NCJ Number
97918
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: (1985) Pages: 269-277
Date Published
1985
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The currently fashionable statement that 'nothing works' overstates the case against rehabilitation. Rehabilitation efforts may be effective if addressed to specific offender populations delineated on the basis of causal theory.
Abstract
Causal theory can specify the mechanisms and conditions under which treatment can work. The utility of rational-choice theory in improving the effectiveness of rehabiliatation efforts is discussed. Rational-choice theory describes and 'economically motivated offender' to whom income-enhancing treatment, such as skills training, can be most effectively applied. The mechanism by which income-enhancing treatment works is through improving the offender's taste for income or his/her taste for work. (Author abstract)