NCJ Number
183798
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 30 Issue: 1/2 Dated: 1999 Pages: 121-135
Date Published
1999
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This paper addresses the issue of how treatment and rehabilitation programs for violent offenders might be modified to improve their capacity to meet the needs of various cultural groups and improve treatment response.
Abstract
The paper's focus is on the needs of Aboriginal violent offenders in an Australian context, although the themes have relevance to treatment programs internationally. Two broad sources of information are used: the published literature relating to violent offending in Aboriginal people in Australia and a small-scale, interview-based qualitative survey of service providers with particular experience in this area. The evidence suggests there may be some distinctive features of Aboriginal violent offending. The findings show that Aboriginal violent offenders are likely to require a different emphasis in treatment than non-Aboriginal violent offenders, with attention to the role of engagement in treatment. This should lead to the development of more culturally appropriate curricula. In the interim, active efforts should be made to identify, within current programs, those modules, concepts, or tasks that prove problematic or inappropriate for Aboriginal participants. Research is required to determine in a more quantitative way the distinctive antecedents for violence in particular cultural groups, as well as to assess the effects on rehabilitation outcomes of increasing the cultural appropriateness of programs. 20 references