Lecturer in Forensic Psychology Phone: +44 (0) 1162523727 Address: Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour University of Leicester Leicester LE1 7RH
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
This research aimed to determine whether completers, non-completers, and non-starters of communit... more This research aimed to determine whether completers, non-completers, and non-starters of community-based offending behavior programs could be differentiated by their levels of internal “treatment readiness.” The Corrections Victoria Treatment Readiness Questionnaire (CVTRQ) measures offenders’ Attitudes and Motivation, Emotional Reactions, Offending Beliefs, and Efficacy which, according to the Multifactor Offender Readiness Model (MORM), are internal dimensions of an offender’s readiness to engage with treatment. Participants were offenders who had been court-mandated to attend a community-based cognitive skills offending behavior program. There were no significant differences between groups in respect of the CVTRQ total score. After controlling for risk of reconviction, however, the Self Efficacy construct differentiated program non-starters from program completers, while the Emotional Reactions construct differentiated program non-completers from program completers. In conclusion...
This article reports an evaluation of the Addressing Substance-Related Offending program in the E... more This article reports an evaluation of the Addressing Substance-Related Offending program in the English and Welsh Probation Service. Participants were 319 adult male offenders who had a history of substance use and were serving community sentences. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the reconviction rates of offenders who completed the program, offenders who started but did not complete the program, and a comparison group of offenders who were not allocated to the program. Multivariate analysis showed that at one-year follow-up the completers had a significantly lower rate of reconviction and longer time to reconviction than the non-completers, and the non-completers had a significantly higher rate of reconviction and shorter time to reconviction than the comparison group. No differences were found in reconviction between the completers and comparison group.
This article reports an evaluation of two cognitive skills programs (Enhanced Thinking Skills and... more This article reports an evaluation of two cognitive skills programs (Enhanced Thinking Skills and Think First) with 801 women offenders serving community sentences in the English and Welsh Probation Service. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the reconviction rates at 1-year follow-up of offenders who completed the program, offenders who started but did not complete the program, and a comparison group that were not allocated to the program. Multivariate analysis showed that the completers did not have a significantly lower rate of reconviction than the comparison group. However, the non-completers had a significantly higher rate of reconviction than the comparison group. No differences were found in reconviction between the completers group and non-completers group. The implications of the findings for interventions with women offenders are discussed.
The Editor and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly a... more The Editor and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly acted as reviewers of one or more manuscripts between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Their professionalism and support for both authors and the Editorial Board are much appreciated.
The Editors and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly ... more The Editors and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly acted as reviewers of one or more manuscripts between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Their professionalism and support for both authors and the Editorial Board are much appreciated.
This study presents the findings of an evaluation of the Aggression Replacement Training programm... more This study presents the findings of an evaluation of the Aggression Replacement Training programme as regards the reconviction of male violent offenders within the English and Welsh Probation Service. This study employed a quasi-experimental design which utilised one-to-one matching on key criminogenic variables between an experimental group and a comparison group. The experimental group comprised convicted violent offenders who had been allocated to the programme by probation staff, while the comparison group was sampled from a larger pool of individuals who had been convicted of a violent offence and had subsequently received a community sentence but were not allocated to the programme. Outcome data were analysed using both the ‘intention to treat’ and ‘treatment received’ methodologies. The latter methodology allowed comparison of the naturally occurring groups of completers and non-completers with their matched comparisons and each other. The phi effect size correlations indicated a 13.3% decrease in reconviction in the experimental group as compared to the matched comparison group. Additionally, programme non-completers were more
likely to be reconvicted than their matched comparisons and programme completers. These findings are discussed in the light of the extant literature, and different interpretations are considered.
This paper reports the outcome of a 17-month follow-up of structured, community-based, offence-fo... more This paper reports the outcome of a 17-month follow-up of structured, community-based, offence-focused, intervention programmes designed to reduce rates of re-conviction amongst adjudicated offenders under probation supervision. Three separate programmes were examined, all derived from a cognitive social learning model of risk factors for repeated involvement in crime. Using a quasiexperimental design, the study compared male offenders who had completed programmes (n=215) with a non-completion group (n=181), a group allocated to programmes but who had not commenced them (n=339), and a control sample (n=194) not allocated to the programmes. Outcome data analysis employed (a) an
“intent to treat” between-group comparison, (b) “treatment received” methodology. In order to take account of selection bias, data were further analysed using instrumental variables and propensity scores; results suggested a possible treatment
effect for moderate and higher-risk cases. Factors influencing different interpretations of these findings were considered.
This study examined the impact on reconviction of appropriate allocation to three general offendi... more This study examined the impact on reconviction of appropriate allocation to three general offending behavior programs involving adult male offenders in the English and Welsh Probation Service. Appropriate allocation was defined by level of risk for reconviction. There were three allocation groups: too low, appropriate, and too high. Using a quasi-experimental design, the reconviction rates of offenders who were allocated to and completed a program, offenders allocated to a program who failed to start, and a comparison group were compared. It was found that the appropriateness of allocation affected reconviction independently of treatment group. Furthermore, in line with the risk principle, there was an interaction between treatment group and the appropriateness of allocation.
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
This research aimed to determine whether completers, non-completers, and non-starters of communit... more This research aimed to determine whether completers, non-completers, and non-starters of community-based offending behavior programs could be differentiated by their levels of internal “treatment readiness.” The Corrections Victoria Treatment Readiness Questionnaire (CVTRQ) measures offenders’ Attitudes and Motivation, Emotional Reactions, Offending Beliefs, and Efficacy which, according to the Multifactor Offender Readiness Model (MORM), are internal dimensions of an offender’s readiness to engage with treatment. Participants were offenders who had been court-mandated to attend a community-based cognitive skills offending behavior program. There were no significant differences between groups in respect of the CVTRQ total score. After controlling for risk of reconviction, however, the Self Efficacy construct differentiated program non-starters from program completers, while the Emotional Reactions construct differentiated program non-completers from program completers. In conclusion...
This article reports an evaluation of the Addressing Substance-Related Offending program in the E... more This article reports an evaluation of the Addressing Substance-Related Offending program in the English and Welsh Probation Service. Participants were 319 adult male offenders who had a history of substance use and were serving community sentences. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the reconviction rates of offenders who completed the program, offenders who started but did not complete the program, and a comparison group of offenders who were not allocated to the program. Multivariate analysis showed that at one-year follow-up the completers had a significantly lower rate of reconviction and longer time to reconviction than the non-completers, and the non-completers had a significantly higher rate of reconviction and shorter time to reconviction than the comparison group. No differences were found in reconviction between the completers and comparison group.
This article reports an evaluation of two cognitive skills programs (Enhanced Thinking Skills and... more This article reports an evaluation of two cognitive skills programs (Enhanced Thinking Skills and Think First) with 801 women offenders serving community sentences in the English and Welsh Probation Service. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the reconviction rates at 1-year follow-up of offenders who completed the program, offenders who started but did not complete the program, and a comparison group that were not allocated to the program. Multivariate analysis showed that the completers did not have a significantly lower rate of reconviction than the comparison group. However, the non-completers had a significantly higher rate of reconviction than the comparison group. No differences were found in reconviction between the completers group and non-completers group. The implications of the findings for interventions with women offenders are discussed.
The Editor and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly a... more The Editor and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly acted as reviewers of one or more manuscripts between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Their professionalism and support for both authors and the Editorial Board are much appreciated.
The Editors and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly ... more The Editors and Associate Editors would like to warmly thank the following colleagues who kindly acted as reviewers of one or more manuscripts between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Their professionalism and support for both authors and the Editorial Board are much appreciated.
This study presents the findings of an evaluation of the Aggression Replacement Training programm... more This study presents the findings of an evaluation of the Aggression Replacement Training programme as regards the reconviction of male violent offenders within the English and Welsh Probation Service. This study employed a quasi-experimental design which utilised one-to-one matching on key criminogenic variables between an experimental group and a comparison group. The experimental group comprised convicted violent offenders who had been allocated to the programme by probation staff, while the comparison group was sampled from a larger pool of individuals who had been convicted of a violent offence and had subsequently received a community sentence but were not allocated to the programme. Outcome data were analysed using both the ‘intention to treat’ and ‘treatment received’ methodologies. The latter methodology allowed comparison of the naturally occurring groups of completers and non-completers with their matched comparisons and each other. The phi effect size correlations indicated a 13.3% decrease in reconviction in the experimental group as compared to the matched comparison group. Additionally, programme non-completers were more
likely to be reconvicted than their matched comparisons and programme completers. These findings are discussed in the light of the extant literature, and different interpretations are considered.
This paper reports the outcome of a 17-month follow-up of structured, community-based, offence-fo... more This paper reports the outcome of a 17-month follow-up of structured, community-based, offence-focused, intervention programmes designed to reduce rates of re-conviction amongst adjudicated offenders under probation supervision. Three separate programmes were examined, all derived from a cognitive social learning model of risk factors for repeated involvement in crime. Using a quasiexperimental design, the study compared male offenders who had completed programmes (n=215) with a non-completion group (n=181), a group allocated to programmes but who had not commenced them (n=339), and a control sample (n=194) not allocated to the programmes. Outcome data analysis employed (a) an
“intent to treat” between-group comparison, (b) “treatment received” methodology. In order to take account of selection bias, data were further analysed using instrumental variables and propensity scores; results suggested a possible treatment
effect for moderate and higher-risk cases. Factors influencing different interpretations of these findings were considered.
This study examined the impact on reconviction of appropriate allocation to three general offendi... more This study examined the impact on reconviction of appropriate allocation to three general offending behavior programs involving adult male offenders in the English and Welsh Probation Service. Appropriate allocation was defined by level of risk for reconviction. There were three allocation groups: too low, appropriate, and too high. Using a quasi-experimental design, the reconviction rates of offenders who were allocated to and completed a program, offenders allocated to a program who failed to start, and a comparison group were compared. It was found that the appropriateness of allocation affected reconviction independently of treatment group. Furthermore, in line with the risk principle, there was an interaction between treatment group and the appropriateness of allocation.
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Papers by Ruth Hatcher
likely to be reconvicted than their matched comparisons and programme completers. These findings are discussed in the light of the extant literature, and different interpretations are considered.
“intent to treat” between-group comparison, (b) “treatment received” methodology. In order to take account of selection bias, data were further analysed using instrumental variables and propensity scores; results suggested a possible treatment
effect for moderate and higher-risk cases. Factors influencing different interpretations of these findings were considered.
likely to be reconvicted than their matched comparisons and programme completers. These findings are discussed in the light of the extant literature, and different interpretations are considered.
“intent to treat” between-group comparison, (b) “treatment received” methodology. In order to take account of selection bias, data were further analysed using instrumental variables and propensity scores; results suggested a possible treatment
effect for moderate and higher-risk cases. Factors influencing different interpretations of these findings were considered.