An overview is provided from the relevant literature of multiple disciplines and fields of study; Akers (1992) notes that a field is problem-defined; whereas, a discipline is perspective-defined, and the whole range of knowledge and research on the problems of the field of criminal justice cannot be contained within one discipline. The objective of this presentation is to stimulate and contribute to a program-planning process by helping to define and diagnose problems in ways that will lead to the selection of the appropriate targets and interventions and that will allow the application of systematic and reproducible evaluation procedures. Framed as a nascent (preplanning) phase in a program evaluation, this discussion is an attempt to define and specify the problems and their location and scope, to review proposed interventions, and to discuss the issues in the selection of target populations. The author provides guidelines for a review of proposed interventions and the selection of target populations. 54 references