Assessing the Effectiveness of the Dallas Police Dept.’s First Offender Programs
Client: Dallas Police Department
Team: Kyle E. Kidd, Eric B. Lakey, S. Tyler Nau
Faculty advisor: Dr. Richard Barr Year: 1995
Documents: Final report
The purpose of this study is to analyze historical data on the Dallas Police Department’s First Offender Programs in order to determine the effectiveness of the programs, and to develop a model to predict the probability of the program being successful for an offender. Using graphing techniques, statistical techniques and operations research techniques the sample was analyzed to reach conclusions about the efficiency of the two programs.
The techniques utilized were Graphical Techniques, Statistical Analysis System (SAS), Classification and Regression Trees (CART), Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and a Cost/Benefit Analysis. The findings were that the Dallas programs proved to be more efficient than other juvenile delinquent programs in other cities. The main factor hindering the Dallas youth offender programs is difficulty in retaining the offenders enrolled in the programs. Given the findings of this study, the Dallas Police Department can take steps to enhance the First Offender Programs’ ability to deter repeat offenders.