Evaluation of Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods Final Report
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Evaluation of Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods Final Report Russell K. Van Vleet, M.S.W. Robin L. Davis, Ph.D. Audrey O. Hickert, M.A. Edward C. Byrnes, Ph.D. September 30, 2005 Criminal and Juvenile Justice Consortium, College of Social Work, University of Utah Table of Contents Page TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................iv Section 1: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Introduction.......................................................................................1 Section 2: QUANTITATIVE DATA RESULTS Chapter 2: Offense and Prosecution Results ......................................................4 Chapter 3: Crime Mapping ..............................................................................14 Section 3: PARTNERSHIPS Chapter 4: PSN Accomplishment Timeline .....................................................26 Chapter 5: Key Informant Interviews ..............................................................36 Chapter 6: Statewide County and District Attorney Survey ............................49 Section 4: PSN AWARENESS AND TRAINING Chapter 7: Media Campaign Evaluation ..........................................................53 Chapter 8: Offender Notification .....................................................................66 Chapter 9: Law Enforcement Training Survey ................................................76 Chapter 10: Project Sentry ...............................................................................81 Section 5: PSN EFFECTIVENESS Chapter 11: Implementation, Outcomes, and Comparative Costs ...................86 Chapter 12: Comparison Communities ..........................................................100 Section 6: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION i Chapter 13: Summary and Conclusion ..........................................................110 Section 7: APPENDICES Appendix A: Interview Template for Key Informant Interviews ..................115 Appendix B: Informed Consent Form for Key Informant Interviews ..........116 Appendix C: Endorsement Letter for Media Survey .....................................118 Appendix D: Media Post-Test Survey ..........................................................119 Appendix E: Offender Notification Pre and Posttest......................................121 Appendix F: Informed Consent for Offender Notification Evaluation ..........125 Appendix G: Timeline Template and Instruction Sheet ................................127 Appendix H: Law Enforcement Training Survey ..........................................130 Appendix I: PSN Timeline List of Community Changes .............................132 Appendix J: Answers to Offender Notification Survey Questions ...............152 Appendix K: Offenses Queried from Utah State Court Database ................153 ii Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the support of Brett Tolman and John Huber as Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) coordinators in assisting with the completion of this evaluation. We would like to thank Paul Warner, US Attorney, District of Utah, and all of the PSN Partners, but especially the Task Force, Executive Committee members both past and present, Law Enforcement Coordination Specialist Melodie Rydalch and PSN Paralegal Allison Turner for assistance in the creation and completion of this evaluation. We appreciate the cooperation of and data provided by the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts and the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification. In addition, we acknowledge the initial work done by Stephanie Tonin as the former PSN Evaluation Project Coordinator in developing the format for this report. Finally, we wish to thank Consortium members Fran Nilson for assistance in managing the evaluation project and Erin Becker for her valuable editing expertise. iii Executive Summary Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a comprehensive, multi-agency intervention designed to reduce gun crime in America through five essential elements: 1) Partnership, 2) Strategic Planning, 3) Training, 4) Community Outreach and Public Awareness, and 5) Accountability. Supported by the Bush Administration, United States Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, and the United States Attorney's Offices in each of the 94 federal judicial districts, PSN aims to build a powerful and lasting coalition with our citizens - one that empowers them to be agents of change in their own communities. Since PSN was adopted by all federal judicial districts in late 2001, aggravated assault rates in Utah have been variable, while the percentage of aggravated assaults involving a firearm have remained stable. The percentage of robberies involving firearms, however, has fluctuated with the overall robbery trend, remaining at about one-third of robberies over the last four years. Weapon law offenses statewide decreased steadily for one year, starting in April of 2003, although rates have become variable again since April of 2004. Federal prosecution of violent and firearm crimes in Utah resulted in over 2,500 weapons being removed from the community. Federally prosecuted violent and firearm crimes in Utah received substantial sentences for federal incarceration. The PSN Task Force and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Utah have actively pursued violent and firearm crimes in Utah. They have reviewed a high volume of cases since 2000. Although the volume of cases reviewed, indicted, and sentenced has decreased steadily since 2003, the quality of cases accepted by the task force has increased, resulting in approximately 30% of PSN cases (excluding pending cases) being sentenced. The average sentence for PSN cases was 27 months in federal prison. Because federal sentences have no possibility of parole, the individuals sentenced federally under PSN will remain incarcerated for the entire length of their sentences. Communities that were involved with PSN were able to use the federal court and prison system to keep a larger percentage of violent firearm offenders off of their streets for a longer period of time. Long term impacts of PSN on violent and firearm crime may not be visible in crime trends for years, if at all, due to various environmental factors that can influence these data. However, the short term impacts of PSN, as recorded by the United States Attorney's Office, are clear and positive. In just three short years, Utah PSN has removed hundreds of violent criminals and thousands of weapons from Utah streets, improving the quality of life for Utah's law-abiding citizens. iv Some Brief Results: ! During Project CUFF (PSN’s national predecessor) and PSN the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) of Utah and the PSN Task Force have reviewed over 1,300 cases, resulting in 328 sentenced cases with an average of 27 months incarceration in federal prison (Chapter 2). ! Mapping of PSN cases by PSN partners indicates that the majority of PSN cases have come from the Wasatch Front; however, a substantial number of cases have come from rural partners in Vernal, Price, and Washington County (Chapter 3). ! PSN funding and partnerships have led to over 100 community changes (new or modified programs, policies, or practices) that have impacted the way communities prevent, deter, and punish gun crimes in Utah (Chapter 4). ! The majority of PSN “key players” have a positive opinion of the project and the partners involved and feel federal prosecution gives them “more bang for their buck” on firearm cases. However, they did provide suggestions for enhanced communication between prosecution and law enforcement and additional trainings (Chapter 5). ! Rural prosecution partners are aware of PSN and have benefited from increased outreach efforts by the USAO and PSN Task Force. Additionally, they are aware of the advantages of using PSN to prosecute domestic violence (DV) cases (Chapter 6). ! The general public’s exposure to and awareness of PSN increased dramatically over the course of the public awareness campaign, with 74% reporting seeing or hearing the PSN message in the media. Furthermore, those surveyed after the media campaign were more knowledgeable about federal firearm laws than those surveyed prior to the campaign (Chapter 7). ! Parolees in Salt Lake County significantly improved their overall knowledge of federal firearm laws after attending Offender Notification meetings; however, some laws concerning constructive possession and hunting scenarios remained unclear to offenders (Chapter 8). ! Line officers attending the September 7, 2005 PSN Law Enforcement Training reported high knowledge of PSN and comfort in utilizing its various procedures, although one- third (33.3%) did not have any personal experience with PSN cases at the time of the training (Chapter 9). ! Project Sentry has addressed youth gun violence through prosecution and prevention efforts. Approximately 42% of PSN cases involved defendants who were under the age of 27 at the time of their offenses (thus meeting federal criteria for Sentry Youth). Additionally, Utah’s Project Sentry collaborated with Weed and Seed, Salt Lake County Metro Gang Unit, and Project ChildSafe to provide information, resources, and gun locks to at-risk youth and their families (Chapter 10). v ! Since PSN implementation the USAO has more efficiently prosecuted firearm crimes and the