Overview
The last chapter summarizes what is known and where there are gaps in knowledge. First, what we know. There is variation in criminal behavior across persons and across time. Developmental criminologists have identified the “life-course-persistent” who start criminal activity early in life and the “adolescent-limited” who start later and desist by early adulthood. The Central Eight is the common glue to understanding their criminal behavior. The expanded-RNR principles provide a roadmap to influencing and reducing criminal behavior. Although, alternative theoretical perspectives to GPCSL have been proposed (e.g., Good Lives Model and Desistance) the weight of the empirical and practical evidence rests with GPCSL theory.
We still know very little about the practical value in considering specific responsivity in risk/needs assessment and treatment. What modifications to theory and practice do we need to make when considering gender, age, ethnicity, etc.? How do we best bring RNR services into the criminal justice system? How do we best balance criminogenic needs with noncriminogenic needs and strengths in our treatment programs. These are only few of the questions that remain to be answered by future research.
Audio and Video
The Criminologist: Interview with Shadd Maruna Podcast Episode
Shadd Maruna is a Professor of Criminology at Queen’s University Belfast, and has been a lecturer at the University of Cambridge and the University of Manchester, as well as a Dean of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice.
He has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Soros Justice Fellow, and an H. F. Guggenheim Fellow, and has received awards from the Howard League for Penal Reform and the ESRC for his research challenging the prison and probation systems. His 2001 book, Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives (APA) was named the “Outstanding Contribution to Criminology”.
In The Criminologist Host Joseph Arvidson brings criminologists, practitioners, academics, and those with lived experiences from around the world together to discuss the age-old dilemma of responding to society’s criminal element. Merging established correctional policy with emerging desistance models, this show illustrates how adopting a holistic lens and constantly questioning established approaches can best serve justice involved individuals.
All episodes may be accessed via Joseph Arvidson’s website:
Applications of the Emerging Desistence Models of Change
Joe Arvidson, MS, GCERT, is the Executive Director of The Paragon Group LLC, which promotes and advances evidence-based practices in criminal justice. His career in corrections spans over 30 years, and he has extensive experience in the training and facilitation of evidence-based practices such as risk assessment, cognitive skills, case planning and motivational Interviewing. Mr Arvidson is a master trainer of the LSCMI (Level of Service/Case Management Inventory). He is host of The Paragon Group’s ‘The Criminologist’ podcast.
In this video, Mr Arvidson discusses various theories of desistence from crime and applies the RNR model. He introduces some key ways in which you can promote desistance with the populations you work with.
The full version of this video can be viewed on the MHS Public Safety website:
https://gifrinc.com/course/applications-emerging-desistance/
Resources
Quiz
Further Reading
Kang, T. (in press). The lost scrolls of the correctional bible: Before the Risk-Need-Responsivity model. In P. Magaletta, M. Ternes, & M. Patry (Eds). The history and future of correctional psychology. New York: Springer.