Rehabilitation

Some offenders who are sentenced to time in prison or to carry out community service may also be involved in treatments, which are designed to reduce criminal and antisocial behaviour and increase levels of pro-social behaviour, two examples of which are token economies and anger management.

Token economy programmes

This type of programme is designed to reduce incidents of antisocial behaviour and promote social behaviour in prisons. They are based on the principles of operant conditioning where good behaviour is rewarded by the giving out of tokens, which act as secondary reinforcers.

Once a prisoner has collected a certain amount of tokens, they can exchange them for rewards, such as watching TV, extra visits and food. Token economy programmes must be applied consistently and fairly and the rewards that are given must be seen as valuable by prisoners, in order for them to be successful.

Strengths and weaknesses of token economy programmes

• There is some limited evidence to show that this type of programme is successful; research in the 1970s found that pro-social behaviour in prisons increased when a token economy programme was introduced when compared to prisons where it was not used
• However, a weakness of this programme is that it appears to be limited to behaviour inside a prison and therefore will not increase pro-social behaviour in offenders upon their release
• The system has to be applied rigorously by staff; if some prisoners see others being treated more favourably then this might actually increase antisocial behaviour rather than reduce it

Anger management programmes

Just as it sounds, an anger management programme is designed to reduce levels of anger and aggression in offenders in the hope that this will change their behaviour and lead to less chance of reoffending. It is used predominantly for offenders who have committed crimes because of anger and works by offenders meeting regularly with a therapist, either one to one or in a group.

The offender will be encouraged to look for sources of their anger so that these can be explored and worked through. They will be encouraged also to see how anger can be counterproductive and taught ways of dealing with negative emotions so that anger is not an automatic reaction. They may learn relaxation techniques and mindfulness as well as learning to be assertive without being aggressive. After this, the offender will role-play situations so that they can try out their new skills.

Strengths and weaknesses of anger management programmes

• The treatment is tailored to individuals who show that the motivation for their crimes is mostly anger and so this is a strength as success rates are likely to be higher
• The research findings for effectiveness of anger management in reducing recidivism are mixed with some findings showing that the treatment decreases reoffending whilst others finding no link at all, showing its effectiveness
• One serious weakness of anger management programmes is that offenders are taught ways of managing anger, which is a skill that can be honed in order to commit crimes more effectively. People showing traits of psychopathy were more likely to reoffend because their new skills made them more calculating and dangerous
• Another weakness of the programme is that offenders have to be committed to change and many who have been forced to undertake the programme as part of a rehabilitation package may be very reluctant to be fully involved