How to train your dragon: an introduction to the special issue on treatment programmes for high-risk offenders

Abstract

The plot of the popular movie How to Train Your Dragon includes several features that are paralleled in the efforts of programme designers and treatment providers who work with the highest risk offenders in criminal justice systems. This introduction to the special feature on programmes for high-risk offenders notes that there are important differences in how treatments are provided for offenders with varying levels of risk, need, and responsivity. It asks if what is known about effective offender intervention – much of it derived from moderately risky offenders – applies to those who are thought to be at high risk of new criminal activity. It observes that the relative lack of intervention theory for these offenders provides an important justification for a feature that focuses primarily on describing a range of these interventions and their theoretical underpinnings. The papers that follow are then introduced.

Keywords:

• high-risk offender treatment
• offender rehabilitation
• programme theory

Notes

1. Of course, there are no hard-and-fast definitions of what constitutes ‘medium-risk’ and ‘high-risk’. One useful indicator is the rate of re-conviction or re-imprisonment of a risk-matched untreated comparison group.