Mandating offenders to attend correctional treatment is a controversial function of the justice system, in part because of the uncertainty about the effectiveness of such practice. A meta-analysis was conducted to compare the effectiveness of mandated, coerced, and voluntary correctional treatment in reducing recidivism. A search of correctional treatment studies resulted in 129 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. In general, mandated treatment was found to be ineffective in several analyses, particularly when the treatment was located in custodial settings, whereas voluntary treatment produced significant treatment effect sizes regardless of setting. Few significant differences in effect sizes were found between levels of coercion. The implications of mandating correctional treatment for offenders are discussed.

Suicide ideation, plans, and attempts did not vary by generation level or with mainstream acculturation for any of the ethnic groups studied (European, Chinese, and Indo-Asian), nor did they vary among ethnic groups. The results indicate that individuals who identified closely with their heritage culture were at an increased risk for suicidal thoughts but not for suicide plans or attempts.

The predictive validity of the Violence Risk Scale (VRS) has been demonstrated in a number of institutionalised offender samples but not in a community sample. The present study assessed prospectively, in a seven-year follow-up, the validity of the VRS ratings in predicting recidivism in a sample of 60 federal offenders residing in the community after they were released under conditional orders. Six recidivism outcomes were used: any and violent reconvictions, days until any and violent reconvictions, frequency and severity of any new reconvictions. Pearson correlations, Receiver Operating Characteristic and survival analyses were used, among others, to assess the predictive validity of VRS ratings. The VRS ratings significantly predicted all six recidivism outcomes. The results also suggest that release decision makers correctly identified offenders with lower than average risk and recidivism rate for release. However, for release decision making, it is suggested that more attention should be paid to the results of risk assessments using validated structured risk assessment tools.

The current study examined characteristics related to homelessness among released offenders to improve housing services for this group. Forty-one incarcerated Canadian prisoners were interviewed approximately 3 months prior to release about their former and anticipated accommodations. Homelessness prior to incarceration was positively related to violent institutional behavior, violence risk level, and criminogenic needs but not recidivism. Stable housing prior to incarceration was positively related to greater community support. Recommendations include creating more community and institutional housing programs for offenders more likely to experience housing difficulties in the community.

No abstract