectives of a program; describe how the program works; develop and explain measures for assessing program activities; describe relevant data sources; and specify the standards against which program effects will be considered.
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References
Resources
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