The need for evaluation research

Abstract

A serious evaluation involves random assignment, a verified intervention, and a long follow-up period, but these are rare in the criminal justice system (CJS). The pharmaceutical industry evaluates frequently, but it differs from criminal justice in its goal (to help rather than punish), organizational involvement (doctors change prescriptions not behavior), the costs of the effort (firms, unlike the CJS, cover losses with earnings), and the risks it imposes (firms often lose money but rarely face a political scandal). The CJS would benefit from congressional insistence on evaluations and the money to pay for them and a willingness to evaluate entire programs rather than single projects.