The future of rehabilitation

What do we mean by rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation in the CJS

• Aims to reduce reoffending

• Seeks to change behaviour, circumstances, or identity

• Operates across prison and probation

• Has never had a single, agreed meaning

• Rehabilitation reflects how society understands crime, responsibility, and change

Conflicting definitions of rehabilitation

The evolution of rehabilitation — from optimism to control

Key phrases in the evolution of rehabilitaiton

• Post-war optimism: treatment, reform, welfare support

• 1970s–1980s: ‘nothing works’ and decline of rehabilitation

• 1990s–2000s: risk management and public protection

• Recent decades: desistance, strengths-based approaches

Rehabilitation today — prison and probation

In prison:

• Programmes (e.g. behaviour change, offending behaviour courses)

• Education and skills

• Often constrained by overcrowding and security priorities

In probation:

• Supervision and compliance

• Risk assessment and management

• Increasing focus on desistance and engagement

Why rehabilitation is changing again

Key drivers of change

• Persistent reoffending rates

• Recognition of trauma and mental health

• Evidence from desistance research

• Critiques of prison effectiveness

• Technological and social change