Working With Offenders
What Works Reducing Re-offending
The What Works Initiative
What Works aims to reduce re-offending by ensuring that all probation work is based on evidence of success. The purpose is simple: to help probation areas to deliver effective, well designed, well-targeted programmes which work.
Introduction
This page explains the What Works initiative - an important development in probation which will affect sentencing practice in the future. What Works aims to reduce re-offending, by ensuring that probation practice is based on interventions which:
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are evidence based
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are delivered to a consistent standard across the country
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are accessible and effective for all groups of offenders
The National Probation Service aims to reduce re-offending by 5% by 2004.
Separate arrangements apply in the Youth Courts. The Youth Justice Board (in discussion with representatives of the Courts) is introducing guidance on effective practice for the work of Youth Offending Teams during 2001 & 2002.
The Principles
The Right Programme1. Address the Problems which lead to Crime The programme should aim to change the factors which caused the crime 2. Use Clear Principles and Researched Evidence There should be a clear explanation of how and why the programme works, with evidence to justify all assumptions. 3. Apply Effective Methods The programme should use proven, effective methods, with the standards necessary for their proper use built into the programme design. The Right Person4. Select the Right Offenders for the Programme Effective assessment processes should ensure the right offenders - in terms of factors which cause crime and risk levels - are matched with the right programme. 5. Help Offenders to Respond The programme should use methods which engage offenders and to which they can respond, including approaches designed for women and minority ethnic offenders. The right operating conditions for these methods should be clearly specified. 6. Offer the Right Skills Programmes should teach positive skills - helping participants avoid criminal activities and engage successfully in legitimate ones. The Right Practice7. Build In Monitoring and Evaluation Programmes should have built-in structures for monitoring the quality of delivery, and for the long-term evaluation of outcomes. 8. Deliver in the Right Dosage The frequency, intensity, sequencing and packaging of the programme should reflect the seriousness and persistence of the offending, and the range and gravity of the offending-related factors. 9. Provide clear documentation and allow for managed change Programmes should be clearly documented, allowing staff to run the programme in the way in which it was designed throughout the country. Programmes should be changed only on the basis of new research. 10. Integrated with the Overall Package The overall supervision package should reinforce and apply the lessons learnt in the programme. |
The Key Elements of What Works
Offending Behaviour Programmes
One of the first tasks has been to establish a set of accredited offending behaviour programmes which are proven to be successful. The National Probation Service has already developed eleven programmes which have been accredited, and eleven more are currently being developed. They include general offending behaviour programmes as well as specialist programmes aimed at drug & alcohol misuse, sexual offences, and offences involving violence.
Each programme is submitted to the Joint Prison/Probation Accreditation Panel, a body of independent experts set up to ensure the effectiveness of interventions with offenders.
Once formally accredited, each programme forms part of the menu of top-quality interventions known as the core curriculum, which is being introduced during 2001 in every probation area.
Matching offenders to appropriate programmes is the key to success in reducing reoffending. The implementation of a new system for the assessment of offenders (OASys) will mean that Pre-Sentence Reports will be based on a thorough assessment of the factors affecting an offender's likelihood of reoffending, and will produce firm proposals on the type of intervention most likely to reduce this risk.
Community reintegration is crucial to achieving long-term change in an offender's behaviour. Research shows that work to address the problems which inhibit community reintegration - such as homelessness, lack of basic skills, unemployment and substance misuse - is a vital ingredient of any effective intervention.
Pathfinder projects to establish the most effective ways of supporting reintegration are nearing completion. New programmes to help offenders make practical changes to avoid reoffending, by becoming involved in positive social relationships and activities and achieving a settled lifestyle, will be introduced in 2002.
This work with offenders complements their attendance on offending behaviour programmes. It provides an opportunity for offenders to practise newly developed skills by applying them to problems they face - in employment, accommodation or money management.
'Where's the Evidence?' - evaluating programmes
An extensive independent research programme has been commissioned to evaluate these accredited programmes, examining the impact on offenders and reconviction rates. Significant evidence is emerging of the effectiveness of the What Works approach:
Offending behaviour programmes
Research shows that properly conducted programmes of intervention can have a significant effect on reconviction rates. Typically the effect has been around 10-15% reduction compared to offenders who did not attend structured programmes:
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Aggression Replacement Training (ART), a programme developed in Wiltshire which aims to tackle the problems of violent offenders. A recent study shows that those attending the course had a re-conviction rate of 20.4% compared with 34.5% for those who had not. (RDS, Home Office, 2000)
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The West Midlands Sex Offender Treatment Programme (granted full accreditation by the Joint Prison/Probation Accreditation Panel in September 2000). An evaluation found that those completing the programme showed a reduction by 7.4% in the rate of reconviction for sexual offences (3.2%, compared to 10.6% for a matched control group), a reduction by 11% for violent offences, and a reduction by 22% for other offences such as theft. (Allam, 1999)
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The Drink Impaired Drivers Programme, developed in South Yorkshire. An evaluation indicated that 14% of offenders who completed the programme were reconvicted, compared to 21% who did not.
Research indicates that structured therapeutic communities* average a 16% reduction in reconviction rates. A recent review of US/Canadian drugs programmes produced results from four schemes which suggested an average 14.6% reduction in reconviction rates.
*Therapeutic Communities are consciously designed environments, in prisons, which provide a structured, residentially based programme that enhances the sense of community and uses pro-social peer group pressure to influence attitudes.
Interim and self-report data from offenders in three Drug Treatment & Testing Order (DTTO) pilot sites are generally positive, indicating substantial reductions in both offending and illegal drug consumption (Turnbull, 2000).
Research from Australia has indicated that significant
improvements can be made in reducing offending if Community
Punishment supervisors use "pro-social modelling"
techniques (Trotter, 1996). This is where supervisors
engage with offenders by acting as positive role models,
rather than merely supervising the work being done.
Work in Scotland showed that Community Punishment was
particularly effective in reducing reoffending when
offenders themselves thought it a worthwhile experience
(McIvor, 1992). There are a number of Community
Punishment Pathfinders using this model, and a Summary
of the Interim Evaluation Report (
PDF 78Kb) on them has been published.
*Community Service Orders have been re-named Community Punishment Orders under the Criminal Justice & Court Services Act 2000. Probation Orders are now Community Rehabilitation Orders, and Combination Orders are Community Punishment & Rehabilitation Orders.
Basic numeracy and literacy programmes
Recent data indicates that courses teaching reading skills have an average effect on reducing reoffending by 6%, and the best interventions can produce 14% reductions (Lipton, 1999).
Offenders in Canada who improved their literacy and numeracy had a significantly lower readmission to prison. The research also found that offenders who completed the course recognised that personal changes had taken place, for example they were more concerned about other people's feelings and said they had improved self-control. (Porporino and Robinson, 1992)
New programmes to improve literacy and numeracy will be introduced in 2002 in partnership with the Prison Service, Employment Service and the Basic Skills Agency.
Enforcement
Community penalties will be credible options only if they are enforced rigorously; it is a serious matter when a court order is broken. Even if a programme is known to work, it cannot have the required impact unless offenders attend regularly. It is therefore vital that those who fail to attend without good reason are returned to Court promptly.
The Association of Chief Officers of Probation (ACOP) commissioned three enforcement audits in 1999/2000. The proportion of cases enforced in accordance with National Standards increased, from 51% to 66%, and then to 70% for the most recent audit. Although this represents a considerable improvement in performance, there is clearly still work to be done in order to achieve the Key Performance Indicator target of 90% of cases to be dealt with in accordance with National Standards.
There has been a shift in culture on enforcement. The National Standards for the Supervision of Offenders in the Community have been revised; since April 2000 offenders have been returned to court no later than the second unacceptable failure to comply rather than, as previously, the third such failure. (The results of the third enforcement audit were achieved under this tougher standard.)
Last update: 16/09/03