On Good Authority

              – 1 –
Specialized unit takes a
problem-solving approach
to crime in Kankakee
On Good Authority
Vol. 4, No. 5
December 2000
On Good Authority is a periodic
briefing on trends and issues in
criminal justice program evaluation.
This report was written by staff
Research Analyst Karen S. Levy
McCanna. It is a summary of an
implementation and impact program
evaluation of the Kankakee
Metropolitan Enforcement Group. The
evaluation was conducted by Scott H.
Decker, Ph.D., Tim S. Bynum, Ph.D., G.
David Curry, Ph.D., and Dan Swift, M.S.,
of Justice Research Associates. Copies
of the evaluation are available from the
Authority’s Research and Analysis Unit.
The Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority is a state
agency dedicated to improving the
administration of criminal justice in
Illinois. The basic functions of the
Authority are criminal justice research,
federal and state grants administration,
and information systems development
and support.
For more information, or for copies of
this or other publications, contact the
Authority at (312) 793-8550, or visit
our Web site at www.icjia.state.il.us.
The evaluation was supported by grant #97-
DB-MU-0017 and #98-DB-MU-0017,
awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance,
Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of
Justice. Points of view in this document do not
necessarily represent the official position or
policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Printed by authority of the State of Illinois,
December 2000. Printing order #01-056;
3,000 copies.
George H. Ryan
Governor
Peter B. Bensinger
Chairman
Candice M. Kane
Executive Director
ILLINOIS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
INFORMATION AUTHORITY
The Kankakee Metropolitan
Enforcement Group (KMEG)
is a specialized unit that
operates overtly in addressing citizen-identified
problem areas and covertly
in developing large-scale drug
investigations.
The Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority contracted for
an implementation and impact
evaluation of the KMEG using
federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act
(ADAA) funds. The operation of
KMEG also is supported with ADAA
funds. The evaluation, by researchers
with Justice Research Associates,
began in January 1998 and was
completed in May 2000. This On
Good Authority reviews the findings
of the final evaluation report.
Methodology
The evaluation project was designed
to provide a description of the KMEG
structure, activities, and results.
Researchers utilized ride-along
observations, site visits, interviews,
surveys, and file data to examine the
effects of KMEG relationships and
activities. Researchers explored the
following six areas:
1) The relationship between the
covert unit and the overt unit within
the KMEG structure.
2) The relationships between
KMEG, local police departments, and
the community, as well as non-
KMEG officer’s perceptions of the
KMEG unit.
3) Nuisance abatement activities,
including landlord participation and
the outcome of abatement cases.
4) The sustainability of the KMEG
unit in its current form.
5) KMEG enforcement activities
before and after a 1998 reorganiza-tion.
6) The perceived quality of KMEG
cases by the Kankakee County State’s
Attorney’s Office and the city attor-ney.
Description of KMEG
Since illegal drug activity does not
adhere to geographical boundaries,
metropolitan enforcement groups
(MEGs) include personnel from
several jurisdictions. MEGs histori-cally
engage in long-term surveil-lance
and covert activities to build
mid- to high-level drug cases for
prosecution. The KMEG unit, which
serves Kankakee and Iroquois
counties, had been operating in this
fashion since the 1970s.
In 1997 the Kankakee police
chief and the Kankakee County
sheriff met to discuss the needs of the