IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SENTENCERS

WHAT WORKS:
REDUCING RE-OFFENDING
What Works aims to reduce re-offending by ensuring that all probation work is based on
evidence of success. The purpose is simple: to help probation areas to deliver effective,
well-designed, well-targeted programmes which work.

Enforcement, rehabilitation and public protection ISSUE

ISSUE 2 –2 DECEMBER
– JANUARY 2002
2003
This leaflet explains the What Works initiative - an important development in probation which will
affect sentencing practice in the future. It will be of particular interest to you if you are a sentencer, or are
involved in the criminal justice system in any way.
1. INTRODUCTION
What Works aims to reduce re-offending, by ensuring that
probation practice is based on interventions which:
ƒ are based on evidence of effectiveness;
ƒ are delivered to a consistent standard across the
country; and
ƒ are accessible and effective for all groups of offenders.
Separate arrangements apply in the Youth Courts. The Youth
Justice Board is developing guidance on effective practice for
the work of Youth Offending Teams and envisages
introducing it (in discussion with representatives of the Courts)
during 2002 & 2003.
The National Probation Service aims to reduce re-
offending by 5% by 2004. Evidence published in October
2002 (National Statistics) indicates that reconviction by
those on community penalties has already fallen by 3.1%
against the predicted level of reconviction. Within this
overall figure, Community Rehabilitation Orders with a
condition for a specific activity (the precursor to accredited
programmes) achieved a 4.9% reduction against the
predicted reconviction rate, as did Community
Punishment Orders.
Figures from Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate,
October 2002
2. THE PRINCIPLES
Risk (deliver in the right dosage)
The frequency, intensity, sequencing and spacing of the
programme should reflect the seriousness and persistence of
the offending, and the range and gravity of the offending-
related factors.
Need (address the problems which lead to crime)
The programme should aim to change the factors which
caused the offender to commit crime.
Responsivity (help offenders to respond)
The programme should use methods which engage offenders
and to which they can respond, including approaches
designed for women and minority ethnic offenders. The right
operating conditions for these methods should be clearly
specified.
Research is indicating that the quality of delivery has an
impact on the effectiveness of a programme. In order to
promote quality each programme is supported by intensive
training aimed at developing a high level of skill amongst the
range of staff involved in delivery. In addition, clear and
comprehensive structures and processes are in place to
monitor the quality of delivery, not just of programmes but of
each session of each programme.
3. THE KEY ELEMENTS OF WHAT WORKS
Offending Behaviour Programmes
One of the first tasks has been to establish a set of accredited
programmes which are proven to be successful. Through the
Pathfinder pilot programme the National Probation Service
has already developed nine programmes which have been
accredited, two provisionally accredited, and others are
currently being developed. They include general offending
behaviour programmes as well as specialist programmes
aimed at drug & alcohol misuse, sexual offences, and
offences involving violence.
Each programme is submitted to the Correctional Services
Accreditation Panel (CSAP) (formerly the Joint
Prison/Probation Accreditation Panel), a body of independent
experts set up to ensure the effectiveness of interventions
with offenders.
Once formally accredited, each programme forms part of the
menu of top-quality interventions known as the core
curriculum, which is being introduced in every probation area.
Offender Assessment
Matching offenders to appropriate programmes is the key to
success in reducing re-offending. The implementation of a
new system for the assessment of offenders (OASys) will
mean that Pre-Sentence Reports will be based on a thorough
assessment of the factors affecting an offender's likelihood of
re-offending, and will produce firm proposals on the type of
intervention most likely to reduce this risk. OASys will form
the basis of assessment throughout the Prison and
Probation Services.
Community Reintegration
Community reintegration is crucial to achieving long-term
change in an offender's behaviour. Research shows that work
to address problems such as homelessness, lack of basic
skills, unemployment and substance misuse is a vital
ingredient of any effective intervention.
‘Pathfinder’ projects to establish the most effective ways of
supporting reintegration are nearing completion. New
programmes to help offenders make practical changes to
avoid re-offending, by becoming involved in positive social
relationships and activities and achieving a settled lifestyle,
will be introduced. At present we are working in partnership
with local Learning Skills Councils and voluntary organisations
to deliver basic skills provision to offenders in the community.
New Pathfinders will include an employment project, a
prison/probation basic skills project and a hostels project.
This work with offenders complements their attendance on
offending behaviour programmes. It provides an opportunity
for offenders to practise newly developed skills by applying
them to problems they face - in employment, accommodation
or money management.
Community Punishment1
Significant improvements can be made in reducing offending
if Community Punishment supervisors use ‘pro-social
modelling’ techniques. This is where supervisors engage with
offenders by acting as positive role models, rather than
merely supervising the work being done. Community
Punishment can be particularly effective in reducing re-
offending when offenders themselves think it a worthwhile
experience (McIvor, 1992). As a result of this, the National
Probation Directorate has been running 12 Pathfinder pilots to
experiment with a number of techniques including pro-social
modelling. These are aimed at reducing anti-social attitudes
and behaviour and teaching employment skills. The effect is
to increase offenders’ compliance with the order and reduce
reconviction. The Pathfinders have produced promising
results and a new enhanced form of Community Punishment
(ECP) will be introduced in 2003.
Evaluating Programmes
An extensive independent research programme has been
commissioned to evaluate these accredited programmes,
examining the impact on offenders and reconviction rates.
4. WHERE'S THE EVIDENCE?
Significant evidence is emerging of the effectiveness of this
approach:
Offending behaviour programmes
Research shows that properly conducted programmes of
intervention can have a significant effect on reconviction
rates. Typically the effect has been around 10-15% reduction
compared to offenders who did not attend structured
programmes:
ƒ Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is a programme
developed in Wiltshire which aims to tackle the problems of
violent offenders. It was accredited by the Correctional
Services Accreditation Panel in 2001.
1
Prior to the Criminal Justice & Court Services Act 2000, Community Punishment Orders
were called Community Service Orders; Community Rehabilitation Orders were called
Probation Orders; and Community Punishment & Rehabilitation Orders were called
Combination Orders.
A recent study shows that those attending the course had a
one-year reconviction rate of 20.4% compared with 34.5%
for those who had not (RDS, Home Office, 2000);
ƒ The Drink Impaired Drivers programme was accredited in
2001. In evaluations of the programme, the two-year
reconviction rate for those who completed the programme
was 14%, compared to 21% sentenced to other disposals
(RDS, Home Office, 2000);
ƒ The Community Sex Offenders Groupwork Programme,
was accredited in 2000. An evaluation found that those
completing the programme showed a reduction by 7.4% in
the two-year reconviction rate for sexual offences (3.2%,
compared to 10.6% for a matched control group), a
reduction by 11% for violent offences, and a reduction by
22% for other offences such as theft (Allam, 1999).
Drugs programmes
Research indicates that structured therapeutic communities2
average a 16% reduction in reconviction rates. A recent
review of US/Canadian drugs programmes produced results
from four schemes which suggested an average 14.6%
reduction in reconviction rates.
Interim and self-report data from offenders in three Drug
Treatment & Testing Order (DTTO) pilot sites are generally
positive, indicating substantial reductions in both offending
and illegal drug consumption (Turnbull, 2000).
Basic numeracy and literacy programmes
Recent data indicate that teaching reading skills reduces re-
offending by 6% on average, and the best interventions can
produce 14% reductions (Lipton, 1999).
Offenders in Canada who improved their literacy and
numeracy had a significantly lower readmission to prison. The
research also found that offenders who completed the course
recognised that personal changes had taken place, for
example they were more concerned about other people's
feelings and said they had improved self-control (Porporino
and Robinson, 1992).
New programmes to improve literacy and numeracy are being
introduced from 2002 in partnership with the Prison Service,
Employment Service and the Basic Skills Agency.
2
Therapeutic Communities are designed environments in prisons which provide a structured,
residentially-based programme that enhances the sense of community and uses positive
peer group pressure to influence attitudes.
5. ENFORCEMENT

Community penalties will be credible options only if they are

enforced rigorously; it is a serious matter when a court order
is broken. Even if a programme is known to work, it cannot
have the required impact unless offenders attend regularly.
It is therefore vital that those who fail to attend without good
reason are returned to Court promptly.

There has been a shift in culture on enforcement. The

National Standards for the Supervision of Offenders in
the Community have been revised; since April 2000
offenders have been returned to court no later than the
second unacceptable failure to comply rather than, as
previously, the third such failure.

6. HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE?

Contact your local office of the National Probation Service

(NPS). Some have a Communications or Public Relations
Officer to whom enquiries can be addressed. Alternatively,
you may wish to consult the central What Works Team at the
National Probation Directorate, 1st floor, Horseferry House,
Dean Ryle Street, London SW1P 2AW; tel 020 7217 0687;
email mark.slater@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Important Information for Sentencers is published by the

National Probation Directorate approximately six times a year
to promote understanding of the options available through the
National Probation Service and other matters of interest to
sentencers. For further copies contact your local Probation
Area Board, call 020 7217 8409, or visit the probation pages
of the Home Office website, where this document and others
which may be useful to sentencers are published:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/cpg/nps/index.htm

The first title in this series, Working Together – Probation and

the Courts (August 2002), is also available from NPS head
offices, as is a 15 minute video entitled An Insight into What
Works which can be shown at meetings of sentencers.