Reductions In Recidivism Research Articles

Mothering Behind Bars: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Prison Nursery Programs on Recidivism Reduction

The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive evidence-based review of evaluation studies of prison nursery programs to determine whether they are effective in reducing recidivism. Seven studies evaluating the effectiveness of prison nursery programs are examined and classified using the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale. The results show some empirical evidence for the capacity of prison nursery programs to reduce recidivism. However, weak methodological research designs and insufficient statistical analyses led us to classify the effectiveness of prison nursery programs as “unknown.” Suggestions for improving the methodological quality of studies examining prison nursery programs and directions for future research are discussed.

Adherence to “What Works”: Examining Trends across 14 Years of Correctional Program Assessment

ABSTRACT The “what works” movement has increasingly gained recognition among correctional practitioners and traction within correctional settings. It is now well established that in order to obtain meaningful recidivism reductions, programs must maintain fidelity to the principles of effective interventions. After more than four decades of research supporting the Risk-Need-Responsivity model, little is presently known about how well correctional programs have adopted and implemented evidence-based correctional practices on a larger scale. The current study examines the results from an extensive collection of correctional program assessments completed across the United States over the course of 14 years. Results offer practitioners and researchers insight into the current state of fidelity to evidence-based practices and highlight areas for improvement in correctional programming.

The Violence Reduction Programme: An exploration of posttreatment risk reduction in a specialist medium-secure unit.

There is limited evidence for treatment programmes for offenders with a diagnosis of personality disorder deemed to be of high risk of violence towards others. This study sought to evaluate change in clinician-rated risk of violence in males among offenders accepted to a specialist medium-secure hospital providing treatment based on the Violence Reduction Programme (VRP). A retrospective, records-based cohort study design was used to explore change in risk of violence in a sample including five VRP cohorts composed of 33 offenders. Violence risk scale (VRS) score was the primary outcome measure. Correlates of treatment dropout were also explored. Twenty-seven men completed treatment. Paired pretreatment and posttreatment VRS scores were available for 19 men. Six men disengaged with treatment. There was a significant mean reduction in risk of violence score (d = 1.08). At the individual level, eleven (57%) participants in the VRP showed reliable reduction in risk of violence. No treatment completers with a complete rating pair demonstrated an increased risk of violence. Younger age and referral from prison were significantly associated with treatment dropout. VRP-based treatment appears to be a promising intervention for specialist services for offenders with a personality disorder diagnosis in the United Kingdom. Longer term follow-up to ascertain whether these apparent treatment gains are accompanied by actual reduction in violent recidivism is now required, and a full scale trial warranted.

Validity and Reliability of the Violence Risk Scale-Youth Sexual Offense Version.

The present study examined the validity and reliability of a youth sexual offense risk assessment and treatment planning tool, the Violence Risk Scale-Youth Sexual Offense Version (VRS-YSO), on a sample of 102 court-adjudicated youth referred to assessment and/or treatment outpatient services followed up an average of 11.7 years in the community. VRS-YSO scores demonstrated "good" to "excellent" interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] = .64-.83). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the static and dynamic items identified three latent dimensions consistent with the extant risk literature labeled Sexual Deviance, Antisocial Tendencies, and Family Concerns. VRS-YSO scores showed strong patterns of convergence with scores from the Estimate of Risk for Adolescent Sexual Offense Recidivism (ERASOR), Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II), and the Juvenile Sexual Offense Recidivism Risk Assessment Tool-II (J-SORRAT-II). VRS-YSO scores, in turn, demonstrated moderate to high predictive accuracy for sexual, violent (sexual and nonsexual), and general recidivism (significant areas under curve [AUCs] = .67-.88). Examination of pre-posttreatment change data on the subset of youth who attended treatment services found VRS-YSO change scores to be significantly associated with reductions in general recidivism, but not other recidivism outcomes. Future research and clinical applications of the VRS-YSO in youth sexual offense assessment and treatment planning are discussed.

The Effectiveness of Mental Health Courts in Reducing Recidivism and Police Contact: A Systematic Review.

Mental health courts were created to help criminal defendants who have a mental illness that significantly contributes to their criminal offense. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to assess the current evidence to address the question, "How effective are mental health courts in reducing recidivism and police contact?" Systematic literature searches of eight electronic databases were performed. A total of 2590 unique citations were identified. Of these, 20 studies were included in the final analysis. The results of this systematic review suggest there is some evidence to show that mental health courts help to reduce recidivism rates, but the effect on police contact is less clear. Results also suggest case managers or access to vocational and housing services may be important components of effective mental health courts.

Secondary Prevention and Recidivism Reduction in Trauma Patients

Secondary Prevention and Recidivism Reduction in Trauma Patients

The Overall and Gendered Effects of Postrelease Supervision on Recidivism: A Propensity Score Analysis

Although research recognizes gender differences in offending and interactions with the criminal justice system, few studies have explored the role of gender in the relationship between postrelease supervision and recidivism. Building on feminist criminological research, this study uses a feminist pathways theoretical framework to investigate the overall and gendered effects of postrelease supervision on multiple measures of recidivism. Using a large sample of offenders released from prisons in Florida ( N = 141,338) and propensity score matching techniques, this study uncovers that postrelease supervision is associated with a very small (4% to 4.5%) reduction in recidivism. Moreover, the effect sizes from the analyses also indicate that postrelease supervision plays a greater role in reducing recidivism among men, but the effects for women are much smaller. Based on this study’s findings, policymakers should consider the importance of gender in designing appropriate programming in prison and developing postrelease techniques in reducing recidivism.

Persistence and Desistance Narratives: Understanding the Role of Correctional and Probation Officers in Reducing Recidivism

Forensic social workers and criminal justice reform advocates must better understand how correctional and probation officers influence offender recidivism. Justice system reform efforts focusing on policing and the courts often ignore the roles of correctional and probation officers. Returning citizens' internal “persistence” and “desistance” narratives influence future criminality and successful reintegration into their communities. Correctional and probation officers may influence these persistence and desistance narratives. A narrative analysis investigating the experiences of three Black male returning citizens in Baltimore, Maryland, shows that a person's ability to make sense of their interactions with probation officers while serving community corrections sentences and their interactions with correctional officers within prisons may be one of many factors that influence persistence and desistance narratives.

Privatization of community corrections

Research SummaryIn this article, we examine the issue of privatization in the field of community corrections. Privatization can be found in all elements of community corrections, including treatment, education, housing, and supervision services. The private sector is also involved in the development of technology, like electronic monitoring devices, and material like assessments and curricula. Services are provided by both private for‐profit and nonprofit agencies. Although there are potential harms and benefits to privatization in community corrections, untangling the private industry from the provision of supervision and programming in the community would be a true challenge.Policy ImplicationsImplications for use of the private industry in community corrections include the need for oversight and accountability, with the expectation that private agencies provide evidence‐based services and demonstrate a reduction of recidivism through those services. Recognition that the private industry is meeting a need that might not easily be met by public agencies is also important. Privatization in community corrections has mainly dodged the public scrutiny seen against privatization of prisons; this could change depending on how far‐reaching privatization in community corrections becomes.

전자장치 부착제도의 효과성에 대한 재검토 - 부착여부와 부착기간을 중심으로 -

The purpose of this article is re-examining the effectiveness in two dimensions - attachment by itself and its duration, and suggests the implications in the perspective of criminal policy and legislation. For this, previous positive researches restricting on other variables and statistics of the ministry of Justice are used. This article tries to answer to the controversy on the effectiveness of the attachment of electronic device for position tracking between ministry of Justice and some researches. The result of re-examining are two. First, this article argues the effectiveness of the attachment to the electronic device can be confirmed, but the dramatic effectiveness is difficult to be confirmed. Previous positive researches that restricted other variables show that the correlation between the attachment to electronic device and the recidivism is statistically significant. And dramatic recidivism reduction of one eighth lacks the internal validity due to different risk time and duration. Second, this article discovered that the effectiveness is the highest in less than 1 year and the lowest in more than 5 years and less than 10 years, depending on attachment duration. The recidivism of the attached to electronic device more than 1 year and less than 5 years is relatively low. These re-examining induces two-dimension implications. One implication is, on the dimension of criminal policy, that the effectiveness of the attachment to electronic device is the most in short-time duration as a tool of short-time shock treatment. So, recent punitive criminal policy trend is not valid in the perspective of effectiveness. This is connected to the implication of effectiveness of home confinement as an alternative to imprisonment of misdemeanors. The other implication is, on the dimension of legislation, that the upper limit of the attachment is less that 5 years, and the lower limit statute is deleted. Also, the diversification statutes need to be amended from statutory punishment to the recidivism risk. On the oppositions that these short shock effects are insufficient to reduce recidivism, the statute of enlarging exclusive probation officers from only high-risk child molesters to high-risk specific criminals can be an alternative.

Evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for high- and medium-risk probationers.

Reducing recidivism is a central goal of treatment programs for offenders. Preliminary evidence suggests that cognitive-behavioral group interventions based on the National Institute of Corrections curriculum (Bush, Glick, & Taymans, 1997) may be effective in reducing recidivism rates among adult probationers. We evaluated the effectiveness of a program based on this curriculum among 167 high- and medium-risk probationers assigned to this program and a comparison group of 120 high- and medium-risk probationers matched on age and number of prior criminal charges. Improvements over prior studies included use of survival analytic methods and propensity score matching, a longer follow-up interval, and examination of treatment effectiveness within ethnic groups. Relative to the comparison group, treatment group probationers were more likely to complete probation satisfactorily and survive longer before rearrest. Moreover, supplementary analyses suggested that ethnicity was associated with differences in intervention effectiveness. Treatment was predictive of lower recidivism rates among European Americans and African Americans but was less effective among Latino American probationers.

An Outcome Evaluation of a Substance Abuse Program for Probationers: Findings from a Quasi-Experimental Design

The current study provides an evaluation of a substance abuse treatment program for probationers in a county in the state of Texas. Relying on a quasi-experimental design with a propensity score matched sample of 69 treatment group subjects and 69 control group subjects, the results revealed that while a significant treatment effect was observed for program participants in terms of a reduction in recidivism, a significant treatment effect on the percentage of people failing drug tests or the rate of failed drug tests was not detected. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.

Medical nutrition therapy in Canadian federal correctional facilities

BackgroundUnder- and over nutrition as well as nutrition risk factors such as communicable and non-communicable diseases are a common and major cause of morbidity and mortality in correctional facilities. Consequently, medical nutrition therapy (MNT), a spectrum of nutrition services aimed at optimizing individual well-being, is being recognized as integral to the health of people who experience incarceration. However, there is a paucity of research that explores the delivery of MNT in correctional facilities.MethodsA scoping review combined with secondary analysis of qualitative data (field notes, in-depth stakeholder interviews) from a 2-year ethnographic study about food insecurity and incarceration was undertaken to gain insights about the delivery of corrections-based MNT in Canada. Thematic analysis of all documents was done using an interpretive framework.ResultsAn understanding about MNT was developed within three themes: 1) specialized service provision in a unique environment; 2) challenges with the provision of MNT; and 3) consideration of corrections-based MNT alternatives. An incarcerated individual’s nutritional health was conceptualized as culminating from various factors that included dietary intake and health status, enabling environments, access to quality health services, and clinical nutrition services. Nutrition care practices, which range from health promotion to rehabilitation, are challenged by issues of access, visibility, adequacy, and environmental barriers. Their success is dependent on demand (e.g., ability of recipient to act) and factors that enable quality health and food services. Advancing corrections-based MNT will require policies that provide supportive food and health environments and creating sustainable services by integrating alternatives such as peer approaches and telehealth.ConclusionsProfessional associations, government, researchers and other stakeholders can help to strengthen corrections-based MNT by fostering shifts in thinking about the role of health practitioners in these contexts, preparing future health professionals with the specialized skills needed to work in these environments, generating evidence that can best inform practice, and cultivating collaborations aimed at crime prevention, successful societal reintegration, and the reduction of recidivism.

Obrazovanje osuđenih kao protektivni faktor u redukciji recidivizma

Custodial sentences are aimed at preventing inmates from perpetrating additional criminal offenses once their sentence ends. Criminal recidivism rate in Serbia ranges from 50% to 70%, which implies that the proclaimed goal of custodial sentences is seldom achieved. Therefore, the criticism of the concept of custodial sentences seems justifiable. Predominantly based on segregation and isolation, custodial sentences do not contribute to the reduction of recidivism if no adequate treatment programmes are implemented throughout their duration. One of the forms of treatment is directed towards the education of inmates. The dispersion of educational needs of inmates and the results of research on the effectiveness of prison educational programmes in the reduction of recidivism justify the investment into such programmes. The education of inmates and the improvement of competences contribute to the reduction of recidivism by means of successful employment. Besides improving competences, such a category of employment minimizes the frequency of negative opinions that potential employers may hold about former inmates.

The Effectiveness of Resocialization Carried out in the Interrogation Isolator from the Perspective of Convicts

The Effectiveness of Resocialization Carried out in the Interrogation Isolator from the Perspective of Convicts

Effectiveness of medication assisted treatment for opioid use in prison and jail settings: A meta-analysis and systematic review

This study examined the state of the literature on the effectiveness of medication assisted treatment (MAT; methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) delivered in prisons and jails on community substance use treatment engagement, opioid use, recidivism, and health risk behaviors following release from incarceration. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies published through December 2017 that examined induction to or maintenance on methadone (n = 18 studies), buprenorphine (n = 3 studies), or naltrexone (n = 3 studies) in correctional settings were identified from PsycINFO and PubMed databases. There were a sufficient number of methadone RCTs to meta-analyze; there were too few buprenorphine or naltrexone studies. All quasi-experimental studies were systematically reviewed. Data from RCTs involving 807 inmates (treatment n = 407, control n = 400) showed that methadone provided during incarceration increased community treatment engagement (n = 3 studies; OR = 8.69, 95% CI = 2.46; 30.75), reduced illicit opioid use (n = 4 studies; OR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.15; 0.32) and injection drug use (n = 3 studies; OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.12; 0.56), but did not reduce recidivism (n = 4 studies; OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.51; 1.68). Data from observational studies of methadone showed consistent findings. Individual review of buprenorphine and naltrexone studies showed these medications were either superior to methadone or to placebo, or were as effective as methadone in reducing illicit opioid use post-release. Results provide the first meta-analytic summary of MATs delivered in correctional settings and support the use of MATs, especially with regard to community substance use treatment engagement and opioid use; additional work is needed to understand the reduction of recidivism and other health risk behaviors.

Prison Nurseries: A Way to Reduce Recidivism

There have been eight U.S. states that have implemented prison nurseries in women’s correctional facilities. This article examines the second oldest U.S. prison nursery program located in the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women. Using data from the program spanning the years 1994-2014, three main criteria were utilized as key performance indicators to evaluate success—recidivism within 3 years of initial offense, percentage of women returning to prison custody over the 20-year period, and program cost savings. Major findings related to women who participated in the nursery program include a 28% reduction in recidivism and a 39% reduction in women returning to prison custody. Overall, the program achieved cost savings of more than US$6 million for the period 1994 to 2012.

Brain injury in an offender population: Implications for reentry and community transition

This article describes a demonstration project conducted over two years with men from a maximum-security prison in southeastern PA. The project’s core strategy was to identify inmates with history of brain injury, determine their medical/physical, neurocognitive, and behavioral barriers to successful re-entry, and create and implement release plans including connections to brain injury resources and community supports. Ultimately the goal was to reduce recidivism and improve productivity among the participants. More than 75% of those screened reported a possible history of brain injury, and 74% of those tested demonstrated evidence of neurocognitive impairment. Most injuries occurred prior to the age of 21 and incarceration. The average number of reported brain injuries per participant was 3.8. Impairments were most commonly in the areas of memory and executive functioning. Connections to resources were made for those involved in the project using a process called NeuroResource Facilitation. Outcome data was limited by the time constraints of the project, but preliminarily indicated a reduction in recidivism and an increase in productivity. Implications of this project, including recommendations for further action in corrections settings, are included.

Transformative and Social Justice Dimensions of a Jail-based College Course

Research consistently demonstrates the benefits associated with the provision of education in correctional facilities. These examinations typically focus on prison-based education, enhanced employment opportunities, and recidivism reduction. There is considerably less attention afforded to jail-based education and other benefits associated with institutional education opportunities. This study focuses on a criminal justice college course based on the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Model taught at the Washoe County (Nevada) Detention Center in the spring 2016 semester. This course brought together outside students (i.e., college students) and inside students (i.e., incarcerated men) for a semester-long course held once per week in the jail. The results highlight the transformative aspects of a single course that may generate the foundation for functional changes among people who are incarcerated and the value of experiential education for college students.

Effects of Washington State’s alcohol ignition interlock laws on DUI recidivism: An update

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effects of changes to Washington State’s alcohol ignition interlock laws: moving issuance of interlock orders from the courts to the driver licensing department (July 2003); extending the interlock order requirement to all persons convicted of driving under the influence (DUI; June 2004); allowing an interlock in lieu of an administrative driver’s license suspension (January 2009); and requiring proof of interlock installation to reinstate the driver’s license (January 2011).Method: Trends in conviction types, interlock installation rates, and 2-year cumulative recidivism rates were examined for first-time and repeat offenders with convictions stemming from DUI arrests during 1999–2012. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models examined the association between law changes and installation rates, law changes and recidivism rates, and installation rates and recidivism rates.Results: During the study period, there was a large increase in the proportion of first-time DUI arrests reduced to alcohol-related negligent/reckless driving convictions, offenses not requiring interlock orders. The interlock installation rate increased substantially and the recidivism rate declined substantially among both first and repeat offenders. Based on the ARIMA models for first offenders, the 2004 and 2009 law changes were associated with increased interlock installation rates and lower recidivism rates. For first offenders arrested during the last quarter of 2012, the model estimates a 26% reduction in the recidivism rate (from an expected 7.7% without the 4 laws to 5.6%). A 1 percentage point increase in the interlock installation rate was associated with a 0.06 percentage point decline in the recidivism rate among first offenders. If the association carried forward and if the installation rate had been 100% rather than 38% in the last quarter of 2012, the 2-year recidivism rate would have been reduced from 5.6 to 2%. Among repeat offenders, the 2003 and 2009 law changes were associated with increased interlock installation rates, and the 2009 law change was associated with a nonsignificant decline in recidivism.Conclusions: In Washington, rates of interlock installations increased as interlock laws were strengthened, and the increase was associated with reductions in recidivism among first DUI offenders. Washington’s experience suggests that states can reduce DUI recidivism by requiring interlock orders for all offenders, allowing offenders to install interlocks in lieu of an administrative driver’s license suspension, and closing statutory loopholes that allow plea reductions to convictions without interlock orders.