Centenial Celebration

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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon

Time: 8:09 pm

Results for what works research

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Author: Maruna, Shadd

Title: Reconciling 'Desistance' and 'What Works'

Summary: The term 'desistance' has - rather inexplicably for such an ugly and unusual piece of academic jargon - found its way into professional practice and has become a near ubiquitous buzzword in recent years. However, as pointed out in the Criminal Justice Alliance's Prospects for a Desistance Agenda (Moffatt, 2014) even though the term 'desistance' has become familiar, its meaning remains unclear to many in the justice system. Indeed, 'desistance' appears to mean different things to different audiences making its value uncertain. The desistance concept has caught fire at almost precisely the same time as the concept of 'evidence-based practice' or 'what works', leading some to assume these terms are synonymous and others to propose that they are in competition. Evidence-based practice has generated enormous support at every level of the policy-making process. After all, who could possibly be opposed to doing 'what works' and avoiding 'what doesn't'? However, like with 'desistance,' the term 'evidence-based practice' is used far more often than it is understood, and the lack of clear criteria for what qualifies as being 'evidence-based' is dangerous precisely because the term sounds so indisputably desirable (Dodge & Mandel, 2012). Indeed, nearly all interventions now claim to be 'evidence-based' (or, when pushed, 'evidence-informed'). Without agreed criteria for what this term means, such a claim is easy to make and hard to dispute. In this Academic Insight, we will seek to clarify some of the confusion around both 'desistance' and 'what works' research, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, points of divergence and areas of agreement. We will conclude that the two concepts are indeed different in important ways but that they are highly complementary and need not be in competition with one another.

Details: Manchester, UK: HM Inspectorate of Probation, 2019. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Academic Insights 2019/1: Accessed February 22, 2019 at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/02/Academic-Insights-Maruna-and-Mann-Feb-19-final.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/02/Academic-Insights-Maruna-and-Mann-Feb-19-final.pdf

Shelf Number: 154687

Keywords:
Criminal Justice Policy
Desistance
Evidence-Based Practice
What Works Research