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QUEENSLAND CORRECTIVE SERVICES
APPENDIX – THE PRINCIPLES OF WHAT WORKS
Availability: Public
Implement Date: 28 August 2006
The Department’s integrated offender management strategy has been developed and
premised on a set of five principles which are listed below. The principles were
researched worldwide and are based on best practice in the field of corrections.
1.
The Risk Principle
The Risk principle states that higher levels of service should be provided to offenders who
have been assessed as having a higher risk of recidivism. Similarly, low-risk offenders
should be assigned to minimal service levels.
Research has concluded that providing intensive services to low-risk offenders resulted in
very minimal impact and in some cases actually increased recidivism in contrast to low-risk
offenders who did not participate in treatment. A potential problem is ignoring low-risk
youthful offenders who are at the beginning of their criminal career.
There is also research which suggests that certain types of offenders who have been
assessed as a very high risk of re-offending, such as those assessed as high in
psychopathy, may not be suitable to undertake group based interventions.
2.
The Need Principle
The Need principle suggests that intervention should be targeted to address the factors
that lead to criminal behaviour, that is, criminogenic needs.
Criminogenic needs are also known as dynamic offender risk factors. Dynamic factors,
when changed, are associated with changes in risk of recidivism. In contrast static risk
factors are significantly linked with recidivism, but cannot be changed and are therefore
not a target of intervention. Non-criminogenic needs are offender needs that, when
changed, are also not linked to changes in recidivism.
Examples of criminogenic and non-criminogenic factors
Characteristics – some examples
Antisocial attitudes/values/beliefs and/or personality, including
impulsivity, eg pro-criminal associates, substance abuse,
hostility, anger, poor problem solving skills, education, and/or
employment.
Static (non changeable) Historical factors which cannot be changed, eg criminal history,
risk factors
early family factors, age, gender.
Non-criminogenic needs Self esteem, anxiety.
Factor
Criminogenic needs Dynamic(changeable)
risk factors
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The Responsivity Principle
The Responsivity principle states that correctional intervention should be matched to an
offender's learning style and abilities. Responsivity factors can be described as individual
offender factors that interfere with or facilitate learning. A range of these individual
offender factors do not directly impact upon recidivism, but need to be considered as they
affect offender's receptivity to intervention that is targeted at his/her criminogenic needs.
Responsivity factors should not be ignored, as they are factors which could undermine the
effectiveness of correctional intervention. To maximise benefits of interventions, the
personality and cognitive characteristics of offenders must be considered.
Examples of offender responsivity factors include: anxiety, self esteem, depression,
motivation, denial, poor verbal skills, poor literacy skills, mental illness, age/level of
maturity, gender, race and ethnicity, poor social skills, maturity, psychopathy, concrete
orientated thinking or intellectual deficits.
4.
Professional Discretion Principle
Offenders may present with characteristics that are not fully considered by the principles of
risk, need and responsivity. The role of professional judgement in the case of over-ride
includes the assessment of risk and flagging offenders for further assessment with more
appropriate tools.
Professional discretion is also necessary in assigning priority to criminogenic needs and
weighing up the importance of responsivity factors. For example, an offender may be
assessed as having the criminogenic need of poor impulse control and would therefore be
referred to a making choices program. However, the offender may have poor literacy
skills. It would be necessary to further assess this responsivity factor prior to program
intervention and professional judgement may be used again in determining whether to
focus on improving the offender's literacy or focus on modifying the program.
Guidelines for professional discretion can assist with the extent that assessment outcomes
can be varied or overridden.
5.
Program Integrity Principle
Program Integrity is the fifth principle of effective intervention involving—
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
interventions prioritised on criminogenic needs;
program integrity maximised when interventions provided in a structured manner by
enthusiastic and well-trained staff;
relatively long interventions;
group based interventions;
promoting offender responsibility for offending;
matching the offender’s learning style;
use of cognitive behavioural therapy;
challenging anti-social attitudes and behaviours;
facilitation by qualified facilitators; and
preventing facilitators from changing programs to suit their individual needs or
interests outside of the approved process.
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