Prisoner Support and Treatment

In reply to the Hon. K.L. VINCENT (1 November 2016).

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety): I am advised:

With regard to which types of programs are more successful in terms of reducing reoffending, the research has demonstrated that no one program is a panacea for reoffending, and the Department for Correctional Services is well aware of this with its approach.

The research supports the efficacy of group-based psychological programs based on the Risk, Need and Responsivity (the RNR Model) of offender rehabilitation. The RNR model emphasises the importance of risk assessment informing treatment, and also considering other factors that could impact an offender's engagement in the rehabilitation process (i.e. literacy, or intellectual impairment).

However, psychological programs are just one part of the puzzle, and it is very important that offenders get other supports to help them desist from offending (i.e. establishing pro-social supports, getting assistance with financial matters and housing, or skills training to assist them to gain employment upon release).

With regard to an overall statistic, the department does report an overall statistic through the Report on Government Services (ROGS) data which measures a return to Correctional Services in the two years following release from prison.

If one is measuring efficacy of individual programs, then the statistics will vary from program to program due to the fact that different offender groups reoffend at different rates.

It is also important to note, as mentioned above, that the research clearly shows that there is no single program that will address an offender's rehabilitation requirements.

The department is well aware of this research, and therefore staff working in Corrections adopt a multifaceted approach to rehabilitation which includes psychological programs, education, vocational training, release planning, and robust case management whilst an individual is under community supervision.

Through a continued emphasis on all of the above intervention strategies, the department is anticipating a reduction in the ROGS figure as detailed in the Reducing Reoffending 10 by 20 Strategy—this is considered to be the best figure to measure overall success of the department's multifaceted rehabilitation efforts.