Rehabilitation of Offenders: International Perspectives Applied to Australian Correctional Systems

• NCJ Number: 179198
• Author(s): Kevin Howells; Andrew Day
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Australian Institute of Criminology Trends and Issues, No.112, May 1999

Annotation

This paper examines the reasons for the resurgence of interest in the field of offender rehabilitation and presents the conclusions from several recent international reviews that suggest rehabilitation programs can be effective in reducing recidivism; various factors conducive to rehabilitation effectiveness are identified and discussed.

Abstract

In the last 5 years, major reviews conducted in the United Kingdom, North America, Canada, and Europe summarize the outcomes of rehabilitation programs that have involved thousands of offenders. These studies, when taken together, provide consistent evidence that offender rehabilitation programs can have a positive effect in reducing recidivism. There is sufficient evidence now to reject Martinson's 1974 conclusion that "nothing works" in offender rehabilitation programs. Programs that are well grounded in psychological theory and/or research are likely to produce better outcomes than those that are not. Particularly, programs should be designed to target psychological factors that are amenable to change through treatment and have a functional relationship to offending (criminogenic needs). Programs based on psychological theory and research have been developed in the areas of drug and alcohol use, anger management and violent behavior, sexual offending, and general offending. Successful rehabilitation depends not only on the type of treatment offered, but also on the conditions under which it is delivered. The available evidence suggests that, on average, programs delivered in community settings produce better outcomes than those delivered in institutions. In Australia there are currently grounds for optimism about the future of rehabilitation programs. In recent years, several State correctional administrations have actively promoted and supported rehabilitation programs, and rehabilitation appears to be increasingly part of the core business of correctional departments. One table lists the criminogenic and non-criminogenic needs of offenders, and a second table presents the results of a meta-analysis of the effects of various criminal sanctions. 24 references