Unit 3: The Treatment Principle What Works

1. Unit 3: The Treatment Principle (What Works) Lecture (2 minutes) This unit covers the treatment principle. There are certain features that must be present in order for treatment to be effective in reducing recidivism. It is important that judges understand the key features so if they hear about programs that use other techniques they can insist on seeing the evidence that these other programs work. Often, treatment programs sound good but there is no empirical evidence to support their effectiveness in reducing recidivism. The key features of effective programs and offender supervision should be clearly understood by all referral sources--and the evidence of effectiveness should be compelling. In the absence of compelling evidence of effectiveness, the program should, at best, be considered either as a promising practice or an experimental practice. In either case the program should be evaluated before the court bestows confidence in it.Lecture (2 minutes) This unit covers the treatment principle. There are certain features that must be present in order for treatment to be effective in reducing recidivism. It is important that judges understand the key features so if they hear about programs that use other techniques they can insist on seeing the evidence that these other programs work. Often, treatment programs sound good but there is no empirical evidence to support their effectiveness in reducing recidivism. The key features of effective programs and offender supervision should be clearly understood by all referral sources--and the evidence of effectiveness should be compelling. In the absence of compelling evidence of effectiveness, the program should, at best, be considered either as a promising practice or an experimental practice. In either case the program should be evaluated before the court bestows confidence in it.

2. Conference of Chief Justices(Resolution No. 12)