About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


12 J. Experimental Criminology 1 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/jexpcrm12 and id is 1 raw text is: J Exp Criminol (2016) 12:1-20 CrossMark DOI 10.1007/s11292-016-9252-4 The continued importance of measuring potentially harmful impacts of crime prevention programs: the academy of experimental criminology 2014 Joan McCord lecture Anthony A. Braga2 Published online: 17 February 2016 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 Abstract Objective Joan McCord was a very influential criminologist and strong advocate for measuring potentially harmful effects in well-meaning crime prevention programs. This paper demonstrates the continued importance of measuring adverse program effects by reviewing the available research evidence on classic and contemporary gang streetworker programs. Methods This paper draws upon the evaluation findings of existing gang streetworker evaluations and presents the unpublished results of a rigorous quasi-experimental evaluation of a contemporary gang streetworker program that directly measured wheth- er the intervention impacted the violent gun behaviors of treated gangs relative to untreated gangs. Results Evaluations of classic pre-1970s gang streetworker programs generally found that these interventions increased gang delinquency by reinforcing group identity and enhancing gang cohesion. Evaluations of contemporary gang streetworker programs are mixed, with several studies documenting concerning increases in gang violence. An unpublished evaluation found that the streetworker program was well-implemented and executed. However, the intervention was associated with increased shootings by and against treatment gangs relative to control gangs. Conclusion These findings suggest that contemporary gang streetworker programs are at high risk of generating unintended adverse outcomes for treated gang members relative to their untreated counterparts. Existing and planned programs should be monitored with a high degree of vigilance and evaluated with controlled evaluation designs. W Anthony A. Braga Anthony Braga@harvard.edu School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA 2 Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 4_ Springer