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REDUCING REOFFENDING: EFFECTIVE AND PROMISING INVESTMENTSJustice Analytical Services2019Priority NeedEffective InvestmentsReduction in overall reoffendingInterventions that adhere to Risk, Need and Responsivity (RNR) principles: Interventions that tailor the intensity to the level of risk has a very strong and consistent evidence-base. Interventions should also be well-sequenced and see progress as a series of small, achievable steps.Interventions that help build strong bonds with non-offending friends, family members, and with his or her children and also building social capital. However, there is weak evidence as to what type of intervention would be most effective. Increase hope, self-efficacy and motivation and focus on the development of skills.Longer and more meaningful support from flexible and empathic social workers and mentors.Throughcare: Interventions delivered in custody are most effective in their impact on reoffending if followed up with community interventions or aftercare post-release. This is especially the case for drug treatment. Supervised Bail: Whist more research is required into the impact of bail supervision on reoffending, supervised bail schemes, could be used as an alternative to remand, which could reduce suicide and mental distress, prevent disintegration of social supports, maintain family ties and reduce disruption to employment and housing which are all factors associated with reoffending. Targeting is critical as social work involvement can be stigmatising and up-tariffing should be avoided.Prolific, repeat offendersThere is consistent evidence that community sentences are slightly more effective at reducing reoffending than short prison sentences when differences in the samples are controlled for. As 2/3rd of convictions in any given year relate to repeat offenders, even small differences will have a big impact on overall crime, particular among prolific offenders. Interviews with women serving community sentences in Scotland indicate that they are often dealing with a wide range of social, financial and emotional issues which they raise with workers to seek help with dealing with them. This finding raises important questions about whether community disposals should take these contributory factors into account in the design and provision of community penalties.Higher risk offenders and those most resistant to changeCognitive Behavioural Interventions to address attitudes that support offending and also to develop cognitive and problem-solving skills and that adhere to RNR principles has a strong evidence base. CBT also works well if delivered alongside anger management or individual therapy.ViolenceAnger management and emotional management interventions that also develop interpersonal skills, and social problem solving.This is specifically the case for programmes that follow the Risk, Needs and Responsivity principles. The most effective interventions use the cognitive behavioural approach, are intensive in their session length and overall duration, and include cognitive skills training, role play and relapse prevention. Violence and Property Crime Restorative Justice Conferencing for crimes where there is an identifiable victim such as violent and property offences.Young adultsParole re-entry systems that are planned, structured and contain rehabilitation element shows the strongest evidence for reduce reoffending in young adults.There is some evidence that following victim–offender conferences, applying a Restorative Justice model, there are reductions in reoffending, at least when focused on property crimes. Young peopleDiversion from prosecution to social work can reduce reoffending in the longer term. High levels of structure plus rehabilitation elements can help to reduce reoffending in young people.WomenThere is very strong evidence for substance abuse treatment, in particular in-custody or hierarchical therapeutic community programmes that apply a cognitive-behavioural intervention focusing on skill development. Targeting offenders with the most serious levels of substance abuse for treatment should be part of any strategy to reduce women’s offending.Appropriate treatment targets for women offenders overlap with those of male offenders which are antisocial personality (problems with impulse control, emotion regulation and hostility), antisocial peers, antisocial attitudes and substance abuse.Programmes for women offenders may be particularly effective if they focus on higher-risk offenders. Single-target programmes focusing only on reducing the effects of trauma do not appear to contribute to reductions in women’s reoffending.Women’s violent crime, including partner assault, is associated with alcohol abuse; acquisitive crime and soliciting are related to serious drug abuse.Gender-responsive cognitive-behavioural programmes that emphasise existing strengths and competencies, as well as skills acquisition; community opioid maintenance, which may reduce offending rates while the women are in treatment; booster programmes that assist in maintaining treatment effects through community follow-up, which appear to contribute to improved outcomes.Gender-responsive approaches, which show promise relative to gender-neutral programmes. Serious mental health issues are associated with violent offending among some women offender samples. For these women, mental health needs must be stabilised prior to participation in programmes that address criminogenic need. A prosocial personal identity may permit women to take advantage of potential opportunities to establish desistance from crime. This suggests that interventions that use motivational, solution-focused techniques, encouraging women to seek their own meaningful ‘hooks’ for lifestyle change, could promote desistance. Drug misuseHigh intensity drug treatment in the community that uses CBT approaches represents good value for money.Random drug testing can reduce drug use and reoffending if combined with treatment and swift and certain (not severe) responses to breach.Research has suggested outcomes could be improved via better partnership working, assessment and referral procedures, and by ensuring appropriate testing regimes.Drug courts - strong evidence for adults. Some differences between studies could be continuity of staff, time spent on review hearings, judges level of experience, same judge, collaboration between agencies and access to drug treatment and programme length.Qualitative evidence has identified that access to and quality of treatment services are important factors underpinning the effectiveness of drugs courts in England and Wales. The continuity of staff involved in drugs courts was believed to foster a sense of accountability on the part of offenders. Drug misuse - prisonPrison-based interventions such as therapeutic communities, psycho-social approaches (for example, cognitive behavioural therapy) and abstinence-based approaches have reduced reoffending post-release.Priority NeedPromising InvestmentsReduction in overall reoffending Mentoring: Some mentoring programmes have demonstrated a positive impact on reoffending, but not all. The effectiveness of mentoring is therefore mixed/promising. The evidence as a whole suggests that mentoring may be most beneficial when it begins in prison and lasts beyond release. Mentoring is also most likely to be effective when the relationship is maintained over time rather than consisting of just one or two sessions. A good quality UK study found that participants in a mentoring scheme in Wales who received between two and six contacts after release were reconvicted at a significantly lower rate than a (broadly matched) control group of those who did not maintain contact. Available studies indicate that some kinds of mentoring may influence reoffending through acting as a ‘bridge’ to other services and providing continuity of support ‘through the gate’. Tentative evidence indicates that mentoring projects may be associated with improvements in mentees’ employment outcomes, and may improve engagement in other programmes and interventions. More tentative evidence suggests that mentoring projects may be associated with improvements in mentees’ housing situation. Very limited evidence suggests they may be associated with reductions in substance misuse. There is very limited evidence that mentoring programmes can increase coping abilities, improve family and peer relationships and reduce pro-criminal attitudes. All of these ‘intermediate outcomes’ can be theoretically linked to reductions in reoffending behaviour.A Scottish evaluation on mentoring found the biggest change was to motivation. The most important factor was the development of a close one-to-one relationship between the mentee and the mentor. The following qualities, skills and behaviours were key to building relationships and were consistently demonstrated by mentors: regular contact; being non-judgmental; treating the mentee as an equal; being easy-going; being a relaxing, calming influence; listening; challenging; being persistent; encouraging the mentee to set goals; encouraging mentees to think through consequences; praising and building self-esteem; sharing their own personal experiences and difficulties they have overcome; caring; respecting confidentiality; encouraging engagement with other services. Electronic Monitoring: Offenders released under electronic monitoring (EM) are no more likely to engage in criminal behaviour when released from prison compared to those who are not eligible for early release. However there is considerable variability in the experiences of electronic monitoring.Literature on the use of EM for other offence types suggests there can be better outcomes if EM is used as part of a wider intervention of supports and supervision.?Arts Projects: Currently, there is insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not arts projects have a measurable impact on reoffending. The best available evidence indicates that arts projects are effective at improving in-prison behaviour (such as compliance with rules and engagement with the regime) and individual psychological factors (such as depression and a sense of purpose). More tentative evidence suggests that arts projects may be effective at improving educational outcomes and enhancing the effectiveness of offending behaviour programmes. All of these ‘intermediate outcomes’ can be theoretically linked to reductions in reoffending behaviour.Alcohol misuseThere is currently a lack of evidence to determine the impact on reoffending of alcohol treatment for offenders. There is, however, good evidence that alcohol-related interventions can help reduce hazardous drinking more generally.In the absence of evidence on the impact of Alcohol Treatment Requirements on reoffending, qualitative evidence has highlighted the benefits of probation staff and alcohol specialists working closely together, the use of motivational interviewing by probation staff, and the availability of brief interventions for offenders with less serious alcohol misuse problems.While there is limited evidence on the impact of alcohol interventions among offender populations, there is good evidence supporting the effectiveness of various treatments in tackling alcohol misuse among the wider population, particularly cognitive behavioural and psycho-social interventions, but also self- and mutual-help approaches. Such interventions may offer useful principles and practice points. There is also strong evidence that aftercare, such as follow-up appointments, can be effective in terms of preventing a return to alcohol abuse following more intensive treatment interventions.HousingOffenders with accommodation problems are more likely to reoffend than those with stable accommodation, but there is insufficient evidence to determine the most effective forms of help for offenders in terms of reducing reoffending. There is evidence that hostel-type accommodation tailored specifically for ex-offenders may facilitate the development of ‘criminal networks’, leading some researchers to conclude that it is more effective to house offenders in secure mainstream accommodation. Good practice highlights taking a proactive approach towards managing the housing needs of prisoners, including assessing needs on entry into custody rather than immediately before release.. ‘Link’ schemes, which work with prisoners in custody and on release via through-the-gate assistance, have also been identified as potentially valuable. There is some mixed/promising evidence that housing support for offenders with mental health problems has had a positive impact on levels of homelessness and crime. In order to sustain their accommodation, offenders may need advice in managing money and debt.EmploymentOverall, evidence on the effectiveness of employment/education programmes in reducing reoffending is mixed/promising. The variety of approaches and contexts means a complex evidence base. There is positive evidence from England and Wales that community-based interventions which enable offenders to access skills and employment opportunities were effective at reducing reoffending. Employment programmes are unlikely to be effective unless they are combined with motivational, social, health and educational support services to help address other needs that may act as barriers to finding employment (for example, learning difficulties, mental illness and substance abuse). It has also been concluded that vocational training activities without associated links to tangible employment prospects are unlikely to lead to reductions in reoffending. The most successful elements of employment programmes appear to be: Strong local partnership working; training which is related to local employment needs and opportunities; long-term funding; and long lead-in times. The most successful programmes are likely to be those which coordinate work before and after release from prison. Domestic abuseThere are two main types of existing treatment for people who commit domestic abuse. The first is based on CBT, built on the belief that domestic abuse is based on ‘cognitive distortions’ and inability to appropriately process feelings. The second is the Duluth model, designed around feminist psychoeducation, which aims to re-educate violent men on their beliefs about domestic abuse and women, as well as providing anger and stress management and relationship skills training. The Duluth model emphasises that domestic abuse is used by men as a tool to control women. However, both types of interventions have only shown small capacity to reduce domestic abuse, and further research and development of programmes is required. An evaluation of the Caledonian programme found that men who completed it posed a lower risk to partners, children and others by the end of the programme. However the evaluation could not determine whether the programme reduced reoffending or incidents of domestic abuse. Sex offences Evidence is mixed, but there is some evidence that those who receive treatment have lower rates of sexual reconviction. CBT is typically, but not universally found to be the most effective intervention for reducing sexual recidivism. Programmes for sexual offenders should be matched to the risk level of the participants, and using inappropriate participants can skew findings as to programme efficacy. Interventions with sex offenders have been found to work best with medium and high-risk offenders. Research findings suggest that low and high risk offenders should be kept separate during treatment and researchers have suggested that female sexual offenders are qualitatively different from male sexual offenders and so should not be involved in group treatment with male sexual offenders. ReferencesWhat Works to Reduce Reoffending: A Summary of the Evidence – Scottish Government Rehabilitation - A Summary of Evidence on Reducing Reoffending – Ministry of Justice Monitoring: Uses Challenges and Successes – Scottish Government Works for Women Offenders – Rapid Evidence Assessment Reoffending in Young Adults – Rapid Evidence Assessment of the Reducing Reoffending Change Fund – Scottish Government System Evaluation – Scottish Government Outcomes of Arts Projects – Ministry of Justice ................
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