Crime in California cost more than $17 billion in criminal justice expenditures in 1997 and an estimated $10 billion in victim-related costs in 1998. Successful crime prevention programs could potentially reduce long-term corrections and law enforcement costs or at least could slow the rate of growth of these costs. A network of relationships between the Federal, State, and local governments support California’s crime prevention programs. The six categories of organizational and structural elements that appear to be common to well-designed crime prevention programs include a definition of the problem, funding, program design, implementation, evaluation, and long-term value assessment. Problems with California’s existing crime prevention programs include a lack of detailed information about program expenditures and results, lack of information about which programs are effective in reducing crime, and failure to use the available information consistently to modify program design and funding. In addition, the lack of coordination among the multiple State agencies that administer crime prevention programs results in inefficiencies and duplication of effort. Recommended legislative actions to address these problems include the development of standardized review criteria to determine funding allocations, the requirement and funding of well-designed impact evaluations, and the establishment of a State crime prevention office to develop a strategic plan. Checklists and appended tables