Dennis P. Rosenbaum

Since the late 1970s, the high-rise developments of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) have been dominated by gang violence and drugs, creating a sense of hopelessness among residents. Despite a lengthy war on crime, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, the CHA has been unable to reduce the violence that makes life intolerable. Focusing on three developments—Rockwell Gardens, Henry Horner Homes, and Harold Ickes Homes—Sue Popkin and her co-authors interview residents, community leaders, and CHA staff. The Hidden War chronicles the many failed efforts of the CHA to combat crime and improve its developments, offering a vivid portrait of what life is like when lived among bullets, graffiti, and broken plumbing. Most families living in these developments are headed by African American single mothers. The authors reveal the dilemmas facing women and children who are often victims or witnesses of violent crime, and yet are dependent on the perpetrators and their drug-dominant economy. The CHA—plagued by financial scandals, managerial incompetence, and inconsistent funding—is no match for thegang-dominated social order. Even well-intentioned initiatives such as the recent effort to demolish and “revitalize” the worst developments seem to be ineffective at combating crime, while the drastic changes leave many vulnerable families facing an uncertain future. The Hidden War sends a humbling message to policy makers and prognosticators who claim to know the right way to “solve poverty.”

Today, policing in the United States is facing a crisis of legitimacy and calls for reform. This Element examines this crisis and describes the adverse effects of problematic police behavior on community members, police officers, and public safety. A critical analysis of past reform efforts is offered, including why they have had limited success in changing police operations, police culture, or styles of policing. The central thesis of this Element is that most police reforms have failed because we continue to use the wrong metrics to evaluate police performance. Cities have yet to systematically measure what matters to the public, namely how people are treated by the police. Hence, this Element proposes a new system of accountability using data from body-worn cameras and contact surveys to measure and incentivize procedural justice. Translating evidence into real organizational change should improve street-level policing, enhance police legitimacy, and improve public safety.

Today, policing in the United States is facing a crisis of legitimacy and calls for reform. This Element examines this crisis and describes the adverse effects of problematic police behavior on community members, police officers, and public safety. A critical analysis of past reform efforts is offered, including why they have had limited success in changing police operations, police culture, or styles of policing. The central thesis of this Element is that most police reforms have failed because we continue to use the wrong metrics to evaluate police performance. Cities have yet to systematically measure what matters to the public, namely how people are treated by the police. Hence, this Element proposes a new system of accountability using data from body-worn cameras and contact surveys to measure and incentivize procedural justice. Translating evidence into real organizational change should improve street-level policing, enhance police legitimacy, and improve public safety.

The reporting of the evaluation of the McGruff campaign is quite comprehensive, and the conclusions and recommendations in the final chapter offer specific guidance to the developers of the McGruff campaign as well as others involved in the mass media campaigns, whether they be national campaigns or closer to home. --Janice A. Roehl, Ph.D., President, Justice Research Center, Pacific Grove, California "Garrett J. O'Keefe and his colleagues present findings from their extensive evaluation of the 'Take a Bite Out of Crime' campaign, a nationwide effort to foster citizen responsibility for combating crime. The book is quite comprehensive and informative as well as clearly written. It covers a topic of genuine interest to crime prevention scholars, law enforcement practitioners, and media experts, especially those examining the power of the media to influence people's attitudes and behaviors. The book is also sweeping in its appeal and will interest readers of varying backgrounds and levels of knowledge." --Arthur J. Lurigio, Loyola University of Chicago "Taking a Bite Out of Crime covers an important aspect of the relationship between the media, crime, and criminal justice. It presents the latest research and is an important contribution in this area." --Ray Surette, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, University of Central Florida Do you remember the McGruff character and his message? Taking a Bite Out of Crime examines the development and content of the campaign with that very slogan that motivated countless individuals and communities to take action to prevent crime. Comprehensive and informative, this volume presents a case study of the 14-year national information effort to stir public awareness about crime and evaluates the campaign's impact. Drawing on data from a national survey, the authors analyze the inner workings of the campaign and find an increase over the past decade in its popularity and effectiveness. A thriving, effective blend of communication and action initiatives, the campaign's strengths have included persistence, consistency of impact, and broadness of scope not seen in previous information campaign research. This volume also features state-of-the-art evaluation of the public's perceptions and attitudes toward crime and provides excellent data-based recommendations for future campaigns. A unique study of a campaign that has reached more than 80% of the American public, Taking a Bite Out of Crime offers a case study that combines elements of interest to both criminal justice and media researchers. Policy makers, law enforcement specialists in crime prevention, public campaign planners in a range of fields, program evaluation specialists, and marketers will also find the book rich with relevant information.

The reporting of the evaluation of the McGruff campaign is quite comprehensive, and the conclusions and recommendations in the final chapter offer specific guidance to the developers of the McGruff campaign as well as others involved in the mass media campaigns, whether they be national campaigns or closer to home. --Janice A. Roehl, Ph.D., President, Justice Research Center, Pacific Grove, California "Garrett J. O'Keefe and his colleagues present findings from their extensive evaluation of the 'Take a Bite Out of Crime' campaign, a nationwide effort to foster citizen responsibility for combating crime. The book is quite comprehensive and informative as well as clearly written. It covers a topic of genuine interest to crime prevention scholars, law enforcement practitioners, and media experts, especially those examining the power of the media to influence people's attitudes and behaviors. The book is also sweeping in its appeal and will interest readers of varying backgrounds and levels of knowledge." --Arthur J. Lurigio, Loyola University of Chicago "Taking a Bite Out of Crime covers an important aspect of the relationship between the media, crime, and criminal justice. It presents the latest research and is an important contribution in this area." --Ray Surette, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, University of Central Florida Do you remember the McGruff character and his message? Taking a Bite Out of Crime examines the development and content of the campaign with that very slogan that motivated countless individuals and communities to take action to prevent crime. Comprehensive and informative, this volume presents a case study of the 14-year national information effort to stir public awareness about crime and evaluates the campaign's impact. Drawing on data from a national survey, the authors analyze the inner workings of the campaign and find an increase over the past decade in its popularity and effectiveness. A thriving, effective blend of communication and action initiatives, the campaign's strengths have included persistence, consistency of impact, and broadness of scope not seen in previous information campaign research. This volume also features state-of-the-art evaluation of the public's perceptions and attitudes toward crime and provides excellent data-based recommendations for future campaigns. A unique study of a campaign that has reached more than 80% of the American public, Taking a Bite Out of Crime offers a case study that combines elements of interest to both criminal justice and media researchers. Policy makers, law enforcement specialists in crime prevention, public campaign planners in a range of fields, program evaluation specialists, and marketers will also find the book rich with relevant information.