Locally Initiated Studies

Akron, OH
Evaluation of the Akron Weed and Seed Program 2000-2004 (2005)

This evaluation examined the effectiveness of the Akron Weed and Seed program over the full length of its existence, from 2000 to 2004, with specific focus on the Weeding component of the program. The report includes the history and characteristics of the Weed and Seed program and target area and an overview of the site strategy. Evaluation of the weeding component relied on incident-based crime data from the Akron Police Department, census demographic data, and Akron residents' perceptions of crime and justice. Crime data analysis included the entire Akron Weed and Seed area and the target area within the Weed and Seed boundaries. The analysis also compared a demographically similar Akron neighborhood outside of the Weed and Seed area and the city of Akron itself.

Albuquerque, NM
Evaluation of Albuquerque Weed and Seed Sites: Trumbull and La Mesa Neighborhoods (2000)

The primary goals of the evaluation were to examine and document the role of the Community and Prosecutions Coordinator (CPC) and determine the degree to which Weed and Seed drug related offenses were successfully prosecuted. The overall evaluation question was this: how does the work of the CPC impact the Neighborhood Associations (NAs) of Trumbull and La Mesa? This question is specified further by asking whether or not court monitoring, performed by members of the NAs in coordination with the CPC, increases the likelihood that Weed and Seed drug trafficking cases will be successfully prosecuted?

The core objectives for the evaluation design were to: (1) thoroughly examine the coordination efforts between the CPC and the Trumbull and La Mesa NAs and; (2) determine whether court monitoring by neighborhood members is associated with favorable prosecution outcomes for convicted criminals, especially drug-related offenses.

Des Moines, IA
Des Moines Weed and Seed Evaluation (1999)

The Des Moines Weed and Seed evaluation examined the history and evolution of the Des Moines Weed and Seed site and analyzed current resources and needs in the community, with particular attention to the Safe Haven component of the strategy. This report summarizes the information gathered and includes recommendations for ongoing planning and implementation by the Des Moines Weed and Seed site to strengthen the project.

Madison, WI
Madison Safe Haven Program Evaluation 1996-1997 (1997)

During the 1996-97 year, the focal year of this report, the evaluation had several components:

1. A determination of a demographic profile of children who attended the Safe Haven programs. Children who attended the programs were contrasted with (a) all other children in their schools and (b) other children who resided in the target neighborhoods but did not participate in the programs. The purpose of these comparisons was to ascertain if the Safe Haven programs were successful in identifying and serving children who were at risk for academic and social problems.
2. A limited examination of children's Safe Haven experiences. This included ratings of the quality of the programs, a determination of how often the children actually attended the programs, and how the children perceived the programs.
3. Tests of program effects on children's development. Five aspects of child adjustment were investigated: academic grades, conduct grades, school absences, misconduct, and conflict resolution strategies. We sought to determine if program attendance was associated with these adjustment indices. We examined this issue across one-year and two-year time periods.

Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Weed and Seed Program Evaluation (1997)

This study examined the impacts of the Milwaukee Weed and Seed Site in 1995-96.

New Britain, CT
Final Report of the Evaluation of the New Britain Weed and Seed Program (1999)

The primary purposes of this study were to determine if the New Britain Weed and Seed site was consistent with the vision of the Executive Office for Weed and Seed and to identify the effects of site programming. This evalution covered the first two years of program implementaion and focused on four areas; steering committee, weeding, and seeding activities as well as budget allocation. Data collection measures included steering committee observations and interviews, interviews with program implementation staff, and a review of the program budget. Police data (calls for service, drug calls for service, number of personal crimes, and property felonies) was analyzed and a comparison was made between this data for the site area and the rest of New Britain for the years 1993-1998 that enabled crime trends to be examined before and after program inception.

New Britain, CT
Evaluation of the New Britain Weed and Seed Program (2007)

This report summarizes the primary activities of the New Britain Police Department’s Weed and Seed program and provides an assessment of its ’affects on citizens’ calls for police assistance inside and outside of the Weed and Seed area. Over 80,000 citizen calls for police service data were collected from the New Britain Police Department from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 2007. For the evaluation, we use calls for service from January 1, 1995 through December 31, 2005.

Ocala, FL
City of Ocala Weed and Seed Evaluation Final Report (1999)

The purpose of the evaluation is to determine; 1) the extent to which the Weed and Seed program in Ocala has been effective in meeting the goals for the program and the objectives for each component, and 2) the degree to which the identified strategies have been implemented and the relationship of these strategies to the program's outcomes.

Philadelphia, PA
Final Evaluation Report for the Philadelphia Weed and Seed Project (1997)

The Center for Social Policy and Community Development, Temple University, has conducted an overall, outcome evaluation of Philadelphia's Weed and Seed Project, covering the five years of the program's existence. The evaluation has had two primary goals.

1. To assess the extent to which the City of Philadelphia Weed and Seed Project has accomplished its stated tasks and performed its stated activities.

2. To document and analyze the success, or lack thereof, of the Weed and Seed strategy, as it has been applied in the City of Philadelphia.

The evaluation included an emphasis on the impact that the project has had at the neighborhood level and an emphasis on the lessons that can be learned from the Philadelphia experience. A central aspect of the Weed and Seed strategy is the collaboration between law enforcement agencies, between government agencies, and between government agencies, community groups and the private sector. The shape and outcomes of these collaborations was, therefore, highlighted in the evaluation.

The relative effectiveness of the various program elements and the way in which they complement each other was assessed.

Savannah, GA
Savannah's Weed and Seed Program Evaluation (1999)

The evaluation examines the effectiveness of select "weed" side components of Savannah's Weed and Seed program in 1999, by analyzing data gathered from the target area residents and interviewing police line officers as well as supervisory and management personnel with responsibilities in Weed and Seed neighborhoods. Other methods include Weed and Seed committee meeting minutes and quarterly reports; and, from crime data bases aggregated by both target area and city-wide crime incident data.

Volusia County, FL
Volusia County Weed and Seed Program Evaluation Study (2004)

The Stetson Institute for Social Research conducted an evaluation of Volusia County's Weed and Seed grant proposals from their first few years of implementation. The evaluation drew from numerous quantitative and qualitative data sources in order to provide detailed recommendations for the Volusia County Weed and Seed program, including specific site goals, activities, implementation and the overall effectiveness of site strategies.

Wheeling, WV
Program Evaluation of the O.N.E. Wheeling Weed and Seed (2003)

This study conducted a process and impact evaluation of the East Wheeling weed and seed site for the period of November, 1998 to November, 2002. Study methodology consisted of gathering data from newspapers and related weed and seed activity reports, conducting interviews with steering committee members and law enforcement as well as community policing officers, data analysis of police crime reports, a focus group interview with safe haven representatives, and a community impact survey.

Wilmington, DE
The Impact of Operation Safe Streets on Shootings in Wilmington (1998)

This study focuses on the implementation of Operation Safe Streets and its impact on shooting incidents in Wilmington. The report includes various methods of crime statistical analysis, including comparison of shooting patterns, linear trends and geographic and demographic analysis.

Wilmington, DE
Evaluation of Operation Weed and Seed in Wilmington, Delaware (2001)

This report was one in a series of annual evaluations of the Wilmington Weed and Seed Site conducted since 1993. These studies provide a longitudinal analyses of both crime trends in the targeted area as well as changing perceptions and attitudes about Operation Weed and Seed and community policing in Wilmington.

Wilmington, DE
City of Wilmington Operation Weed and Seed 1992-1996: An Evaluation (1998)

While mainly analyzing crime issues, this report summarizes the activities and impacts of Operation Weed and Seed in Wilmington from 1992 to 1996.

Woburn, MA
Analysis of Police Activity and Programming in the Woburn, Massachusetts Weed and Seed Area (1999)

The goal of the evaluation was to provide a product that the Woburn Weed and Seed site could use to further their work and also provide research that will be helpful for the Weed and Seed program as a whole by discussing the dynamics of arrest and calls for service mapping. In conducting this evaluation, the Massachusetts SAC analyzed and mapped data detailing police calls for service.

Youngstown, OH
City of Youngstown's Weed and Seed Strategy Year Four Evaluation Report (2004)

The Center for Human Services Development at Youngstown State University conducted a program evaluation of the Youngstown Weed and Seed strategy in order to determine the overall strengths and weaknesses of the program. Weed and Seed-related information was collected for data comparison in order to determine the site's achievement of fourth year program goals and if any improvements had been made since program implementation.

Return to Weed & Seed Evaluations.