Does incarceration-based drug treatment reduce recidivism? A meta-analytic synthesis of the research

This research synthesized results from 66 published and unpublished evaluations of incarceration-based drug treatment programs using meta-analysis. Incarceration-based drug treatment programs fell into five types: therapeutic communities (TCs), residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT), group counseling, boot camps specifically for drug offenders, and narcotic maintenance programs. We examined the effectiveness of each of these types of interventions in reducing post-release offending and drug use, and we also examined whether differences in research findings can be explained by variations in methodology, sample, or program features. Our results consistently found support for the effectiveness of TC programs on both outcome measures, and this finding was robust to variations in method, sample, and program features. We also found support for the effectiveness of RSAT and group counseling programs in reducing re-offending, but these programs’ effects on drug use were ambiguous. A limited number of evaluations assessed narcotic maintenance or boot camp programs; however, the existing evaluations found mixed support for maintenance programs and no support for boot camps.     

PEER GROUP INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR: A SELECTIVE REVIEW AND A NEW EVALUATION*

Evaluations of correctional treatment programs for criminal offenders and of school-based delinquency prevention programs based on Guided-Group Interaction (GGI) and similar interventions are critically reviewed. One study—the Provo Experiment—provided convincing evidence for the superiority of a community treatment program involving GGI over incarceration (for persons who would otherwise be incarcerated) and modest superiority over probation (for persons who would otherwise be assigned probation). Some evaluations of school-based prevention programs involving GGI derivatives that have been cited as supporting the efficacy of these programs are flawed and may be misleading. A new experimental evaluation of a school-based intervention based on a GGI derivative implies that it increased delinquent behavior among students exposed to it.     

The Monetary Value of Saving a High-Risk Youth

Programs targeted at high-risk youth are designed to prevent high-school dropout, crime, drug abuse, and other forms of delinquency. Even if shown to be successful in reducing one or more social ill, a key policy question is whether the cost to society from that intervention program exceeds its benefits. Although the costs of intervention programs are often available, the benefits are more illusive. This paper provides estimates of the potential benefits from “saving” a high-risk youth, by estimating the lifetime costs associated with the typical career criminal, drug abuser, and high-school dropout. In the absence of controlled experimental data on the number of career criminals averted, one can ask the reverse question—How many career criminals must be prevented before the program “pays for itself?” Based on a 2% discount rate, the typical career criminal causes $1.3–$1.5 million in external costs; a heavy drug user, $370,000 to $970,000; and a high-school dropout, $243,000 to $388,000. Eliminating duplication between crimes committed by individuals who are both heavy drug users and career criminals results in an overall estimate of the “monetary value of saving a high-risk youth” of $1.7 to $2.3 million.     

Randomized experiments in criminology: What have we learned in the last two decades?

This paper aims to review randomized experiments in criminology with offending outcomes and reasonably large numbers that were published between 1982 and 2004. A total of 83 experiments are summarized, compared with only 35 published between 1957 and 1981: 12 on policing, 13 on prevention, 14 on corrections, 22 on courts, and 22 on community interventions. Randomized experiments are still relatively uncommon, but there have been more large-scale multi-site experiments and replication programs. There have also been several experiments in which 100 or more places were randomly assigned. Relatively few experiments (only 10 out of 83) were conducted outside the United States. Meta-analyses suggest that prevention methods, correctional therapy, batterer programs, drug courts, juvenile restitution and deterrent policing were effective in reducing offending, while Scared Straight and boot camp programs caused a significant increase in offending.     

Public attitudes toward funding preschool programs to prevent violence

Public policy on violence prevention has increasingly focused on early childhood interventions to reduce violence over the life course. This paper examines public attitudes toward funding of programs in schools to enhance learning and to reduce violence. The data come from telephone surveys in a large Southern US City collected from 2004 to 2007. The paper explores the relationship between public funding of programs and increased taxes for programs. PLUM Ordinal Regression models were used to predict attitudes toward prevention programs controlling for demographic variables and political affiliation. Implications of these findings are discussed for understanding of attitudes toward school-based programs and their funding.     

The Joy of Violence: What about Violence is Fun in Middle-School?

Violence prevention programs that aim to ameliorate or eliminate school-based violence (student-on-student victimization) often assume that students, like adults, regard school-based violence as aversive, harmful, problematic, and without any redeeming value. Nonetheless, students may experience violence as fun or enjoyable at school, and they may not see a reason to prevent violence if it brings them joy on some level. This study examined qualitative data from 30 face-to-face interviews with students (grades 6–8) in a single middle school. Content analyses clarified the social contexts in which students experience violence as fun, not fun, or a mixture of both. The results suggested that 70% of all sampled students reported enjoyable experiences with school-based violence. Conclusions examined the implications of these findings for prevention programs; future research is needed to correct for the methodological limitations of this study and others.     

AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF SCHOOL-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR*

This report examines a school-based delinquency prevention program that combined an environmental change approach with direct intervention for high-risk youths to reduce delinquent behavior and increase educational attainment. The program involved school stafl students, and community members in planning and implementing a comprehensive school improvement effort; changed disciplinary procedures; and enhanced the school program with activities aimed at increasing achievement and creating a more positive school climate. It also provided services to marginal students designed to increase their self-concepts and success experiences and to strengthen their bonds to the school. The program brought about a small but measurable reduction in delinquent behavior and misconduct. Students in participating schools were suspended less often, reported fewer punishing experiences in school, and reported less involvement in delinquent and drug-related activities. The environmental interventions apparently decreased delinquency and misconduct by promoting a sense of belonging in and attachment to the school and by improving the general climate and disciplinary practices in the schools. The direct interventions with high-risk students did not reduce delinquent behavior, but did increase commitment to education as indicated by rates of dropout, retention, graduation, and standardized achievement test scores. The evidence supports the conclusion that the program has promise for reducing delinquency and its risk factors for the general population and for improving educational outcomes for high-risk individuals. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Lessons from a successful and failed random assignment testing batterer program innovations

With increasing pressure to conduct experimental evaluations of domestic violence interventions, it is important to weigh further the most challenging aspect of experimental designs: the implementation of random assignment. This paper reviews two attempted experimental evaluations of counseling programs for domestic violence offenders, and formulates implications for conducting and interpreting program evaluations. The two case studies offer an instructive comparison of a maximally implemented experiment and a failed one at the same setting. In the first study, the random assignment was introduced within the counseling program and with implicit leverage of court sanctions for non-compliance to the assignment. In the second, random assignment was disrupted by unforeseeable events and inter-agency breakdowns in the complex referral system. Interestingly, implementation issues in both studies raised divergent interpretations from researchers and practitioners. They appear to imply a need for more disclosure of implementation problems in experimental evaluations and for more caution about over interpreting the existing experimental evaluations in the field.     

Chapter 2: Pay Now So You Won't Pay Later: The Effectiveness of Prevention Programming in the Fight to Reduce Delinquency

Community-based delinquency prevention programs, designed to work with youth and families before they become involved with the official court process, are relatively rare. Likewise, few studies have been published concerninge valuative research on such programs. This article reviews some background on program concepts, describes the operations of the Oakland County Probate Court Youth Assistance casework services program, and reports the results of a comprehensive program evaluation project. The findings suggest that prevention programming is one effective strategy to aid in reducing the likelihood of more costly court interventions. Recommendations for program development are offered.     

Toward a biosocial theory of offender rehabiltiation: Why does cognitive-behavioral therapy work?

Objective

The growing insights from neuropsychological research, including within biosocial criminology, have not yet been systematically incorporated into the study of correctional rehabilitation. Given developments in related fields, we argue that moving toward a biosocial theory of offender rehabilitation or neurocriminology will enrich our understanding and effectiveness of these interventions. A particularly promising area to investigate is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). In this regard, we examine research on the neural correlates of skills that are addressed in correctional cognitive skills programs.

Results

A review of the literature reveals that social skills, coping skills, and problem-solving skills are consistently associated with activation in the medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, insula, and temporo-parietal junction.

Conclusions

CBT programs that effectively target social skills, coping skills, and problem-solving skills should correspond to increased activity in these regions. The implications of this research are discussed.     

Investigating Probation Strategies with Juvenile Offenders: The Influence of Officers’ Attitudes and Youth Characteristics

Probation officers are the focal point for most interventions with delinquent youths in the juvenile justice system. The present study examines probation strategies and interventions in a sample of 308 probation officers who completed the Probation Practices Assessment Survey (PPAS) in a web-based survey. The PPAS measures six probation approaches: deterrence, restorative justice, treatment, confrontation, counseling, and behavioral tactics. Structural equation models and latent class analyses showed that probation officers use multiple approaches with delinquent youths consistent with the balanced and restorative justice movement. Younger youths, high-risk youths, and youths with prior social service involvements are likely to receive more intensive interventions. The implications of these findings for improving probation practices with delinquent youth are discussed.     

The Andrews’ principles of risk, needs, and responsivity as applied in drug treatment programs: meta-analysis of crime and drug use outcomes

Objectives

The purpose of the present meta-analysis was to answer the question: Can the Andrews principles of risk, needs, and responsivity, originally developed for programs that treat offenders, be extended to programs that treat drug abusers?

Methods

Drawing from a dataset that included 243 independent comparisons, we conducted random-effects meta-regression and ANOVA-analog meta-analyses to test the Andrews principles by averaging crime and drug use outcomes over a diverse set of programs for drug abuse problems.

Results

For crime outcomes, in the meta-regressions, the point estimates for each of the principles were substantial, consistent with previous studies of the Andrews principles. There was also a substantial point estimate for programs exhibiting a greater number of the principles. However, almost all the 95 % confidence intervals included the zero point. For drug use outcomes, in the meta-regressions, the point estimates for each of the principles was approximately zero; however, the point estimate for programs exhibiting a greater number of the principles was somewhat positive. All the estimates for the drug use principles had confidence intervals that included the zero point.

Conclusions

This study supports previous findings from primary research studies targeting the Andrews principles that those principles are effective in reducing crime outcomes, here in meta-analytic research focused on drug treatment programs. By contrast, programs that follow the principles appear to have very little effect on drug use outcomes. Primary research studies that experimentally test the Andrews principles in drug treatment programs are recommended.     

Crime-minimizing drug policy

Objective

To identify changes in drug abuse control measures that would reduce non-drug crime.

Method

Policy analysis.

Results

Expanding current anti-drug efforts in the conventional triad of enforcement, prevention, and treatment (including drug courts) holds out little hope of reducing non-drug crime. Routine drug law enforcement risks increasing crime by raising drug prices and creating incentives for violence among dealers. Low-arrest crackdowns to break up flagrant markets promise better results.Even good prevention programs have modest effect sizes, and most prevention programs are not based on proven models.The overlap between the population of heavy illicit drug users and the population of frequent non-drug offenders presents a problem and a policy opportunity that current programs largely fail to grasp.Drug treatment, except for opiate substitution, has difficulty recruiting and retaining clients, and weak sanctions systems render treatment mandates largely nominal. Abstinence-mandate programs such as HOPE and Sobriety 24/7 have shown superior results in reducing re-offending and incarceration.Raising alcohol taxes reduces heavy alcohol use and crime due to intoxication without generating any offsetting criminogenic effects.

Conclusion

Current drug policies are not optimally designed for the control of non-drug crime. Improvements are within relatively easy reach.     

Incorporating a Healthy Living Curriculum within Family Behavior Therapy: A Clinical Case Example in a Woman with a History of Domestic Violence,Child Neglect,Drug Abuse,and Obesity

Women reported to child protective service agencies frequently report problems that significantly interfere with the health and well-being of their children and themselves. Behavioral treatment programs appear to be effective in managing these co-existing problems, such as domestic violence and substance abuse. However, evidence-supported interventions are rarely exemplified in complicated clinical cases, especially within child welfare settings. Therefore, in this case example, we describe the process of adapting an evidence-supported treatment to assist in managing significant co-existing health-related problems in a mother who was referred due to child neglect and drug abuse. At the conclusion of therapy, the participant reported improvements in perceived family relationships, illicit drug use, child maltreatment potential, whereas other health-related outcomes were mixed. Most improvements were maintained at 4-month follow-up. Issues relevant to implementing evidence-based treatments within community contexts are discussed, including methods of increasing the likelihood of valid outcome assessment, managing treatment integrity, and adjusting standardized treatments to accommodate co-occurring problems.     

Are We Getting Value for Money from Behavioral Interventions for Offenders? A Research Note Reviewing the Economic Evaluation Literature

Public expenditure on the criminal justice system represents a significant fiscal burden to government worldwide, making the economic evaluation of interventions aimed at improving justice outcomes critical to informing resource allocation. This study systematically reviews and assesses the scope and quality of economic evaluations of behavioral interventions aimed at reducing reoffending. Only seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, with wide variation in methodological approaches, including differences in costing perspectives, study design, and the definition of cost and outcome measures. The majority of behavioral interventions for offenders remain unevaluated from an economic perspective, representing a significant evidence gap for informing cost-effective and efficient allocation decision. Based on the studies reviewed, economic benefit can be derived from investing in offender behavioral programs. However, whether this investment represents ‘value for money’ remains unclear. What is clear is that economic evaluations in the justice health sector lag behind research in other areas of public policy.     

Reeling in Disengaged Students: An Assessment of a Countywide Juvenile Court Attendance Program

On any given day, thousands of youths are absent from school; many are absent without a legitimate excuse and thus deemed truant. Truancy has been linked to various problem behaviors including academic failure, delinquency, and school dropout. Thus, the prevention of truancy is assumed to have beneficial effects far into the future. This study provides an overview of an innovative truancy abatement program operating in southwestern Idaho known as the Ada County Attendance Court. Qualitative and quantitative data are presented to show how the program operates, its effects, and how it differs from other truancy prevention programs nationwide.     

When crime prevention harms: a review of systematic reviews

Objectives

In a series of important scholarly works, Joan McCord made the case for the criminological community to take seriously harmful effects arising from individual-based crime prevention programs. Building on these works, two key questions are of central interest to this paper: What has been the state of research on harmful effects of these crime prevention programs since McCord’s works? And what are the theoretical, methodological, and programmatic characteristics of individual-based crime prevention programs with reported harmful effects?

Methods

This paper reports on the first empirical review of harmful effects of crime prevention programs, drawing upon 15 Campbell Collaboration systematic reviews. Altogether, 574 experimental and quasi-experimental studies (published and unpublished) with 645 independent effect sizes were reviewed.

Results

A total of 22 harmful effects from 22 unique studies of individual-based crime prevention programs were identified. Almost all of the studies have been reported since 1990, all but 2 were carried out in the United States, and two-thirds can be considered unpublished. The studies covered a wide range of interventions, from anti-bullying programs at schools, to second responder interventions involving police, to the Scared Straight program for juvenile delinquents, with more than half taking place in criminal justice settings. Boot camps and drug courts accounted for the largest share of studies with harmful effects.

Conclusions

Theory failure, implementation failure, and deviancy training were identified as the leading explanations for harmful effects of crime prevention programs, and they served as key anchors for a more focused look at implications for theory and policy. Also, the need for programs to be rigorously evaluated and monitored is evident, which will advance McCord’s call for attention to safety and efficacy.     

Acculturation,Social Context,and Drug Use: Findings from a Sample of Hispanic Adolescents

Criminologists have largely neglected the influence of acculturation in the etiology of Hispanic drug use and delinquency. This is somewhat surprising since a long line of research from several disciplines has consistently linked higher levels of acculturation to greater incidence of negative social, health, and behavioral outcomes. A major shortcoming of this extant literature, however, is its failure to consider the acculturation-drug use link within a particular explanatory framework. This study attempts to address this oversight by examining the acculturation-drug use relationship within the context of gang membership, drug availability, and susceptibility to peer influence. Using data from a sample of Mexican–American adolescents residing in the American Southwest, a series of regression equations were estimated exploring the relative effects of acculturation, gang membership, drug availability, and susceptibility to peer influence on drug use. Separate analyses were conducted on minor (e.g., alcohol, marijuana) and major (e.g., cocaine, heroin) drug use. Findings indicated that all study variables, except acculturation, were significantly related to drug use.     

Long-term effects of two childhood psychosocial interventions on adolescent delinquency,substance use,and antisocial behavior: a cluster randomized controlled trial

Objectives

Examine the long-term effects of two childhood universal prevention programs on adolescent delinquency, substance use, and antisocial behavior.

Methods

The cluster randomized controlled trial involved 56 schools and 1,675 children in Zurich, Switzerland. Two evidence-based interventions, namely the social-emotional skills program Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) and the cognitive-behavioral parenting program Triple P, were implemented during the first two years of primary school, at ages 7 and 8 years. Outcomes were measured at ages 13 and 15 years, and included youth self-reports and teacher assessments. Multilevel models were used to account for the clustered nature of the interventions. Effects were estimated with the inclusion of baseline covariates.

Results

Across 13 outcomes related to delinquency, substance use, and antisocial behavior at ages 13 and 15 years, only two non-negligible effects were found. The first was a reduced prevalence of police contacts in the PATHS condition [effect size (ES)?=??0.225). The second was a difference in competent conflict resolution skills in the combined PATHS?+?Triple P condition compared to the context (ES?=?0.259), but in the unexpected direction: participants in the combined treatment appeared to be less competent than their control group peers. All other effects were either statistically non-significant or negligible in size (i.e., ES?<?|0.200|).

Conclusions

Even “evidence-based” interventions may have few long-term effects on delinquency, substance use, and antisocial behavior. Our findings add to the small literature on the long-term effectiveness of early universal prevention in field settings.