Towards effective practice in offender supervision

This paper has been prepared principally for the Performance Improvement Strategy Group - a group convened by the Community Justice Division of the Scottish Government to advise and assist in the development of criminal justice social work services in particular and of community justice more generally. The PISG comprises representatives of the Scottish Government's Community Justice Division, of the Effective Practice Unit, of the Association of Directors of Social Work, of the voluntary sector service providers in Scotland, of the Scottish Prison Service, of the Risk Management Authority and from various Scottish universities. Discussions between the chair and some of the members of the PISG charged with leading work-streams on accreditation, interventions and inspection, indicated the need for the provision of a summary of effective practice that was sensitive to the unique Scottish context for the community supervision of offenders. The paper aims to provide that summary and to develop some ideas around a Scottish model of effective practice in offender supervision; as such it is concerned principally with the roles and tasks of criminal justice social work staff rather than with the important but broader debates around community and criminal justice in Scotland

An Exploration of the Criminal Thinking Processes in Criminal Offenders

This study sought to learn about Criminal Thinking patterns of thought in former criminal offenders. The discovery of this information is important to several fields in the formulation of treatment programs toward the elimination of criminal behavior. This research is based on the theory formulated by Yochelson and Samenow, and expanded on by Walters, that holds that Criminal Thinking patterns develop along a continuum and can lead to criminal behavior in some. Specifically, this study sought to learn whether criminal offenders were aware of their Criminal Thinking patterns and if that awareness impacted their criminal behavior. This qualitative phenomenological study relied on semi-structured interviews of 6 former criminal offenders who had served a sentence in a Federal Correctional facility, and the thematic analysis of the transcripts of those interviews to draw conclusions. The results indicate that several themes emerged: (a) awareness of criminal behavior, (b) purposefulness in the commission of crimes (c) increase in frequency and complexity of criminal behavior (d) lack of concern for others (victims, family, friends); (e) awareness of inevitable detection and negative outcome, (f) realization of impact of criminal behavior and remorsefulness. The findings of this study conclude that criminals do have an awareness of their criminal thinking patterns before during and after the commission of criminal acts and that and that they are affected by that awareness in how they act. The results of this study may lead to positive social change in reducing or eliminating criminal behavior in former criminal offenders and others

The therapeutic alliance as a component of risk management and assessment in forensic mental health

Background: Few forensic mental health facilities in South Africa use formal risk assessment instruments to monitor risk and recovery of forensic state patients. The study set out to examine the usefulness of the therapeutic alliance as a proxy measure of violent recidivism in a forensic state facility. The study proposed that the nature and strength of the therapeutic alliance is associated with risk of violence in a forensic population and that attachment security is a relevant factor in this relationship. Additional related factors were studied including demographic and contextual data and their influence on the alliance and risk. Design and method: A quantitative research method was used to sample both inpatients and outpatients (n=131) using a naturalistic, cross-sectional research design. Statistical analyses focussed on regression modelling and addressed mainly the statistical associations between ratings of the different variables. Various psychometric tests were administered and scored and entered into a database. It was hypothesised that a strong (positive) therapeutic relationship measured with the Dual- role Relationship Inventory-Revised (DRI-R) questionnaire is associated with low risk for violence using the Historical, Clinical, Risk Management (HCR-20) scale. Findings: Essentially there was a direct association between the therapeutic alliance and violent recidivism, that is, men with a strong therapeutic alliance have lower risk for violent behaviour. Key practitioner type was considered to be highly influential in establishing positive alliances and as a mediator of potential violent recidivism. An insecure attachment style was dominant in the study sample and insecure states of mind partially influenced current therapeutic alliances with an associated increased vulnerability for violence. Positive psychotic symptoms remained a high-risk factor for violence and criminal histories and antisocial behaviour may continue to present a risk for recidivism in the absence of psychosis. Conclusion: Violent recidivism can be adequately monitored by the DRI-R. Affiliation and control are not mutually exclusive in forensic mental health care. Addressing attachment deficits prevalent in this population may be useful in informing both risk and recovery. Symptom reduction remains an important aim in treatment and risk management. Ratings of the alliance by practitioners and how it concurs with risk is an area for further research. Key words: Therapeutic alliance, dual-role relationship, risk assessment, violence, attachment, state patients, recover

A study of the moral development, beliefs and relationships of the criminal entrepreneur

The thesis focuses on ‘criminal entrepreneurs,’ i.e. those individuals who behave in an entrepreneurial manner who have chosen a life of crime to obtain an income or create wealth rather than setting up and running their own legitimate businesses. The research is based on male prisoners, predominantly fraudsters and drug dealers, and was motivated by the assertion that by understanding why they have chosen this way of life it may be possible to encourage such people to use their entrepreneurial skills in a legitimate context thereby reducing recidivism. Based on an epistemological constructivist approach, the methodology used was a phenomenological one and included a moral dilemma, an ethics questionnaire and personal construct psychology linked with case studies. This is a novel approach in that it uses Kelly’s (1955) personal construct theories and repertory grid techniques in order to identify the criminal entrepreneurs’ constructs and the moral stances that they adopt when making sense of their world. The findings showed that moral reasoning theories with respect to offenders do not offer a reliable guide to moral or ethical behaviour and ignore relationships which were an important feature of the criminal entrepreneur’s life. For instance a strong bond was found to exist between some of the respondents and their parents, particularly the mother, and role models were important in their lives

Unpicking social work practice skills: an interactional analysis of engagement and identity in a groupwork programme addressing sexual offending

The importance of the working relationship between people who have offended (clients) and criminal justice social workers (practitioners) as a vehicle for promoting rehabilitation is increasingly recognised. To build and maintain effective working relationships practitioners must demonstrate key practice skills, including empathy, warmth and respect. Previous research has used quantitative methods demonstrating links between aggregated categories of practitioner skills and outcomes post intervention, and qualitative research interviews retrospectively exploring individuals’ views of compulsory supervision or intervention. However, this research has not clarified how these skills are demonstrated in interaction, how they function to promote engagement or the potential micro-mechanisms of change which contribute to rehabilitation and desistance, i.e. the cessation of offending. To address these gaps, I used the innovative qualitative methods of discourse analysis and conversation analysis to examine what happens when practitioners and clients talk to each other, what happens in the ‘black box’. I analysed video-recordings of twelve groupwork sessions from the groupwork programme for addressing sexual offending in Scotland, ‘Moving Forward: Making Changes’. This rolling programme works with adult men convicted of sexual offences, legally compelled to attend. Five practitioners and eighteen clients participated in the study. I transcribed and analysed the video recordings in detail using discourse analysis, specifically discursive psychology, and conversation analysis. These methods enable a micro-level examination of the talk-in-interaction, to consider what people are doing in their talk and how they are doing it, e.g. how practitioners demonstrate empathy. In the analysis I demonstrated the tacit practice skills of empathy, warmth and respect are evident in talk as actions that maintain co-operation in interaction and build solidarity; i.e. managing face, handling epistemic authority and facilitating empathic communion. I further outlined some of the conversational resources practitioners used to ‘do’ these actions, promoting engagement whilst pursuing institutional goals. Through this talk, practitioners shape and direct how clients tell the story of who they are, although clients can resist this. In this way clients’ narrative identities were actively and collaboratively constructed and negotiated in the talk-in-interaction. Aspects of identity considered to promote desistance, e.g. presenting a good core self or a situational account for offending, were presented, encouraged, developed and attributed. Talk about risk also contributed to the construction and negotiation of clients’ identities. Practitioners and clients expected clients to demonstrate they are aware of and attending to the risks around their behaviour, highlighting risk discourse as central. Risk in this sense was used discursively to demonstrate change and agency over the future, establishing a nonoffending self. However, risk talk could challenge clients’ self-image and threaten ongoing engagement. This study highlights the suitability of discourse analysis and conversation analysis to access the ‘black box’ of criminal justice social work intervention. Routine and common-sense practice skills were made visible, making these more accessible to practitioners to reflect on and develop more responsive and reflexive practice. Finally, criminal justice social work interventions are sites where clients’ narrative identities are constructed, as such potential sites for developing non-offending identities. This study highlights this process is inherently and necessarily relational. In developing forward looking self-stories, which encapsulated features of desistance and risk, narratives of rehabilitation were constructed at the interface of the client and the institution

Racially motivated offending and targeted interventions

This research aimed to identify the prevalence of racially motivated offending among young people in England and Wales and to shed light on the response to racially motivated offending within the youth justice system

A Multi-Dimensional Evaluation of Youth Justice Practices and Outcomes in Wales

The Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model has been recognised as the leading model of offender supervision due to its ‘empirical validity and practical utility’ (Polaschek, 2012:1). However, this thesis discusses the need to develop the explanatory depth, theoretical and empirical base of the RNR model in order to make it more applicable to youth justice practices in Wales. To date, the precise processes of supervision in the Welsh youth justice system has remained largely unexplored. This has created a gap in knowledge and poses several implications. With limited empirical insight, it is difficult to understand whether practitioners effectively implement evidence-based practices into their front-line service delivery. This thesis utilises the Correctional Programme Assessment Inventory 2010 (CPAI-2010) to evaluate the practices of four Youth Offending Services and one Secure Estate in Wales. Designed by North American academics, the CPAI-2010 measures practice integrity and indicates the extent to which criminal justice agencies are aligned to Gendreau et al.’s (2004; 2010) conceptualisation of the RNR model. Previous research has revealed that high CPAI scores (high practice integrity) are associated with lower levels of recidivism. This study revealed that a practice integrity gap exists in Wales. As such, this thesis discusses the factors that undermine practice integrity and provides practical solutions to bridge the gulf that exists between the theory of effective practice and its implementation of front-line service delivery. Additionally, this thesis addresses the evaluation responsivity issues associated with using the CPAI-2010 in Wales. The innovation of this study is the development of a responsive, youth-specific, evidence-based evaluation tool - the Youth Justice Evaluation Inventory (YJEI)