METHODS OF TREATING OFFENDERS

A) TOKEN ECONOMIES

B) ANGER MANAGEMENT

THE SYLLABUS - WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Describe and evaluate two ways of treating offenders including:

- the token economy programme and one other.

Suitable examples:- punishment- anger management- social skills training.

ANGER MANAGEMENT

Offenders can be treated using anger management programmes, which focus on people with aggressive behaviour that needs to be controlled.

Anger management in general uses strategies such as identifying what triggers anger and learning to control those triggers.

Proper eating regimes are suggested as well as relaxation techniques.

Learning to cope with different opinions from others is also important in the programme.

Anger is considered a normal healthy response, but if it develops into rage that takes a person over, it is not healthy and puts a strain on the body.

Anger can trigger aggressive out-bursts which may lead to harming someone else.

Some offenders are put on anger management programmes as part of their treatment, because of the nature of the offence or because of personal characteristics.

The theory of anger as an outburst links to Freud’s ideas of negative emotions being locked away in the unconscious, only to burst out later.

Freud believed sport and other energetic activities could release such emotions.

Currently there is more focus on what triggers the outburst of anger or aggression and how that trigger, often based on thought processes, can be changed.

Such anger is thought of as inappropriate thought patterns and reactions rather than outbursts.

Breakdown of Sessions 12 x 1hour over 3 daysBreakdown of Sessions 12 x 1hour over 3 days•Session 1 : Content of sessions, rules of the course. Importance of using anger diaries.

•Session 2: Triggers for angry behaviour, understanding the consequences of temper loss. Anger Management Therapy With Young Male Offenders 183

•Session 3: Cycle of angry behaviour, importance of body language in signalling anger.

•Session 4: Replacing aggressive body language with non-aggressive body language.

•Session 5: Importance of thoughts. Using ‘non-angry’ thoughts. The parts of an angry incident i.e. before, during and after.

* Session 6: Using non-angry thoughts before, during and after angry incidents. Importance of self-praise following avoidance of anger-loss..

•Session 7: Importance of bodily arousal in relation to angry behaviour. Learning how to wind down.

•Session 8: Relaxation techniques to help cope with feeling wound-up.

•Session 9: Choosing how you behave towards others.

•Session 10: Learning to express anger assertively.

•Session 11: Recognising and dealing with criticisms and insults. Peer group pressure and how to deal with this.

* Session 12: Identifying high-risk situations and lapse/relapse

HOW ARE AMP’S USED IN PRISON?

DO ANGER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES WORK?

Using the handout on Anger Management complete the table below:

Evidence FORsuccess of AMP’s

Evidence AGAINSTsuccess of AMP’s

What do these studies tell us about the effectiveness of AMP’s? How else can we evaluate AMP’s? Are there any ethical/moral problems?

AimTo assess whether anger-management

programmes work within a group of young male offenders

ProcedureQuasi experiment - Two groups

Experimental Group

(50 participants)Received CALM

anger management programme

Control Group(37 participants)No intervention or

treatment programme

ProcedureEach participant was measured on the following...

1. Their responses to a cognitive behavioural interview

2. Wing Behavioural Checklist (WBC) - Completed by prison officers rating 29 angry behaviours

3. Anger Management Assessment (AMA) - A self-report questionnaire on anger management with 53 items completed by the prisoners themselves

SAMPLE

50 prisoners who had completed an anger management course and a control group of 37 prisoners who had been assessed as suitable for such a course but had not actually completed one.

Results: There was a significant reduction in prison wing-

based aggression in the experimental group but not in the control

group.

Prisoners who had completed CALM rated themselves lower on

the AMA questionnaire and were rated lower on the WBC by the

prison officers.

There was no significant reduction in either of these measures in

the control group.

92% of the treatment group showed improvements on at least

one measure of aggression, 48% showed improvement on both

measures.

8% showed no improvement or deterioration on both measures.

Conclusion The CALM programme seemed effective and

prisoners appeared to be helped by the

programme.

However, there is no re-offending data so it is

unclear whether these programmes have a long-

term effect.

Also, the fact that 8% of prisoners appeared to get

worse requires investigation.

Method – Quasi Experiment This allows a cause and effect relationship to be

inferred as we can assess the offenders’ aggressive behaviours before and after the intervention

However, there is a lack of control over other extraneous variables which may have affected inmates’ anger such as relationships with other inmates, news from family, etc.

Some ecological validity as carried out in the institutional setting, however it is unclear whether these results apply when prisoners are released

Method – (cont’d...) It wasn’t possibly to randomly assign participants

to each group, so they couldn’t be matched on variables such as age or offence type

There are inherent difficulties in using self-reports in a forensic setting where there may be clear incentives for individuals to appear successful following treatment e.g., for parole purposes

Sample The sample comprised all male young offenders

(mean age of 18-19 years) in a young offenders’ institution serving sentences of less than 3 months on average.

Therefore, the results cannot be generalised to other settings and groups such as female offenders, released offenders or those in a prison.

Reductionism vs. holism This study is reductionist as only looks at the effect

that the CALM intervention has on aggressive behaviour. Many other factors can potentially influence aggressive behaviour.

Situational vs. individual explanations This study suggests that completing the CALM

programme will reduce aggressive behaviour. Is it the prison situation that causes this effect due to prisoners wanting early release? Or has the individual’s behaviour changed for good? Unsure, as there is no re-offending data.

RESULTS (CONT.)

Quantitative data: 70% reduction in drug related incidents from six

months pre treatment to six months post treatment.

41% reduction in serious incident reports. 42% reduction in positive drug testing results

(mandatory). 33% reduction in positive drug test results

(voluntary).

STRENGTHS OF ANGER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES

Studies show the success of anger management programmes from self report data, which are likely to be valid as they come from prisoners themselves.

The programmes focus on learning about triggers from angry episodes and give people the tools to control their anger in the future, so they should have long term benefits.

WEAKNESSES OF ANGER MANAGEMENT

The programmes do not include a discussion of morality or understanding from a victim’s point of view, which has been said to limit their success.

It has been claimed that they turn physical aggression into other ways of expressing aggression, such as verbal or emotional abuse.

Studies claiming success of the programmes use self report data, where prisoners might want to look good and say the groups were useful, or they might simply have enjoyed the sessions as a break from routine.

Many studies do not look further into the future to predict recidivism rates.

POSSIBLE EXAM QUESTIONS1. Outline one way of treating offender behaviour. (3

marks)

2. Evaluate the use of one method of reducing offending behaviour other than token economies. (5 marks)

3. The probation service is looking into ways to treat offenders and reduce recidivism. They are using token economies but realise this treatment programme is limited in the extent to which they rehabilitate offenders and lower recidivism. Describe another way of treating prisoners and evaluate the usefulness of this programme. (12 marks)