Effects of an Experimental Special-Education Crime-Prevention Intervention: A Time-Series Study

• NCJ Number: 124428
• Journal: Journal of Clinical Child Psychology Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1989) Pages: 263-270
• Author(s): R E Lang; J V Kahn
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This study examined the effect of a personal safety education course on the victimization and criminal exploitation rates against educable mentally retarded (EMR), learning disabled (LD), and behaviorally disordered (BD) elementary school students. This experimental intervention was taught by a deputy sheriff and the students' special education teacher.

Abstract

The study, utilizing a time-series design without a control group, administered two surveys prior to the intervention and two surveys following it to 42 special education students. The crime survey's 15 items measured the frequency of violent crime victimization, property crime victimization, solicitation to commit property crime, solicitation to commit robbery, intimidation to commit property crime, and intimidation to commit robbery. The safety intervention began with a lesson the warning signs of crime followed by a slide presentation reinforcing previously taught safety lessons. Crime problem-solving scenarios portrayed common modus operandi followed by developmental solutions and rationales. The results of the self-reported crime victimization and criminal exploitation surveys indicate that rural special education students are more often victims of crime than targets of criminal solicitation or intimidation. However, the differences by student disability type suggest a need for further research on the vulnerabilities of specific disability types in various demographic locations. In addition, the results suggest that certain disability types benefit more from the intervention, indicating the need for disability-specific safety curricula and intervention plans. The intervention's focus on violent crime and criminal exploitation apparently resulted in a long-term reduction of violent crime victimization and a short-term reduction on property crime victimization. 2 tables, 18 references. (Author abstract modified)