THE CCP PROVIDES FUNDS TO LOCAL PROSECUTORS SO THAT DEFENDANTS WHO APPEAR TO HAVE ESTABLISHED A CONSISTANT SERIOUS PATTERN OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND WHO ARE ASSUMED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A SIZABLE AMOUNT OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY CAN BE IDENTIFIED. AS AN ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS THE URBAN CRIME PROBLEM BY FOCUSING ON METROPOLITAN COURTS AND THEIR GROWING CASELOADS OF REPEAT OFFENDERS, THE PROGRAM IS BASED ON FOUR ASSUMPTIONS: (1) THERE IS A GROUP OF HABITUAL VIOLENT CRIMINALS WHO COMMIT A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF CRIME; (2) THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM COMES INTO CONTACT WITH CAREER CRIMINALS; (3) CAREER CRIMINALS CAN BE IDENTIFIED FOR SPECIAL CONSIDERATION; AND (4) BECAUSE OF LARGE CASELOADS AND LIMITED RESOURCES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, SERIOUS CAREER CRIMINALS ARE NOT PROSECUTED AS EFFECTIVELY OR AS FULLY AS THE NATURE OF THEIR OFFENSES AND CRIMINAL RECORDS WARRANT. SPECIFIC PROGRAM GOALS ARE TO IMPROVE THE PROSECUTION OF CAREER CRIMINAL CASES AND TO REDUCE CRIME BY INCAPACITATING THIS GROUP OF OFFENDERS. SELECTED JURISDICTIONS TO BE THE FOCUS OF ANALYTICAL CASE STUDIES FOR EXAMINING PROCESSES AND EFFECTS OF THE CCP AT THE LOCAL LEVEL WILL BE INVESTIGATED IN TERMS OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES, CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE, AND CRIME LEVELS. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES WILL PROVIDE AN EXTENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE NATURE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESSING FROM ARREST TO SENTENCING IN EACH SELECTED CITY BEFORE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AND DURING THE CCP AND WILL ALLOW THE SPECIFICATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED BY PROGRAM ACTIVITIES. DATA WILL BE COLLECTED FOR FOUR GROUPS: DESIGNATED CAREER CRIMINAL DURING THE TREATMENT YEAR, NONCAREER CRIMINALS DURING THE TREATMENT YEAR, CRIMINALS FROM A BASELINE YEAR WHO WOULD THEORETICALLY HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED CAREER CRIMINALS, AND CRIMINALS FROM A BASELINE YEAR WHO WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED CAREER CRIMINALS. THE ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION NECESSARY FOR ASCERTAINING POTENTIAL PROGRAM EFFECTS ON CRIME LEVELS. A QUANTITATIVE MODEL WILL BE EMPLOYED TO DERIVE ESTIMATES OF SAVED CRIMES BASED ON ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MEASURES. ESTIMATES OF SAVED CRIMES WILL BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ACTUAL AND EXPECTED CRIME LEVLES, DERIVED FROM DETERMINATION MODELS NOT UTILIZING PERFORMANCE MEASURES, TO SEE IF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ACTUAL AND EXPECTED CRIME RATES CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR BY VALUES DERIVED FROM PERFORMANCE MEASURES. EIGHT GENERAL TYPES OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE SUGGESTED FOR THE EVALUATION: CHARGE RATES, PLEA RATES, TRIAL RATES, CONVICTION RATES, DISMISSAL RATES, INCARCERATION RATES, LENGTH OF SENTENCES, AND PROCESSING TIME. DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE CONCEPT AND PLAN OF EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS IS PRESENTED, AND FIGURES ILLUSTRATING THE EVALUATION PROCESS ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)