Reductions In Recidivism Research Articles

Assessing Dynamic Violence Risk in a High-Risk Treated Sample of Violent Offenders.

The present study featured an investigation of the predictive properties of risk and change scores of two violence risk assessment and treatment planning tools-the Violence Risk Scale (VRS) and the Historical, Clinical, Risk-20, Version 2 (HCR-20)-in sample of 178 treated adult male violent offenders who attended a high-intensity violence reduction program. The cases were rated on the VRS and HCR-20 using archival information sources and followed up nearly 10 years postrelease. Associations of HCR-20 and VRS risk and change scores with postprogram institutional and community recidivism were examined. VRS and HCR-20 scores converged in conceptually meaningful ways, supporting the construct validity of the tools for violence risk. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses demonstrated moderate- to high-predictive accuracy of VRS and HCR-20 scores for violent and general community recidivism, but weaker accuracy for postprogram institutional recidivism. Cox regression survival analyses demonstrated that positive pretreatment and posttreatment changes, as assessed via the HCR-20 and VRS, were each significantly associated with reductions in violent and general community recidivism, as well as serious institutional misconducts, after controlling for baseline pretreatment score. Implications for use of the HCR-20 and VRS for dynamic violence risk assessment and management are discussed.

Group climate and treatment motivation in secure residential and forensic youth care from the perspective of self determination theory

Treatment motivation in secure residential youth care is assumed to be a necessary condition for effective treatment, and is therefore a key element in the reduction of problem behavior and criminal recidivism. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT) three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) are essential for treatment motivation, which are characteristics of a positive residential group climate. Based on SDT, we examined whether a therapeutic (open) group climate and low levels of institutional repression were associated with treatment motivation of adolescents residing in (semi-) secure residential youth care facilities. An ethnically diverse sample was studied of 179 respondents (M = 16.2 years; SD = 1.5), in 12 Dutch (semi)secure youth care facilities and 9 forensic youth care institutions. We measured residential group climate with the PGCI and treatment motivation with the ATMQ, and fitted a Cross-Lagged Panel Model (CLPM) of residential group climate and treatment motivation. It was found that a positive group climate in the first month after placement predicted greater treatment motivation three months later.

Treating Co-Occurring Disorders in Jails: Outcome Findings From a Second Chance Act Offender Reentry Program

Widespread implementation of offender reentry programming has increased justice program evaluations but few have featured research designs sufficiently rigorous to optimally inform policy. Program evaluations typically neglect program fidelity concerns to focus on outcome analysis that seldom feature optimal spuriousness reduction. The current study, the second component of a mixed-method design evidencing fidelity, presents the methods and outcome findings for the Delaware County Transition (DCT) Program, an Ohio jail-based crimesolutions.gov endorsed treatment intervention for dually diagnosed offenders. Review of the reentry and dual-diagnosis literature provides a background for description of the DCT program and methods employed to observe programming effects. Findings indicated DCT participation was associated with overall recidivism reductions and time to recidivism and orient discussion around related rehabilitative modalities.

Effectiveness of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy on Reduction of Recidivism Among Recently Incarcerated Homeless Women: A Pilot Study.

The purpose of this pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to compare the 6-month outcomes of a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy-Corrections Modified (DBT-CM) program versus a Health Promotion (HP) program on mitigating recidivism among 130 female parolees/probationers between baseline and 6-month follow-up. The effect of DBT-CM on reducing recidivism was greater among those who expressed a desire for help (risk ratio [RR] = 0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.16, 1.00]; p = .050) and among homeless female ex-offenders (HFOs) who were younger (<50 years of age; RR = 0.46; 95% CI = [0.19, 1.11]; p = .085) and participants with Desire for Help score > 35 (Model 3; RR = 0.40; 95% CI = [0.16, 1.00]; p = .050). Findings from this pilot study suggest that the DBT-CM intervention may be effective in reducing reincarceration rates among some HFOs during reentry. Larger RCTs are needed to validate our findings.

Scaling-Up Evidence-Based Programs Using a Public Funding Stream: a Randomized Trial of Functional Family Therapy for Court-Involved Youth.

The Affordable Care Act expanded access to Medicaid programs and required them to provide essential health benefits, which can include prevention services. This study assesses the costs and benefits to using Medicaid funding to implement a well-known evidence-based program, Functional Family Therapy (FFT), with a sample of juvenile justice-involved youth. The study also provides a rigorous test of FFT accommodated for a contemporary urban population that is gang at risk or gang-involved. One hundred twenty-nine predominantly minority and low income families were randomly assigned to receive an enhanced version of FFT or an alternative family therapy. Data from pre- and post-intervention interviews with youth and parents, court records of contacts with the justice system and residential placements, official records of community services, and the costs of placements and services are summarized. The intervention was implemented with fidelity to the FFT model using Medicaid funding. Treatment and control subjects received a wide range of community and residential services in addition to FFT. A higher percentage of treatment subjects than controls received services following random assignment, but the cost per youth served was lower for treatment than control youth, primarily because control youth were more often placed in residential facilities. Recidivism during the 18-month follow-up period was lower for FFT than for control youth. The combination of cost savings realized from avoiding more costly services and the expected future savings due to recidivism reduction suggest the expanded use of evidence-based practices using public funding streams such as Medicaid is warranted.

Relational caring and contact after treatment. An evaluation study on criminal recidivism

BackgroundCriminal recidivism within two years after discharge from secure Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals (FPHs) is high, that is, over 36% for short-term judicial measures. It is assumed that relational care during treatment and continued voluntary contact and informal care after discharge, are factors that contribute to the reduction of criminal recidivism. ObjectiveTo examine whether the provision of relational care and continued contact after treatment can be effective in reducing criminal recidivism two years after discharge (prevalence and time to re-offense) in patients who received treatment according to article 37 of the Dutch Penal Law (i.e., a hospital order for one year) compared to patients with the same order receiving Care As Usual. MethodsAn evaluation study of criminal recidivism in adult patients (N = 111) residing in 4 FPHs in the Netherlands two years after discharge. The intervention ‘relational care’ group was compared with a historical control group from the same hospital before the new approach had been introduced, and a concurrent control group from three other FPHs in the Netherlands. ResultsIn the intervention group 15,6% of the participants reoffended within two years following discharge, which was significantly lower than recidivism in the historical (46,5%) and concurrent (47,8%) control group. The odds-ratio for recidivism in the intervention group was 0.245 (95% CI: 0.076–0.797) which was significant at p = .019. ConclusionsPatients who received relational care and subsequently were provided with voluntary contact after treatment recidivated later and at a lower rate than patients from two control groups receiving CAU. Relational care and the voluntary continuation of contact and informal (after)care, which was build up during the treatment period, may bridge the difficult period that patients face when they have left the forensic psychiatric hospital.

Does Reducing Case Processing Time Reduce Recidivism? A Study of the Early Case Resolution Court

Case processing times throughout the United States exceed national standards created by multiple agencies. To combat this, multiple expedited case processing courts have been developed across the nation; however, research regarding these courts has failed to consider recidivism outcomes among participants. We examined the outcomes of a specialized court in the Salt Lake City Third District Court called the Early Case Resolution (ECR) Court, a program aimed at reducing both case processing times and recidivism. Using a propensity score-matched sample, we utilized survival analysis to look at participants’ time to recidivism. While case processing times were lower for the ECR Court participants than non-ECR participants, recidivism among ECR Court participants was significantly higher. Results from this study show that using recidivism as an outcome measure for expedited case processing courts is necessary in evaluations of these programs.

Rethinking Our Metrics: Research in the Field of Higher Education in Prison

Increasing access to higher education in prison often hinges upon a series of seemingly compelling and related rationales: the reduction of recidivism, saving taxpayer dollars, and increasing safety and security (inside and outside of prisons). The purpose of this volume is to move beyond the discussion of recidivism, cost and safety and security metrics and the randomized control trial as the gold-standard for assessing the function and outcomes of higher education in prison. Instead, the collection of essays in this volume forward a more expansive way to understand why and how higher education in prison supports students. Attempting to quantify the rationale for higher education in prison based on recidivism rates, economic savings, and/or community safety statistics will never build a sustainable argument for why higher education in prison is a meaningful and potentially transformative experience for a formerly incarcerated person; in the same way that employment rates will not independently indicate why higher education is a potentially transformative experience for a student on a traditional campus. The effort to question the metrics and methodologies used to assess prison education programs and the outcomes for students as well as to provide alternative ways of evaluating the work of higher education in prison is present in each of the articles in this journal issue.

Prison Rehabilitation: The Sociological, Physiological, and Psychological Effects of Animal-Assisted Interventions

This paper examines animal-assisted interventions as a new form of rehabilitation in the prison setting. It focuses specifically on the multiple benefits that this form of therapy/intervention can bring to inmates, such as the reduction in recidivism and the acquirement of new skills....

Expanding the focus of correctional evaluations beyond recidivism: the impact of halfway houses on public safety

This article reports the findings of a quasi-experimental evaluation of the impact of residential halfway houses (HHs) on public safety in the immediate vicinity of the facilities. Instead of focusing on recidivism reduction or cost effectiveness, as is common, outcome measures for this study are limited to the impact on community crime rates, here defined as offenses committed within 1/8 and 1/4 mi radii around a subject facility. A set of fixed effect Poisson regression models were employed to assess the changes in monthly crime counts associated with the opening or closing of an HH (N = 19). A second difference-in-differences analysis (DiD) compares HHs that ceased operation to HHs that remained consistently open for the duration of the study period. A series of robustness checks were conducted. We find the presence of an active HH is associated with an increase in crime within the immediate vicinity. We identify significant increases in monthly counts of overall crimes reported to law enforcement, as well as in counts for specific crimes of violence, including assaults and robberies with a firearm; property offenses, such as burglary; and in minor and misdemeanor offenses. A closing of an HH is associated with a decrease in reported crimes. The location of a community-based correctional facility can have a significant and negative impact on public health, largely through decreased levels of local public safety. Evaluations of residential correctional programs should include indicators of community-level impact in addition to individual-level measures of recidivism, particularly when such programs are clustered in at-risk or vulnerable communities.

A randomised controlled trial of a cognitive skills programme for offenders with mental illness.

Interventions for offenders with mental illness have tended to be confined to treatment of illness, with the expectation that symptom reduction will be accompanied by reduced criminal recidivism, but recent evidence suggests that other treatment targets may be more effective against recidivism. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a cognitive skills programme (Reasoning and Rehabilitation 2: Short Version for Adults [R&R2]) among offenders with mental illness. Our first hypothesis was that participation in this programme would result in significantly greater improvement in antisocial attitudes than among similar prisoners who did not participate; both groups received "treatment as usual" (TAU). Our second hypothesis was that those receiving R&R2 would show less post-treatment violent or general recidivism than those receiving TAU alone. Incarcerated offenders with serious mental illness (N=101) were randomly assigned to R&R2 or TAU alone. Criminal attitudes and mental state were examined before and after treatment. Violent and non-violent recidivism was measured, on average, 18months after release. In both intervention and TAU alone trial arms, there were significant pre- to post-treatment changes in criminal attitudes and symptoms or signs of mental disorder. There was no difference between groups in these respects. These pre/post changes were not associated with reductions in recidivism over time, whether or not controlling for baseline risk. Although there was no demonstrable advantage of R&R2 over TAU alone, non-significant trends towards lower violent recidivism in the R&R2 group and general recidivism in the TAU group suggest that it may be worth repeating the trial in a larger sample with more differentiated control groups.

Can circles of support and accountability (CoSA) significantly reduce sexual recidivism? Results from a randomized controlled trial in Minnesota

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability (MnCOSA), a sex offender reentry program implemented by the Minnesota Department of Corrections in 2008. Using a randomized controlled trial, this study compares recidivism and cost–benefit outcomes among sex offenders in the MnCOSA (N = 50) and control groups (N = 50). The results suggest MnCOSA significantly reduced sexual recidivism, lowering the risk of rearrest for a new sex offense by 88%. In addition, MnCOSA significantly decreased all four measures of general recidivism, with reductions ranging in size from 49 to 57%. As a result of the reduction in recidivism, findings from the cost–benefit analysis reveal the program has generated an estimated $2 million in costs avoided to the state, resulting in a benefit of $40,923 per participant. For every dollar spent on MnCOSA, the program has yielded an estimated benefit of $3.73. Although difficult to implement, the CoSA model is a cost-effective intervention for sex offenders that could also be applied to other correctional populations with a high risk of violent recidivism.

The impact of residential change and housing stability on recidivism: pilot results from the Maryland Opportunities through Vouchers Experiment (MOVE)

ObjectivesThis article provides a description and preliminary assessment of the Maryland Opportunities through Vouchers Experiment (MOVE), a randomized housing mobility program for former prisoners designed to test whether residential relocation far away from former neighborhoods, incentivized through the provision of a housing subsidy, can yield reductions in recidivism.MethodsThe MOVE program was implemented as a randomized controlled trial. Participants were recruited from four different Maryland prisons and randomly assigned to experimental groups. In the first iteration of the experiment, treatment group participants received 6 months of free housing away from their home jurisdiction and control group participants received free housing back in their home jurisdiction. In the second iteration of the experiment, the treatment group remained the same and the control condition was redesigned to represent the status quo and did not receive free housing. Analyses were conducted of one-year rearrest rates.ResultsWith respect to reductions in recidivism, pilot results suggest that there is some benefit to moving and a benefit to receiving free housing. Rearrest was lower among the treatment group of movers than the non-movers, and was also lower for non-movers who received free housing versus non-movers who did not receive housing.ConclusionsTo the extent that pilot results can be validated and replicated in a full-scale implementation of the MOVE program, policies that provide greater access to housing assistance for formerly incarcerated individuals may yield substantial public safety benefits, particularly housing opportunities located far away from former neighborhoods.

Psychometric Examination of Treatment Change Among Mentally Disordered Offenders: A Risk–Needs Analysis

The present study examined the association of psychiatric symptomatology, criminal attitudes, and treatment changes within these domains to violent and general recidivism in a sample of 614 mentally disordered offenders. Significant pre–post changes were found on multiple measures of criminal attitudes, symptomatology, and readiness for change. Antisocial Intentions and Attitudes Toward Associates (from the Measure of Criminal Attitudes and Associates [MCAA]) predicted general recidivism and covaried with the Big Four criminogenic need domains on the Level of Service Inventory–Ontario Revision; none of the remaining psychometric measures significantly predicted violent or general recidivism. Although pre–post changes were seldom linked to changes in recidivism, positive changes in Antisocial Intentions (MCAA) significantly predicted reductions in general recidivism via Cox regression survival analysis, controlling for baseline risk and pretreatment attitudes score. Risk and need implications of psychometric assessments of treatment change in mentally disordered offender populations are discussed.

Are Faith Based Programs Effective in Reducing Recidivism?

Although Muslims comprise 5.3% of the NSW population, they account for 9.3% of prisoners in correctional centres. The high rate of Muslim representation in the prison population is the result of longterm neglect of the needs of second and third generation of Muslims by the wider Muslim community and by governments. This article first argues the high rate of the Muslim population in the prisons is not a failure of Muslim community alone, but is a product of a combination of individual, familial and societal failures due to various factors. These factors are multidimensional and need to be identified accurately to fashion appropriate responses. This article proposes a strategy for reintegration of Muslim parolees into society and reducing recidivism in prisons based on the experiences from a parolees mentoring program, which was conducted in 2016 by a community based institution, Islamic Science and Research Academy of Australia (ISRA), in collaboration with Bankstown Community Corrections Centre (a department of NSW Corrective Services). The findings show a mutual collaboration between NSW Corrective Services and faith-based organisations can assist in reducing recidivism in Muslim parolees.

Why run the risk? Motivation for offences by patients with substance use and antisocial personality disorders which they rated as most risky to their own well‐being

Understanding motives for offending is important for the development and delivery of effective interventions. To explore associations between variables with motivational implications and the offence committed in the past year rated by people with antisocial personality disorder and substance use disorder as putting them and their status at most risk. Participants were 127 outpatients from a sample recruited for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of an intervention for adults attending substance abuse treatment clinics in 13 municipalities in Denmark. Motives for offending were assessed on one occasion, using the Offending Motivation Questionnaire, aggression was assessed using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and substance-related problems, including mental state difficulties, were assessed using the Substance Use Risk Profile. Attributing offending to provocation, excitement or financial gain differed substantially by type of offence, whereas attribution of offending to compliance did not. Personality scale scores were associated with attributing offences to provocation, excitement or compliance but not with financial gain. Motives for offending among substance users with antisocial personality disorder must be understood both in light of the type of offence and personality traits. Offending behaviour prevention strategies that draw on these distinctions, run in parallel to treatment for substance use, could improve reduction in recidivism. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Executing an Offender Reentry Simulation Event: Teaching the Reality of Reentry to University Students

This study discusses the implementation of an offender reentry simulation event hosted at a medium-sized university in the southeast for criminal justice students in Fall 2016. As the faculty member responsible for the event, it was my hope to provide students with a realistic experience of reentry that would help them to better understand the challenges associated with reentry. In other words, my desire was to challenge their preset notions that all offenders have the tools they need to successfully reenter society after incarceration and recidivism is simply a function of a rational choice to commit crime. The purpose was not to advocate for the removal of sanctions for criminal behavior, but to allow students to better understand the variety of experiences encountered by offenders so when they become practitioners, they can advocate for better resources to help reentering offenders with the long-term goal of recidivism reduction.

Programmatic Moderators of CBT Correctional Treatment for Whites and African Americans.

A recent experimental evaluation of a cognitive behavioral intervention ( Reasoning and Rehabilitation) reported significantly greater reductions in recidivism for White male parolees than African American male parolees. These results prompted the present examination of whether specific program conditions may have differentially impacted program outcomes (returns to prison) for White ( n = 141) and African American ( n = 318) participants. Study participants were tracked for up to 33 months on parole. Discrete-time event history analysis tested for race interactions with the following program attributes: facilitator gender, facilitator race, number of facilitators, class size, and the facilitators' evaluations of parolee participation on measures pertaining to level of participation, enjoyment, understanding, atmosphere and use of skills in the program. The gender of the facilitator, the number of facilitators, and sizes of the classes differentially affected success rates for African Americans compared with Whites. African American participants achieved more favorable outcomes with female facilitators than male facilitators, and when class sizes and the number of facilitators conformed to program guidelines. No statistically significant interaction effects were found for race of the facilitator, or facilitator evaluations of parolee participation.

Dosage is more than just counting program hours: The importance of role-playing in treatment outcomes

ABSTRACTThe risk principle directs correctional practitioners to provide greater amounts of correctional treatment to higher-risk offenders, while the responsivity principle directs practitioners to target criminogenic needs using treatment modalities that have been shown to be the most effective at reducing recidivism for offenders as a group. One such treatment modality is cognitive-behavioral treatment. Consequently, more studies are attempting to identify the most effective amounts of cognitive-behavioral treatment to provide to offenders of varying risk levels in an effort to maximize recidivism reductions. This article builds upon prior dosage research by examining whether time spent on a specific strategy commonly employed in cognitive-behavioral programs—the use of role-play—serves as a moderator of the risk–dosage relationship. It does so using a sample of 980 male offenders who received treatment in a community-based correctional program in Ohio. The results indicate that practitioners should continue to match treatment dosage to risk, strive to provide the optimal amount of dosage suggested by previous studies, and maximize use of behavioral rehearsal techniques such as role-play.

Program Evaluation in the Context of Supervision Regime Change: Motivational Interviewing in Colorado

This study assesses the effectiveness of an evidence-based counseling strategy employed by Colorado parole officers called Motivational Interviewing (MI), which aims to reduce parolee recidivism. I employ a quasi-experimental research design in which the caseloads of MI-trained officers are divided into two sub-samples: parolees supervised before the achievement of MI certification and parolees supervised after certification. Regression analyses show that MI is associated with recidivism reduction, but this relationship would not have been revealed without accounting for a high-profile crime that interrupted the study period—the murder of the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections by a high-risk parolee that had absconded from supervision. This crime caused a public relations crisis for the parole agency, which responded by lowering tolerance for misconduct. This reduction in tolerance increased recidivism rates among parolees in Colorado, obscuring the effect of MI on parole outcomes. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.