Criminal sanctions versus psychologically-based interventions with offenders: A Comparative empirical analysis

The objective of this paper is to provide an integrative analysis of several sets of evidence, derived from contrasting approaches to the reduction of recidivism amongst convicted offenders. The first approach is based on deterrence, an expectation that legal sanctions will have a suppressant effect on crime rates, both for adjudicated offenders (specific deterrence) and the population as a whole (general deterrence). The second approach is based on evidence concerning the impact of intervention programmes, focused on specific forms of treatment or training (sometimes labelled ‘rehabilitative') directly designed to alter risk factors associated with the occurrence of criminal acts (criminogenic needs). Evidence concerning the comparative effects of these approaches is reviewed and general conclusions proposed.