NCJ Number
53329
Date Published
1978
Length
297 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT SUGGESTS CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT THEORIES, AND RESEARCH WHICH SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT INTERVENTION IS USELESS HAVE IGNORED THE OFFENDER'S INDIVIDUALITY AND MISJUDGED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH RESULTS.
Abstract
THE 'ALMOST NOTHING WORKS' CONCEPT OF CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT, OUTLINED IN TWO ARTICLES BY ROBERT MARTINSON, WAS A PRODUCT OF WIDESPREAD SOCIAL DIFFICULTY, TRAUMATIC EVENTS WITHIN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND RELATED INCIDENTS IN THE LATE 1960'S AND EARLY 1970'S. TO ASSESS THE VALIDITY OF THIS VIEWPOINT, SUPPORTIVE RESEARCH STUDIES ON CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT AND THEIR CONCLUSIONS ARE EVALUATED FOR RESEARCH QUALITY, DIFFERENTIAL WEIGHTING OF VARIABLES, AND INSIGNIFICANT CHANGES. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT RESEARCH HAS IGNORED OFFENDERS' INDIVIDUALITY AND THE FACT THAT TREATMENT, TO BE USEFUL, DOES NOT HAVE TO BE EFFECTIVE IN ALL OR THE MAJORITY OF CASES. DATA FROM THE COMMUNITY TREATMENT PROJECT IN CALIFORNIA ARE USED TO SUPPORT THE SUGGESTION THAT A COMBINATION OF MODALITIES SHOULD BE USED WITH OFFENDER GROUPS, EITHER WITHIN OR OUTSIDE THE FRAMEWORK OF DETERMINATE SENTENCING. CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS SHOULD NOT BE EVALUATED BY THEIR EFFECTS ON RECIDIVISM AND SHOULD HAVE OFFENDER-CENTERED ROLES. ATTITUDES OF DECISIONMAKERS AND THE PUBLIC REGARDING TREATMENT THEORIES ARE DISCUSSED, AND PROSPECTS AND STRATEGIES FOR CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT WHICH WOULD MAXIMIZE THE INFORMATION YIELD OF EXISTING RESEARCH ARE CONSIDERED. PROPOSALS FOR DIFFERENTIAL ANALYSIS, MULTISTUDY ANALYSES, AND SEQUENTIAL HYPOTHESIS-TESTING RESEARCH ARE PRESENTED ALONG WITH OUTLINES OF THREE ANALYSIS APPROACHES FOR INTEGRATING STUDY FINDINGS. AN INDEX AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED.