NCJ Number
191240
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 81 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 339-359
Date Published
September 2001
Length
21 pages
Annotation
As this article describes, systematic reviews and cost-benefit analyses are in their infancy in corrections, but they both offer promise for an evidence-based approach to correctional intervention.
Abstract
Systematic reviews use rigorous methods for locating, appraising, and synthesizing evidence from prior evaluation studies. They contain a method-and-results section and are reported with the same level of detail that characterizes high-quality reports of original research. Other features of systematic reviews include explicit objectives; explicit eligibility criteria; reduction in potential bias in the search for studies; the screening of each study according to eligibility criteria; assembly of the most complete data possible; the use of quantitative techniques in analyzing results; and a structured and detailed report. This article describes the formation and work of the Campbell Collaboration Crime and Justice Group, which will prepare, maintain, and make accessible systematic reviews of the effects of criminological interventions, including what works in corrections. Another section of this article reports on the findings of a systematic review of studies of the financial costs and benefits of correctional intervention programs. It summarizes key features of nine studies, all of which were conducted in the United States, and reports on program effects on reoffending in the community and the benefit-cost findings. The findings showed that correctional programs were generally effective in reducing reoffending. A small number of cost-benefit analyses showed that the financial benefits of correctional programs often exceeded their financial costs. 1 table and 41 references