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Operation Safe Streets: Implementation, Program Process, and Impact Evaluation

NCJ Number
214568
Author(s)
Arthur H. Garrison; Maribeth Leslie Trojan
Date Published
June 1998
Length
46 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the design, implementation, performance, and outcome of Operation Safe Streets (OSS) a partnership between police, youth services, probation and parole services and correctional agencies in Wilmington, DE, to reduce the number of shootings.
Abstract
In an effort to find a solution to the alarming 1997 shooting trend, members of the Delaware Criminal Justice Council staff worked with YSR, DOC, and WPD to establish a partnership. In June 1997, OSS was implemented. Operation Safe Streets (OSS) has proved to be successful in reducing the increasing number of shootings that were occurring between March and May 1997. With respect to the two main goals of OSS, there was a 70.6 percent decrease in the number of shootings between June 1997 and September 1997 and a 4.7 percent decrease in the number of shootings during June 1997 and September 1997 as compared to the same period in 1996. There were three collateral effects of the operation: the creation of permanent partnerships between Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services (YSR), the Wilmington Police Department (WPD), and the Department of Corrections (DOC); the use of integrated computer technology in crime prevention; and the fact that the combination of law enforcement resources proved to be a key factor in crime reduction. The intended impact of the program was to remove violators from the streets of Wilmington and to create a deterrent factor for other probationers. This report presents summary findings on the design, implementation, and performance outcome of OSS. Tables, graphs, and appendixes 1-2