Treatment in forensic populations Flashcards
What is an offender behaviour programme (2)
A course of activity, aimed at bringing about some outcome change in behaviour, typically to reduce offending
What are the different types of treatments (6)
Prison(punishment/deterrent/rehabilitation)
Medication (e.g. mental health, detox)
Staff behaviour (respect, bullying)
Programmes (Anger, Sex Offending, drugs)
Work or education
Privileges
Why is prison an effective treatment? (4)
Punishment
Deterrent
Containment
Place for rehabilitation/training
What are the problems associated with prisons as treatment? (6)
Containment - remove people from society - But incarceration forever Until ‘treatment’ ‘worked’?
Rehabilitation: prevent re-offending - does it work? Set targets for
successful completion of treatment ‘programmes’
Training: for the outside world? - but is that for more crime, more drugs? Or for a job/education? Or for more ‘normal’ social world?
Who argued that prisons are not effective as a deterrent what reason did they give for this? (4)
Ainsworth (2000)
95% who commit a crime not convicted
Those convicted go to prison months (years?) after the crime committed, so does not work in behaviourist terms
If an individual has a drug habit what treatment is given to them? (1)
Detox regime
Why is a detox regime used and which drugs are used and how is it prescribed? (3)
Significantly reduces suicide, self-harm, deaths in custody
Methadone and buprenorphine (Subutex) most common detox drugs for opiate/opioid addiction
Prescribe the drug on a gradually diminishing dose
What is treatment by staff? (6)
Anecdotally, find a range of attitudes, despite initiatives to improve treatment
Prison staff often recruited from Armed Forces
Mixture of trainers, individuals committed to rehabilitation, and those committed to containment and punishment
Bullying, harassment not unknown Or not dealt with if committed by other prisoners
Selection processes improving
What are the characteristics of an effective program? (10)
Structured, focused, addressing distinct problem
Staff need to be firm, but fair, who reinforce anti-criminal attitudes
Staff committed, enthusiastic, supported by management
Needs to target attitudes and values that support offending
Uses problem-solving and social learning
Matched to offender characteristics
Monitored in terms of recidivism & personal growth
Target medium and high risk offenders
Attempt to generalise beyond institutional setting
Recent focus on RNR: Risk, Needs, Responsivity
What is the most effective treatment? (1)
Cognitive behavioural therapy
What are six key areas of social-cognitive functioning improved by intervention? (6)
Self-control/management
Interpersonal problem-solving & social interaction
Rigid/inflexible thinking
Social perspective taking
Analytical thinking
Moral reasoning
What is the aim of a cognitive skills program? (1)
To alter thinking, and behaviour – the two are linked
How many Offender Behaviour Programmes are accredited? (1)
19 accredited for those in custody, 12 for the community
How are Offender Behaviour Programmes accredited? (4)
Accredited by Ministry of Justice = evidence-based, consistent with ‘What Works’, typically CBT, appropriate assessments, quality monitored, and evaluated
What do Offender Behaviour Programmes focus on? (5)
General offending behaviour
Aggression and anger
Substance misuse
Sexual offending
How is delinquent behaviour reduced? (3)
Parent education (home visits) and parent management training
Child skills training
Pre-school intellectual enrichment
What are Cognitive behavioural programmes used with violent offenders? (4)
BBR (Building Better Relationships: for those with convictions for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
Kaizen (for high or very high risk, also used for those convicted of sexual or violent offences)
Horizon (for medium and higher risk individuals convicted of sexual offences)
COVAID-GS (Control of violence for angry impulsive drinkers: for those who are violent under the influence of alcohol)
What is chemical castration? (3)
Injecting hormones or anti-androgens to reduce testosterone
Side effects, reversible, ineffective
Also SSRIs to reduce intensity of intrusive or ruminative thoughts, and to reduce arousal generally
What are Sex Offender Treatment Programmes (SOTP)? (4)
Adapted, Core, Rolling, Extended, Booster (replaced with Kaizen – high risk, Horizon and iHorizon – criminogenic need March 2017)
Mixed success: groups, mixed, criteria unmet, biggest problem – not targeted at individual needs
Denial prevents access (though not with Kaizen and Horizon)
Also now community variant of Horizon and Becoming New Me + (for those with learning disabilities)
What are Drugs intervention programmes? (3)
DIP: Drug Intervention Programmes such as Pillars of Recovery and Breaking Free Online
The Forward Trust
Monitored by the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS): Provides comprehensive statistics about treatment.
What are the questions regarding the ‘what works’ debate? (5)
No violence or less violence?
Accountability?
Clean from drugs, or using less?
How to measure success?
What criteria for effectiveness?
Mixed effects of programmes (6)
Some NDTMS reports of DIPs show a small proportion (2%) actually increasing their drug usage
Some sex offenders, actually see SOTPs as training
Complex interaction between programme intentions and
delivery by staff
If not supported on release often return to crime
Meta-analyses do show that treatment for violence ‘works’
Evidence for treatment for sexual offending is more
mixed
Odds of reoffending in those treated for violent crimes (1)
Odds of reoffending in those treated were 35% lower
Odds of reoffending in those treated for sexual crimes (1)
Odds of sexual reoffending for those treated was 32.6% lower
