The Integration of Treatment and Rehabilitation - Assignment Example

The Integration of Treatment and Rehabilitation Abstract There are various principles that have been proposed and adopted for rehabilitation purposes. According to researchers from the Canadian school, treatment ought to be delivered to such offenders who face highest recidivism risk (Anon, nd). The justification for this position is that low risk offenders have a low likelihood of committing offenses in the future even without treatment unlike the high risk offenders. Discussion According to research studies reviewed, high-risk offenders exhibited lowered recidivism risk through intensive treatment unlike with the case of low risk offenders who upon administration of intense treatment showed either negative effects or minimal effects of recidivism. In classifying risk, one considers such as aspects of who should be released in pretrial, who to release under tight supervision in the community, who to release on parole and or under supervision release. Clinical assessment or actuarial tests are basic tools that assist in such risk classifications. For the clinical assessment, informal as well as non-observable tactics of determining the risk posed by a person to the community are employed while the actuarial approach undertakes thorough research in the determination. The actuarial approach involves research methodologies in being empirical or theoretical in determination of relation to recidivism. On the need principle, the main concern determined is what should be the main targets of human service aspects in rehabilitation programs. Interventions form what is called criminogenic needs and they are said to be deficits that relate to likelihood/propensity of an individual to commit crime. They are seen to be changed through programs of rehabilitation. The principle therefore addresses such attributes as pro-criminal attitudes, associates, weak socialization, impulsivity, low verbal intelligence (below average), risk taking, early antisocial behavior exhibit, low capacity to solve problems, poor parenting as well as educational deficits among others. Despite these factors being targeted in rehabilitation for their association with criminal activities, others are by no means related to crime (Jacobs, Davidson, Steiner & Hoge, 2002). Examples to these are self-esteem as well as self-control as they show weak relation to recidivism. It is understood that even offenders in some instances they exhibit high esteem and therefore rehabilitation would not be effective in targeting esteem. Another distinct feature of need principle is that the needs can be classified as static and or dynamic. Such characteristics that cannot be changed through rehabilitation programs such as age, race as well as gender are static while those that would be changed like associates, attitudes as well as self-control among others are dynamic. In identifying chriminogenic unlike in risk principle where scientific study and clinical assessment would be employed, the need principle relies on identification of predefined factors that are related/associated to criminal behaviors. In sum therefore, in comparison between the need principle as well as the risk principle, their application in rehabilitation programs brings about their common use. Though the risk principle identifies the main feature that a person exhibits which would be used to define how risky the person is to the community or not, the need principle is ideally used to focus on needs that a person exhibits that can be targeted for the rehabilitation programs. Classifying and identifying the risks is often done through clinical assessments and scientific research in risk principle while observation of characters that are associated with criminal activities in a person form the main tool for use in testing the need for the rehabilitation program in the needs principle. Probation officers should spend more time with high risk offenders according to the postulation by the researchers from Canadian School. According to the researchers, intensified treatment is required for the high-risk offenders because for the low risk offenders may not have higher tendencies to commit crime in future even when they are not treated. For this reason, treatment should be reserved for the high-risk offenders and hence the need to have probation officers spends more time with the high-risk persons. Through research, the high-risk offenders exhibited low levels of recidivism upon receiving high intensive treatment and this equally supports the need to have the probation officers spend more with them. In the contrary, research would prove that over indulgence on treatment to the low risk offenders does not result to any commendable effect on their recidivism. It would therefore be effective if probation officers should spare minimal time with the low risk offenders and spare more time for the high-risk offenders to increase of their effectiveness and or their efficiencies in offering treatment under the rehabilitation programs. The need principle on the other hand has some concerns addressed on the high and low risk offenders. In the principle’s main target of addressing correctional programming, it supports interventions on the recidivism and criminal risk factors, which can be changed. Though being referred to differently in the context, the high-risk offenders exhibit high predicators of crime. In simple classification, the high-risk offender traits that can be changed through rehabilitation programs are called the dynamic attributes while those that cannot be changed through the rehabilitation method are called static. Gender, age as well as race are examples to such low risk factors that cannot be changed through rehabilitation programs and are called static factors. The needs principle alludes to the dynamic factors, which in other terms would be implying to the high risk factors, which can be changed through rehabilitation programs. Though such factors are attributable to crime (criminogenic) they lack capacity to be treated through rehabilitation programs. For instance, ‘maleness’ is an attribute that defines gender and often associated with crime in that men are often associated with crime. Nevertheless, despite the length of time that a person would be subjected to rehabilitation programs or such treatment by probation officers, the attributes are static and cannot be changed. On the other hand, the dynamic factors, which represent the high-risk traits exhibited by persons, include the pro-criminal attitudes, association with criminals, attributes of self-control as well as impulsivity and they are said to by dynamic because they can be changed/treated through rehabilitation programs (Utsey, Ponterotto, Reynolds, & Cancelli, 2000). There are certain tools that a probation officer can use to determine the risks and needs for an offender. For instance, in determinitation of risk level for an offender, a knowledgeable individual such as the probation officer may adopt clinical assessment, which involves informal and non-observable criteria of decision making concerning the level of risk an individual presents to a community (Clancey, 2011). Moreover, the officer may also employ scientific procedures in determining this through actuarial approach. The risk classifications, determinitation through actuarial method adopts either theoretical or empirical approach where empirical analysis of items associated with crime is undertaken. Determinitation is then based on a predefined scale upon which the analytical items are subjected. Theoretical determination on the other hand evaluates variables that are theoretically related with recidivism which are subjected to a classification scale for risk. The scale prove to be very instrumental in determining criminogenic risks and are therefore often in use within rehabilitation programming. On the other hand, observation of characters that are associated with criminal activities in a person form the main tool for use in testing the need for the rehabilitation program in the needs principle. The probation officers would therefore employ observable attributes in individuals in ascertaining their needs for rehabilitation programs for treatment or otherwise. In conclusion, therefore, this paper sheds light on tools that have been developed through research studies principles employed in risks or needs determinitation for criminal activity. The risk principle takes particular interest in determining the extent and nature of risk a person poses to other persons within a community while the needs principle evaluates the effectiveness of subjecting a person to rehabilitation programs for treatment or otherwise. Various tools have been shown to apply in either case of determination of risk and needs. However, not all needs have been shown to be effectively addressed through rehabilitation programs and time would be effective treatment for the same. References Anonymous, (nd). Chapter 4: Perspectives on rehabilitation. Clancey, G. (2011). Crime risk assessments in new south wales. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 17(1), 55-67. Jacobs, S., Davidson, L., Steiner, J., & Hoge, M. (2002). The integration of treatment and rehabilitation in psychiatric practice and services: A case study of a community mental health center. Community Mental Health Journal, 38(1), 73-81. Utsey, S. O., Ponterotto, J. G., Reynolds, A. L., & Cancelli, A. A. (2000). Racial discrimination, coping, life satisfaction, and self-esteem among african americans. Journal of Counseling and Development : JCD, 78(1), 72-80. Read More