NCJ Number
201789
Date Published
2003
Length
36 pages
Annotation
After reviewing gang and drug crime problems in Chicago, this chapter describes the city's Municipal Drug and Gang Enforcement (MDGE) strategy and organizational structure, along with the research questions posed for the intervention's evaluation, the research methodology, and the process and impact evaluation research findings.
Abstract
Block and colleagues (1996) conducted a comprehensive analysis of gang crime in Chicago, using data from 1987 to 1994. Lethal street-gang violence increased significantly in those years, as did the risk of becoming either a victim or an offender. Street gangs tended to specialize in either violence or entrepreneurial activities such as drug dealing. Gang-related firearm homicide increased, particularly those committed with semiautomatic weapons. The intervention reflected in the MDGE program was based on an analysis of violent incidents and the tracing of such incidents to drug-related gang activity and associated gang violence. The MDGE program addresses gang and drug problems in non-owner-occupied multiunit dwellings. This targeted intervention is based in the belief that multiunit dwellings foster gang and drug crime by acting as magnets for illegal activity. In the spirit of community-oriented policing, the MDGE program strategy engages building owners as proactive partners in corrective measures; there are powerful deterrent measures against owners who are unresponsive. Other programs that had a tangential impact on MDGE included the city's Criminal Housing Task Force, which identifies buildings that are dilapidated or have dangerous living conditions but are not necessarily crime-ridden. The program also incorporated the ongoing operations of the police department's gang tactical units. To assess the impact of MDGE, researchers compared operations in pilot program districts with operations in comparison police districts. The evaluation design called for process and outcome evaluation research, using qualitative and quantitative methods. The process evaluation found that implementation went as planned, but not without certain problems. Impact analysis found that downturns in targeted crimes continued well after the inspection teams left the targeted areas. Recommendations are offered for program modifications, based primarily on the process evaluation. 6 tables, 8 figures, 26 notes, and 25 references