The global COVID pandemic has continued to permeate our lives in significant ways. It has created a sudden and unprecedented level of social, economic and personal upheaval. It has also laid bare some of the most entrenched structural inequalities in our communities where the most vulnerable and disadvantaged have been the most affected. The COVID virus has made most of us much more acutely aware of the notion of ‘risk’, and the complicated interplay of factors that can go into calibrating risk, how much of it we wish to take, and when, where and why. The COVID virus has presented some particular and serious risks for corrections, but RISK more […]
(2.89 MB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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(59.55 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Frank J. Porporino, Ph.D. Chair ICPA R&D Network & Editor, Advancing Corrections
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Corrections has a difficult time standing still. A new challenge always seems to be around the corner. The recent COVID pandemic is good example of a disruption that has caught corrections by surprise. But more routinely, correctional services around the world often have to respond quickly to changing circumstances, new legislation, fiscal restraint, tragic incidents and a steady stream of public or political pressure to change course, alter policy or implement new practice. Corrections is unfortunately too often pushed towards change rather than allowed to be farsighted and evidence-driven in planning for its own change. For this Edition of Advancing Corrections, we want to ask contributors to reflect on what […]
(139.11 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Frank J. Porporino, Ph.D. Chair ICPA R&D Network & Editor, Advancing Corrections
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ARTICLE 11: DOG TRAINING PROGRAMS: A STRENGTH-BASED APPROACH TO CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT Kimberly Houser & Gennifer Furst Traditionally, programming in carceral facilities is focused on targeting criminogenic risk through a deficit perspective – fix what is lacking or missing and you reduce recidivism. Although still focusing on criminogenic risk, carceral dog training programs (DTPs), in contrast, respond to these risks guided by a strengths-based approach. The programs encourage individuals to develop the values and skills needed to effectively obtain universal human needs such as a sense of purpose and significance, love and connection. The programs are holistic and provide positive and healing experiences that target multiple criminogenic risks while also providing […]
(106.79 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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ARTICLE 10: A NEURODEVELOPMENTALLY-AWARE, TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING RISK Jane Mulcahy This article argues that our understanding of risk and criminogenic need can be greatly enhanced by incorporating developments from neuroscience and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) studies about the bio-behavioural impact of accumulating multiple stressors in childhood, especially in the absence of nurturant relationships with an always available, emotionally stable adult. Focusing correctional attention on the importance of a felt sense of safety for health and social behaviour may lead to improved individual outcomes in terms of healing, personal development, human connectedness and a reduced propensity for offending behaviour. Informed by extensive trauma training with international experts, this article […]
(115.73 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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ARTICLE 9: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF A STRENGTH-BASED AND DESISTANCE-INFORMED APPROACH TO MOTIVATIONAL FEEDBACK ON RISK/NEEDS Shermaine Chionh, Jeslyn S. Z. Ng, and Cheng Xiang Long This study examined if integrating strength-based and desistance elements in RNR-based risk feedback would motivate offenders to change. Eighteen drug users in the Singapore Drug Rehabilitation Centre received motivational feedback on their risk/needs identified in their Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) assessments and were guided to identify their strengths and values in order to set life goals. Deductive thematic analysis of their goal-planner showed that those who became motivated after feedback displayed signals of motivation for change by recognizing offending […]
(274.42 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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ARTICLE 8: EMPOWERING RISK REDUCTION: INCREASING RESPONSIVITY WITH MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING Michael D. Clark The Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model provides an empirically validated approach for reducing risk and lowering recidivism. Through considerable research over time, the first two principles of Risk and Need have been well developed and expanded. The third core principle of Responsivity has been overlooked and has lagged behind, even though it encompasses offender engagement and motivation. The good news for correctional treatment is the focus on the responsivity principle has been increasing—and expanding. Understanding the value of engagement and motivation has sparked an expansion of specific responsivity to include the provider-offender relationship. Numerous studies on this relationship find […]
(116.83 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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ARTICLE 7: CASTING LIGHT ON PRISON VIOLENCE: MANAGING SITUATIONAL RISK FACTORS David J Cooke Systematic approaches to risk assessment and risk management have made dramatic progress in the last three decades. Unsurprisingly, the focus has been on risk factors intrinsic to the individual—e.g., their history of violence, substance misuse disorder, personality pathology or violent ideation. This focus has relevance but also reflects the fundamental attribution bias, that is, the tendency, when it comes to explaining the behaviour of others, to highlight their personal characteristics and downplay contextual factors. This is the opposite of what we do when explaining our own behaviour! When it comes to violence in prisons, the context […]
(146.77 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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ARTICLE 6: CONSTRUCTING RISK ASSESSMENT ALGORITHMS FOR VIOLENT, DRUG AND PROPERTY-RELATED OFFENDERS: AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH Laurence L. Motiuk & Leslie Anne Keown In the Canadian federal correctional system, the Offender Intake Assessment (OIA) and correctional planning process are primarily focused on addressing static and dynamic risk factors. These core components of OIA were examined to determine whether algorithmic equations tailored across major offence types could potentially be used for administration by means of a hand-held mobile application. In accordance with Schedules in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, three major offence types, namely Schedule I (violent, excluding murder), Schedule II (drug), and Non-violent (property) were constructed for 6,525 male first […]
(338.08 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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ARTICLE 5: HOW DOES “CONTEXT” INFLUENCE RISK AND NEEDS ASSESSMENTS IN CORRECTIONAL SETTINGS – IDEAS AND PRACTICES FROM CORRECTIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS OF SINGAPORE PRISON SERVICE Boon Siang Kwek, Shamala D/O Gopalakrishnan, Xiangbin Lin, Rashida Mohamed Correctional psychologists often adhere to comprehensive instructions of manuals and structured protocols of risk and needs assessment instruments in order to ensure that their assessment findings are accurately reported. Apart from the use of manuals and protocols, we propose that it is also important for correctional psychologists to consider the context of each assessment to produce more relevant, nuanced, and useful risk assessment findings for various decisions resulting from the assessments. In this article, we illustrate […]
(236.19 KB) | 14. October 2020 | Author: Aleksandar Petrov, Communications Officer, ICPA
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