CURBING CHICAGO CRIME, ONE JIGSAW CUT AT A TIME

“There’s a whole garden of approaches, with different styles and modalities and theories of change,” says Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. “What’s new, or seems new, is that we’ve reached the point that relying on law enforcement for all of our public safety problems became too obviously problematic.” Continue reading CURBING CHICAGO CRIME, ONE JIGSAW CUT AT A TIME

Lessons from a ‘Violence Interrupter’ as Shootings Continue to Ravage Chicago

“[Violence interrupters] are from the same streets, grew up in the same areas and had the same experiences as young people and so they just have more access and access means influence,” said Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “The possibility of influencing someone’s behavior and attitude is stronger if you come at them as an equal.” Continue reading Lessons from a ‘Violence Interrupter’ as Shootings Continue to Ravage Chicago

Injustice Watch— City Watchdog: Juvenile Diversion Program has Failed to Meet Goals

“It makes me sad to see that some of the issues we identified ten years ago are still hindering the effectiveness of the place,” said Jeffrey Butts, a criminologist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, who conducted the earlier evaluation. Continue reading Injustice Watch— City Watchdog: Juvenile Diversion Program has Failed to Meet Goals

Process Evaluation of the Chicago Juvenile Intervention and Support Center

Researchers investigated the operations of a pre-court diversion program that provides services and supports to “station adjusted” (i.e., informally handled) youthful offenders after they have come into contact with the Chicago Police Department but before they have been formally arrested and referred to the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department. The purpose of the study was to determine the suitability of the program for evaluation and to work with staff to enact any procedural modifications that may be needed to facilitate future evaluation activities. Continue reading Process Evaluation of the Chicago Juvenile Intervention and Support Center