Treatment in Forensic Populations - Lecture 10 Flashcards
What are the implications of the term ‘treatment’?
An illness
A diagnosis
A cure
Prognosis
What term do forensic scientists prefer?
Programme
What does this programme involve?
A course of activity, aimed at bringing about some outcome change in behaviour, typically to reduce offending
What type of ‘treatments’ can be used?
Prison (deterrent/rehabilitation) Medication (mental health, detox) Staff behaviour (bullying/respect) Programmes (sex offending, anger, drugs) Work or education Privileges
What is prison?
Containment, deterrent, place for rehabilitation/training
What are two reasons why Ainsworth (2000) says it isn’t effective?
95% of those who commit a crime are not convicted.
Those convicted go to prison months (years?) after committing the crime so doesn’t work in behaviourist terms.
What does containment do?
Removes people from society but can you stay in prison forever?
What does re-habilitation do?
It prevents re-offending
What is training for?
For the outside world
If a prisoner is mentally ill, what happens?
The prison is legally required to provide medication - anti-depressants
If a prisoner has a drug problem, what happens?
They have to go on a detox regime
What is the benefit of the detox regime?
It significantly reduces suicide, self-harm an deaths in custody
What is the most common detox drug?
Buprenorphine for opiate addiction or methadone, dihydrocodeine
What is ACCT?
Assessment, Care in Custody, Treatment - a prison service violence reduction strategy
Where are prison officers often recruited from?
The armed forces
What do effective programmes need to be?
Structured, focused and addressing distinct problem.
Staff need to be firm, but fair, who reinforce anti-criminal attitudes.
Staff should be committed, enthusiastic and supported by management.
Programme needs to target attitudes and values that support offending.
Need to use problem-solving and social learning
Programme should be matched to offender characteristics.
Monitored in terms of recidivism and personal growth.
Target medium and high risk offenders
Attempt to generalise beyond institutional setting.
What programme is most effective?
Cognitive-behavioural therapy
What are the six key areas of cognitive functioning this programme aims to improve?
- Self control/management
- Interpersonal problem-solving and social interaction
- Rigid/inflexible thinking
- Social perspective taking
- Analytical thinking
- Moral reasoning
What is cognitive behavioural sequence?
Events, thoughts, behaviour
How many accredited offender behaviour programmes are there?
45
Accreditation by…
NOMS
What is the accreditation?
It’s evidence-based, consistent with ‘What works’, typically CBT, appropriate assessments, quality monitored and evaluated.
What is the range of programmes?
From very specific (eg. alcohol-related ARV) to very general (eg. Belief in change).
What is the range in length of programme?
From short (4 weeks) to long (a year), from one-to-one to group
