NCJ Number
202502
Journal
Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: 2003 Pages: 115-133
Date Published
2003
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The primary issue examined in this study was the utility of the Risk, Needs, and Responsivity framework in the prison rehabilitation programs for Australia's Indigenous offenders (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples).
Abstract
This study drew primarily on information from three sources: The Ministerial Summit on Indigenous Deaths in Custody (1995), published work conducted with Canadian Indigenous Offenders, and proceedings from the Australian Institute of Criminology Conference, "Best Practice Interventions in Corrections for Indigenous People." One of the most widely used models of intervention to emerge from these sources is the Risk-Needs Model, which embodies three main principles: risk, needs, and responsivity. An assessment of risk will dictate the intensity of an intervention; the needs assessment will determine its content; and an assessment of responsivity guides the delivery of the intervention. This model suggests that rehabilitation programs that achieve the best outcomes are those in which treatment is matched to the level of risk and criminogenic need of the individual, and in which services are delivered in "a style and mode that is consistent with the ability and learning style of the offender" (Andrews and Bonta, 1994). In applying this model to Australia's Indigenous offenders, this study identifies three significant issues. First, there is a need to standardize risk measures across different cultural groups. The risk of imprisonment for the Indigenous offender may be determined as much by social factors as by factors directly related to the individual offender. Second, given the high level of non-criminogenic needs likely to be experienced by the Indigenous offender, it is inappropriate to focus solely on criminogenic needs when designing rehabilitative services. Third, responsivity can be improved by using culturally appropriate ways of program delivery. A framework for assessing cultural factors for Indigenous offenders in New Zealand focuses on four areas: the cultural identity of the individual, cultural explanations of offending, cultural factors related to the psychosocial environment, and cultural elements of the relationship between the service provider and the offender. 7 notes and 51 references