Understanding the Risk-Need-Responsivity Model in Criminology

Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Model

A framework that includes Risk, Need, and Responsivity to guide interventions in criminal behavior.

Risk

Measures how likely a person is to engage in criminal behaviors.

Need

Identifies areas in a person's life that should be targeted for intervention or supervision to reduce future criminal behavior.

Responsivity

Examines personal strengths and individual factors that influence the effectiveness of treatment services.

Evidence-Based Practices (EBP)

Practices that are based on scientific evidence to improve outcomes in criminal justice.

Scared Straight

Found to be ineffective or even counterproductive in reducing criminal behavior.

DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

Largely ineffective in preventing drug use among youth, despite widespread implementation.

LSI-R (Level of Service Inventory-Revised)

A risk assessment tool used to evaluate the risk of recidivism.

COMPAS (Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions)

A risk assessment tool used to inform decisions about offender management.

Requirements of the RNR Model

Includes matching treatment to risk level, addressing criminogenic needs, and tailoring interventions based on individual responsivity factors.

Good Programs

Programs that reduce recidivism based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and risk-based treatment.

Bad Programs

Programs like Scared Straight, DARE, or boot camps, which can worsen outcomes.

Desistance

The process of stopping criminal behavior over time.

Cessation

The actual stopping of crime at a certain point.

Key Variables in Early Interventions

Includes family environment and self-control.

Correlation Between Recidivism and Criminogenic Needs

Higher criminogenic needs (antisocial behavior, substance use, poor peer influences) increase the likelihood of recidivism.

Hard Determinism

Suggests that individuals do not have free will and that behavior is determined by external factors like biology, environment, and social structures.

Who is Most Afraid of Crime?

Elderly individuals.

Criminogenic Needs

Factors contributing to crime, including antisocial attitudes, substance abuse, lack of employment/education, and family and peer influences.

Loeber's Developmental Pathways

Describes three pathways: Authority Conflict Pathway, Covert Pathway, and Overt Pathway.

Different Types of Theories in Criminology

Includes Biological Theories, Psychological Theories, Social Learning Theory, Strain Theory, and Routine Activities Theory.

Technical Reports Process

Involves data collection, analysis of program effectiveness, and presentation of findings to policymakers or stakeholders.

Moral Panics Reading

Suggests societal reactions to perceived threats are often exaggerated and the media plays a key role in amplifying fears.

Farrington's Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential (ICAP) Theory

Criminal behavior results from both long-term and short-term factors.

Changes in Offending Patterns Over Life Course

Described by Criminal Career Theory.

Procedural Justice

People obey laws when they perceive the system as fair, even if they don't like the outcome.

Concentrated Disadvantage

High poverty, crime, and unemployment in a neighborhood.

Heterotypic Continuity

Same underlying trait (aggression) leads to different behaviors over time.

Epitomized Isomorphism

Adoption of similar structures across institutions.

Ethnic Heterogeneity

Diverse racial and ethnic populations in a community.

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Advantages: Long history of data collection, allows for national crime comparisons. Disadvantages: Only includes reported crimes, subject to police discretion.

Life Course & Developmental Theories

Most come from developmental psychology except for criminal career theory.

Mandatory Minimums

Legislation related to sentencing reform.

Early Interventions Can Start

Before birth (prenatal care, parental education).

Martinson's Findings on Rehabilitation

"Nothing works" (later criticized for misinterpretation).

Dual Taxonomy of Offending

Life-Course Persistent Offenders: Criminal behavior starts early and continues. Adolescence-Limited Offenders: Crime peaks in teenage years and declines.

Disruptive Variables in Development

Abuse, trauma, poor parental supervision, socioeconomic status.

Sampson & Laub's Terms for Behavioral Patterns

Cumulative Disadvantage: Negative life events stack up, making desistance harder. Turning Points: Positive life events (marriage, employment) reduce crime.

Social Disorganization

Crime results from weak community ties and disorder.

Collective Efficacy

Communities with strong social ties can reduce crime.

Treatment Dosage

The amount and frequency of intervention needed for effectiveness.

Martinson's Findings - Impact

Shifted focus to punitive policies instead of rehabilitation.

Correlation Between Risk Level & Treatment Effectiveness

High-risk offenders benefit the most from intensive intervention.

Life Course Theories - Age of Onset

Moffitt's Dual Taxonomy: Early childhood for life-course offenders, adolescence for limited offenders. Sampson & Laub's Age-Graded Theory: No fixed onset, but childhood factors matter.

Factors Causing Fear of Crime

Media coverage, personal experiences, neighborhood crime levels.

Early Life Course Studies on Aggression & Violence

Childhood aggression predicts later violent behavior.

Constructivism

Reality is socially constructed through interactions and interpretations.

Early Semester Studies & How They Work

Cross-sectional: Data collected at one point in time. Longitudinal: Follows subjects over time. Experimental: Manipulates variables to determine effects.

Developmental Psychology & Life Course Theory

Explains how childhood experiences shape later behavior.

Coping Mechanisms - Importance

Helps individuals manage stress and avoid criminal behavior.

Youth Crime Trends

Juvenile crime has declined in recent years.

Who Benefited from Martinson's Work?

Advocates of tough-on-crime policies.

Social Ties in Life Course Theories

Strong ties reduce crime; weak ties increase it.

Principles of Effective Interventions

Risk principle, need principle, responsivity principle, use of CBT, dosage, etc.

Mornoff's Theoretical Integration

Combines multiple criminological theories into a comprehensive model.

Environments for Early Interventions

Home, school, community programs, healthcare settings.

DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

Found to be largely ineffective in preventing drug use.