Offending Behaviour Programmes

The delivery of treatment through the use of programmes is an approach to therapeutic intervention that has been present in clinical psychology for some time. The arguments and debates around programmes, both conceptually and in terms of technology, have thus been widely rehearsed in the broader clinical literature. However, the growth in the use of offending behaviour programmes has been exponential within the criminal justice system over the last decade. Typically, offending behaviour programmes are empirically-based interventions, aimed to reduce re-offending, for use with either offenders in general, or with particular groups of offenders such as violent offenders and sex offenders. Offending behaviour programmes are interesting at two levels. Firstly, there are various technical issues, such as the design and implementation of programmes, the accreditation and management of programmes, alongside the critical question of their effectiveness in both motivating offenders to partake in treatment, and ultimately their impact in reducing re-offending. Secondly, there are broader issues such as the impact of programmes on traditional forms of practice, the complications associated with a national roll out of programmes, philosophical objections to working in a prescribed manner, and training practitioners to deliver programmes. This book considers these issues from both a general perspective, as well as containing chapters considering offending behaviour programmes for specific groups of offenders: generic programmes, violent and domestic violence offenders, sexual offenders, and substance-misusing offenders.