Rehabilitation: Beyond the Risk Paradigm

Over the last two decades, empirical evidence has increasingly supported the view that it is possible to reduce re-offending rates by rehabilitating offenders rather than simply punishing them. In fact, the pendulum’s swing back from a pure punishment model to a rehabilitation model is arguably one of the most significant events in modern correctional policy. This comprehensive review argues that rehabilitation should focus both on promoting human goods (i.e. providing the offender with the essential ingredients for a 'good' life), as well as reducing/avoiding risk.

Offering a succinct summary and critique of the scientific approach to offender rehabilitation, this intriguing volume for students of criminology, sociology and clinical psychology gives a comprehensive evaluation of both the Risk-Need Model and the Good Lives Model.

Rehabilitation is a value-laden process involving a delicate balance of the needs and desires of clinicians, clients, the State and the public. Written by two international leading academics in rehabilitation research, this book argues that intervention with offenders is not simply a matter of implementing the best therapeutic technology and leaving political and social debate to politicians and policy makers.

Tony Ward is Professor of Clinical Psychology and Clinical Director at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His research interests include the offense process in offenders, cognitive distortions and models of rehabilitation. He has published over 190 research articles, chapters and books.

Shadd Maruna is a Reader in Criminology at Queen’s University Belfast. Previously he has been a lecturer at the University of Cambridge and the State University of New York. His previous book, Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives (2001) was named the Outstanding Contribution to Criminology by the American Society of Criminology in 2001.