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Journal ArticleDOI

The Risk Principle in Action: What Have We Learned From 13,676 Offenders and 97 Correctional Programs?

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated how adherence to the risk principle by targeting offenders who are higher risk and varying length of stay and services by level of risk affects program effectiveness in reducing recidivism.
Abstract: Over the recent past there have been several meta-analyses and primary studies that support the importance of the risk principle. Oftentimes these studies, particularly the meta-analyses, are limited in their ability to assess how the actual implementation of the risk principle by correctional agencies affects effectiveness in reducing recidivism. Furthermore, primary studies are typically limited to the assessment of one or two programs, which again limits the types of analyses conducted. This study, using data from two independent studies of 97 correctional programs, investigates how adherence to the risk principle by targeting offenders who are higher risk and varying length of stay and services by level of risk affects program effectiveness in reducing recidivism. Overall, this research indicates that for residential and nonresidential programs, adhering to the risk principle has a strong relationship with a program’s ability to reduce recidivism.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The effects of correctional interventions on recidivism have important public safety implications when offenders are released from probation or prison as discussed by the authors, and hundreds of studies have been conducted on those effects, some investigating punitive approaches and some investigating rehabilitation treatments.
Abstract: The effects of correctional interventions on recidivism have important public safety implications when offenders are released from probation or prison. Hundreds of studies have been conducted on those effects, some investigating punitive approaches and some investigating rehabilitation treatments. Systematic reviews (meta-analyses) of those studies, while varying greatly in coverage and technique, display remarkable consistency in their overall findings. Supervision and sanctions, at best, show modest mean reductions in recidivism and, in some instances, have the opposite effect and increase reoffense rates. The mean recidivism effects found in studies of rehabilitation treatment, by comparison, are consistently positive and relatively large. There is, however, considerable variability in those effects associated with the type of treatment, how well it is implemented, and the nature of the offenders to whom it is applied. The specific sources of that variability have not been well explored, but some princ...

659 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article uses research to evaluate the effectiveness of current interventions, and the larger viability of psychiatric, criminological, and social psychological models of the link between mental illness and criminal justice involvement, and proposes three priorities for advancing research, articulating policy, and improving practice.
Abstract: Offenders with mental illness have attracted substantial attention over the recent years, given their prevalence and poor outcomes. A number of interventions have been developed for this population (e.g., mental health courts). They share an emphasis on one dimension as the source of the problem: mental illness. Their focus on psychiatric services may poorly match the policy goal of reducing recidivism. In this article, we use research to evaluate (a) the effectiveness of current interventions, and (b) the larger viability of psychiatric, criminological, and social psychological models of the link between mental illness and criminal justice involvement. We integrate theory and research to offer a multidimensional conceptual framework that may guide further research and the devel- opment of efficient interventions that meaningfully reduce recidivism. We hypothesize that the effect of mental illness on criminal behavior reflects moderated mediation (i.e., the effect is direct in the case of one subgroup, but fully mediated in another); and that the effect of mental illness on other '' recidivism'' is partially mediated by system bias and stigma. We use this framework to propose three pri- orities for advancing research, articulating policy, and improving practice.

373 citations


Cites background from "The Risk Principle in Action: What ..."

  • ...…recidivism (Risk principle), target their criminogenic needs, or changeable risk factors for recidivism (Need principle), and match modes of service to their abilities and styles (Responsivity principle; see Andrews et al., 2006; Lowenkamp, Pealer, Smith, & Latessa, 2006; Lowenkamp et al., 2006)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a broad range of databases, websites, and journals were searched to identify eligible studies that measured pre-post changes in outcomes in treatment and comparison areas following the implementation of policing strategies that involved community collaboration or consultation.
Abstract: Systematically review and synthesize the existing research on community-oriented policing to identify its effects on crime, disorder, fear, citizen satisfaction, and police legitimacy. We searched a broad range of databases, websites, and journals to identify eligible studies that measured pre-post changes in outcomes in treatment and comparison areas following the implementation of policing strategies that involved community collaboration or consultation. We identified 25 reports containing 65 independent tests of community-oriented policing, most of which were conducted in neighborhoods in the United States. Thirty-seven of these comparisons were included in a meta-analysis. Our findings suggest that community-oriented policing strategies have positive effects on citizen satisfaction, perceptions of disorder, and police legitimacy, but limited effects on crime and fear of crime. Our review provides important evidence for the benefits of community policing for improving perceptions of the police, although our findings overall are ambiguous. The challenges we faced in conducting this review highlight a need for further research and theory development around community policing. In particular, there is a need to explicate and test a logic model that explains how short-term benefits of community policing, like improved citizen satisfaction, relate to longer-term crime prevention effects, and to identify the policing strategies that benefit most from community participation.

329 citations


Cites background from "The Risk Principle in Action: What ..."

  • ...In general, the literature on evidence-based crime prevention, whether in the context of policing high-crime places, or individual offender treatment, suggests that highly focused interventions targeted at specific populations and risk factors produce the most consistent reductions in crime (e.g., Andrews et al. 1990; Lowenkamp et al. 2006; Lum et al. 2011; Weisburd and Eck 2004)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The RNR model is reconstructed in light of this analysis, essentially arguing that there are at least three components to any rehabilitation theory: primary aims, values and principles, etiological and methodological assumptions, and practice implications.

328 citations

References
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Book
18 Aug 2000
TL;DR: This paper presents a meta-analysis procedure called “Meta-Analysis Interpretation for Meta-Analysis Selecting, Computing and Coding the Effect Size Statistic and its applications to Data Management Analysis Issues and Strategies.
Abstract: Introduction Problem Specification and Study Retrieval Selecting, Computing and Coding the Effect Size Statistic Developing a Coding Scheme and Coding Study Reports Data Management Analysis Issues and Strategies Computational Techniques for Meta-Analysis Data Interpreting and Using Meta-Analysis Results

6,930 citations


"The Risk Principle in Action: What ..." refers background or methods in this paper

  • ...Several formulae were used for these transformations and the calculation of standard errors and weights.2 For a more complete discussion, see Rosenthal (1991) and Lipsey and Wilson (2001)....

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  • ...…group membership and a dichotomous outcome measure, r can be interpreted as the percentage point difference between the two groups in terms of the outcome measure (for greater detail, see the discussion on the binomial effect size display [BESD] in Rosenthal, 1991, and Lipsey & Wilson, 2001)....

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  • ...The WLS models were estimated using SPSS syntax developed and presented by Lipsey and Wilson (2001)....

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Book
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define research results, retrieve and assess research results and compare and combine research results to combine probabilities, and evaluate meta-analytic procedures and meta-Analytic results.
Abstract: Introduction Defining Research Results Retrieving and Assessing Research Results Comparing and Combining Research Results Combining Probabilities Illustrations of Meta-Analytic Procedures The Evaluation of Meta-Analytic Procedures and Meta-Analytic Results

5,181 citations


"The Risk Principle in Action: What ..." refers background or methods in this paper

  • ...Given that our dependent measure is an r value between group membership and a dichotomous outcome measure, r can be interpreted as the percentage point difference between the two groups in terms of the outcome measure (for greater detail, see the discussion on the binomial effect size display [BESD] in Rosenthal, 1991, and Lipsey & Wilson, 2001)....

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  • ...Several formulae were used for these transformations and the calculation of standard errors and weights.2 For a more complete discussion, see Rosenthal (1991) and Lipsey and Wilson (2001)....

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  • ...Rosenthal (1991) and Lipsey and Wilson (2001)....

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  • ...…group membership and a dichotomous outcome measure, r can be interpreted as the percentage point difference between the two groups in terms of the outcome measure (for greater detail, see the discussion on the binomial effect size display [BESD] in Rosenthal, 1991, and Lipsey & Wilson, 2001)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results suggest that applied risk assessments of sexual offenders should consider separately the offender's risk for sexual and nonsexual recidivism.
Abstract: reoffending than those who completed treatment. The predictors of nonsexual violent recidivism and general (any) recidivism were similar to those predictors found among nonsexual criminals (e.g., prior violent offenses, age, juvenile deliquency). Our results suggest that applied risk assessments of sexual offenders should consider separately the offender's risk for sexual and nonsexual recidivism. Assessing chronicity is crucial for clients whose sexual behaviors have brought them into conflict with the law. Many exceptional criminal justice policies, such as postsentence detention (e.g., Anderson & Masters, 1992), lifetime community supervision, and community notification, target those sexual offenders likely to reoffend. Clinicians need to judge whether the client's behaviors are truly atypical of the individual (as the client would like us to believe) or whether the client merits a virtually permanent label as a sexual offender.

2,253 citations


"The Risk Principle in Action: What ..." refers methods or result in this paper

  • ...Although we did not investigate the relationship that this practice has with program effectiveness in the current study, prior research indicates that standardized and actuarial assessments are the best method to use for accurate prediction of offender risk (Bonta, Law, & Hanson, 1998; Grove, Zald, Lebow, Snitz, & Nelson, 1995; Hanson & Bussiere, 1998 )....

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  • ...…practice has with program effectiveness in the current study, prior research indicates that standardized and actuarial assessments are the best method to use for accurate prediction of offender risk (Bonta, Law, & Hanson, 1998; Grove, Zald, Lebow, Snitz, & Nelson, 1995; Hanson & Bussiere, 1998)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Clinical sensitivity and a psychologically informed perspective on crime may assist in the renewed service, research, and conceptual efforts that are strongly indicated by the review.
Abstract: Careful reading of the literature on the psychology of criminal conduct and of prior reviews of studies of treatment effects suggests that neither criminal sanctioning without provision of rehabilitative service nor servicing without reference to clinical principles of rehabilitation will succeed in reducing recidivism. What works, in our view, is the delivery of appropriate correctional service, and appropriate service reflects three psychological principles: (1) delivery of service to higher risk cases, (2) targeting of criminogenic needs, and (3) use of styles and modes of treatment (e.g., cognitive and behavioral) that are matched with client need and learning styles. These principles were applied to studies of juvenile and adult correctional treatment, which yielded 154 phi coefficients that summarized the magnitude and direction of the impact of treatment on recidivism. The effect of appropriate correctional service (mean phi = .30) was significantly (p <.05) greater than that of unspecified correctional service (.13), and both were more effective than inappropriate service (−.06) and non-service criminal sanctioning (−.07). Service was effective within juvenile and adult corrections, in studies published before and after 1980, in randomized and nonrandomized designs, and in diversionary, community, and residential programs (albeit, attenuated in residential settings). Clinical sensitivity and a psychologically informed perspective on crime may assist in the renewed service, research, and conceptual efforts that are strongly indicated by our review.

1,973 citations


"The Risk Principle in Action: What ..." refers background or result in this paper

  • ...…empirical evidence that programs that target offenders who are higher risk are more effective in reducing recidivism than those that do not (Andrews et al., 1990; Andrews & Dowden, 1999; Dowden & Andrews, 1999a, 1999b, 2000; Lowenkamp & Latessa, 2005b); however, the questions still remain:…...

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  • ...…and Hoge (1990) was followed by a number of meta-analyses that confirmed and supported the importance of focusing on offenders who are higher risk (Andrews et al., 1990; Andrews & Dowden, 1999; Dowden & Andrews 1999a, 1999b, 2000; Lipsey & Wilson, 1998; D. B. Wilson, Gottfredson, & Najaka, 2001;…...

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  • ...This principle states that our most intensive correctional treatment and intervention programs should be reserved for offenders who are higher risk (Andrews et al., 1990)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Four principles of classification for effective rehabilitation are reviewed: risk, need, responsivity, and professional override.
Abstract: Four principles of classification for effective rehabilitation are reviewed: risk, need, responsivity, and professional override. Many examples of Case x Treatment interactions are presented to ill...

1,737 citations