NCJ Number
148327
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 20 Issue: 3-4 Dated: (1994) Pages: 207-215
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This analysis of a project in which imprisoned drug offenders describe their criminal histories and the consequences to deter young people from committing crime concludes that the project had a latent effect on the participants themselves in that their recidivism rates were signficiantly lower than those in a matched control group of ex-offenders.
Abstract
Operation Kick-It is a project established in Texas in 1970 by the Governor's Criminal Justice Council. Panels of three or four drug offenders traveled through the State to tell their life stores to the public, particularly adolescents. In contrast to previous projects that used intimidation and scare tactics, Project Kick-It places more emphasis on relating to the audience. The study used a partial experimental design to compare recidivism among 179 program participants and 179 matched nonparticipants. Results revealed recidivism rates of 20 percent for participants and 66 percent for nonparticipants. Findings indicated that program participation helped these first-time drug offenders in their successful reintegration into conventional society. Tables, notes, and 14 references (Author abstract modified)