Accreditation of offending behaviour programmes in HM Prison Service: ‘What Works’ in practice

Abstract

Purpose. This study assessed the short‐term impact of offending behaviour programmes in relation to certain key features of programme delivery identified by an accreditation system. The aim was to further inform the debate on ‘What Works’ in practice by establishing whether well‐delivered programmes are more effective. Method. The sample consisted of 5,255 offenders serving custodial sentences in prisons across England and Wales who completed one of two accredited cognitive skills programmes during the financial year 2001/2002. The relationship between a battery of assessment measures, tutor experience, drop‐out rates, audit observations and the quality of programme delivery was explored. Results. A positive short‐term impact was observed on the majority of assessment measures across both programmes. Patterns of change were broadly similar across gender, age, and ethnic groupings. This short‐term impact of the programmes was significantly greater for a group of high‐need prisoners and at those sites where tutors were delivering more frequently. Tutor delivery rates were also found to be related to drop‐out rates and the quality of programme delivery. Attempts to establish a relationship between ratings of tutor performance from video‐monitoring and the short‐term impact of the course were unsuccessful. However, at the programme site level, positive correlations were observed between the quality of delivery and other measures of the site's performance. Conclusion. This study shows that programmes do have a short‐term impact and that this is greater for higher‐need prisoners and at sites where tutors were delivering more frequently. Furthermore, the accreditation system has highlighted key aspects of programme delivery which do appear to influence the short‐term effectiveness of the programmes.

Personal aspirations and concerns inventory for offenders: Developments in the measurement of offenders' motivation

“…Offender treatment programmes have been shown to reduce recidivism, at least where they adhere to the principles of risk, need and responsivity (McGuire, 2002;Andrews and Bonta, 2003;Blud et al, 2003). However, limited resources mean that places on offender treatment programmes are restricted, with an offender's level of motivation to engage used as one selection criterion for entry onto programmes.…”

Sailing uncharted seas without a compass: A review of interventions in forensic mental health

“…Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS; Clark, 2000) is another widely delivered offender rehabilitation program which, like R&R, has predominantly been evaluated on adult male offenders within probation and prison services (Blud, Travers, Nugent, & Thorton, 2003). ETS focuses on six key areas: interpersonal problem solving, self-control, cognitive style, social perspective-taking, moral values, and critical reasoning.…”

‘We’re not trying to turn them into middle-classGuardianreaders’: constructing the offender in the probation ‘classroom’

“…With regard to the day-to-day context in which these facilitators were working, it is also important to note that institutional discourses were difficult to challenge and practitioner autonomy was limited. The 'principles of effective practice' (Andrews et al 1990) prioritised the need for 'programme integrity', stating that the programmes should always be delivered as specified in the 'tutor manual', otherwise they would not reduce reconviction rates (Blud et al 2003). Therefore, within the 'What Works' discourse, the practitioner is viewed as a conduit through which the programme material can flow.…”