Developing a multicenter randomized trial in criminology: The case of HIDTA

In criminal justice, as in other fields, an experimental study conducted at a single site does not offer a solid basis upon which to make strong publi c policy recommendations. To date, criminal justice researchers have relied upon two general approaches to overcome the limitations of single-site exp erimental research. The first, termed "meta-analysis," seeks to combine ind ependent studies to identify consistent effects across criminal justice set tings or contexts. The second, sometimes termed "replication studies," seek s to replicate investigations in multiple criminal justice jurisdictions. I n this paper we describe a related approach developed in clinical studies i n medicine and examine its applicability in criminal justice settings. Term ed a "multicenter clinical trial," this method demands the implementation o f a single experimental protocol at multiple sites. We contrast the multice nter approach with other methods and provide a substantive example of an on going multicenter criminal justice study. We begin by examining the specifi c limitations of current approaches and solutions offered by multicenter st udies to overcome these. We then turn to an application of the multicenter clinical trial in a criminal justice setting. Using the example of the HIDT A (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas) evaluation of drug treatment prog rams currently being conducted at multiple sites, we illustrate components of the multicenter approach as well as potential drawbacks researchers are likely to face in its application in crime and justice studies.